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General James Longstreet fought in nearly every campaign of the Civil War, from Manassas (the first battle of Bull Run) to Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chickamauga, Gettysburg, and was present at the surrender at Appomattox. Yet, he was largely held to blame for the Confederacy's defeat at Gettysburg. General James Longstreet sheds new light on the controversial commander and the man Robert E. Lee called “my old war horse.”
Lee's Tarnished Lieutenant by William Garrett Piston Pdf
In the South, one can find any number of bronze monuments to the Confederacy featuring heroic images of Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson, J. E. B. Stuart, and many lesser commanders. But while the tarnish on such statues has done nothing to color the reputation of those great leaders, there remains one Confederate commander whose tarnished image has nothing to do with bronze monuments. Nowhere in the South does a memorial stand to Lee's intimate friend and second-in-command James Longstreet. In Lee's Tarnished Lieutenant, William Garrett Piston examines the life of James Longstreet and explains how a man so revered during the course of the war could fall from grace so swiftly and completely. Unlike other generals in gray whose deeds are familiar to southerners and northerners alike, Longstreet has the image not of a hero but of an incompetent who lost the Battle of Gettysburg and, by extension, the war itself. Piston's reappraisal of the general's military record establishes Longstreet as an energetic corps commander with an unsurpassed ability to direct troops in combat, as a trustworthy subordinate willing to place the war effort above personal ambition. He made mistakes, but Piston shows that he did not commit the grave errors at Gettysburg and elsewhere of which he was so often accused after the war. In discussing Longstreet's postwar fate, Piston analyzes the literature and public events of the time to show how the southern people, in reaction to defeat, evolved an image of themselves which bore little resemblance to reality. As a product of the Georgia backwoods, Longstreet failed to meet the popular cavalier image embodied by Lee, Stuart, and other Confederate heroes. When he joined the Republican party during Reconstruction, Longstreet forfeited his wartime reputation and quickly became a convenient target for those anxious to explain how a "superior people" could have lost the war. His new role as the villain of the Lost Cause was solidified by his own postwar writings. Embittered by years of social ostracism resulting from his Republican affiliation, resentful of the orchestrated deification of Lee and Stonewall Jackson, Longstreet exaggerated his own accomplishments and displayed a vanity that further alienated an already offended southern populace. Beneath the layers of invective and vilification remains a general whose military record has been badly maligned. Lee's Tarnished Lieutenant explains how this reputation developed—how James Longstreet became, in the years after Appomattox, the scapegoat for the South's defeat, a Judas for the new religion of the Lost Cause.
Lieutenant General James Longstreet: Innovative Military Strategist by F. Gregory Toretta Pdf
A “fascinating and informative” reassessment of the underappreciated Confederate general’s achievements and ahead-of-his-time military strategy (Midwest Book Review). Lieutenant-General James Longstreet, commander of the First Corps of the Army of Northern Virginia, was a brilliant tactician and strategist. Prior to the Civil War there were many technological developments, of which the rifled musket and cannon, rail transport, and the telegraph were just a few. In addition, the North enjoyed a great advantage in manpower and resources. Longstreet adapted to these technological changes and the disparity between the belligerents, making recommendations on how the war should be fought. Longstreet made a mental leap to adjust to this new type of warfare. Many others didn’t make this leap, including Lee, Jackson, Bragg, Hood, and Jefferson Davis, and Longstreet’s advice went unheeded. In contrast to many southern generals, he advocated for defensive warfare, using entrenchments and trying to maneuver the enemy to assault his position, conserving manpower, resources, and supplies. With the advent of the highly accurate and long-range rifled musket, offensive tactics became questionable and risky. This caused Longstreet to come into conflict with General Robert E. Lee at Gettysburg, and with General Bragg at Chickamauga. Longstreet, a pragmatic and methodical general, was never given full authority over an army in the field. Had his suggestions been utilized there would have been a better outcome for the South. Many historians and biographers have misunderstood Longstreet and his motives, but this work offers a fresh perspective. It takes a new viewpoint of the Civil War and the generals who tailored their designs to pursue the war, analyzes Longstreet’s views of the generals and the tactics and strategy they employed, and examines why Longstreet proposed and urged a new type of warfare.
Confederate Struggle for Command by Alexander Mendoza Pdf
"Though he has traditionally been saddled with much of the blame for the Confederate loss at Gettysburg, Lt. Gen. James Longstreet was a capable, resourceful, and brave commander. Lee referred to Longstreet as his "Old Warhorse," and Longstreet's men gave him the sobriquet "Bull of the Woods" for his aggressive tactics at Chickamauga." "Now, historian Alexander Mendoza offers a comprehensive analysis of Longstreet's leadership during his seven-month assignment in the Tennessee theater of operations. He concludes that the obstacles to effective command faced by Longstreet during his sojourn in the west had at least as much to do with longstanding grievances and politically motivated prejudices as they did with any personal or military shortcomings of Longstreet himself."--BOOK JACKET.
General James Longstreet was Lee's senior lieutenant in the Army of Northern Virginia and the general whose conduct at the Battle of Gettysburg remains a topic of heated debate more than 130 years later. Longstreet first saw action in the Mexican War. He joined the Confederacy soon after the Civil War began and fought in nearly every campaign of Lee's army as well as in a major campaign in the Western theater. He led troops from the brigade to the corps level, at First and Second Manassas, Seven Pines, Seven Days, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, the Wilderness, and Petersburg. He scored a decisive victory at Chickamauga. And at war's end he stood alongside Lee at the surrender ceremony at Appomattox. Longstreet led the First Corps under Lee, outranking the better-known commander of the Second Corps, Stonewall Jackson. "Old Pete," as his soldiers called him, was a superb battlefield commander with great tactical skill. But he has long been blamed, especially in the South, for the crucial Confederate defeat at Gettysburg. Jeffry Wert argues that Longstreet opposed Lee's ill-fated frontal assault on July 3 and that, had Lee followed Longstreet's advice to take a more defensive posture, the battle might have turned out differently. After the war, Longstreet joined the Republican Party and became a political apostate in the South during the Reconstruction era. When he died in relative obscurity in 1904, only his old soldiers remembered him. This is the first full-scale biography of Longstreet in forty years, and it returns him to his position of central importance in the Civil War. Jeffry D. Wert's extensive research included unpublished memoirs, diaries, and letters from several archives.
James Longstreet and the American Civil War by Harold M. Knudsen Pdf
The American Civil War is often called the first “modern war.” Sandwiched between the Napoleonic Wars and World War I, it spawned a host of “firsts” and is considered a precursor to the larger and more deadly 20th century wars. Confederate Gen. James Longstreet made overlooked but profound modern contributions to the art of war. Retired Lt. Col. Harold M. Knudsen explains what Longstreet did and how he did it in James Longstreet and the American Civil War: The Confederate General Who Fought the Next War. Initially, commanders on both sides extensively utilized Napoleonic tactics that were obsolete because of the advent of the rifled musket and better artillery. Some professional army officers worked to improve tactics, operations, and strategies. On the Confederate side, a careful comparison of Longstreet’s body of work in the field to modern military doctrine reveals several large-scale innovations. Longstreet understood early that the tactical defense was generally dominant over the offense, which was something few grasped in 1862. Longstreet’s thinking demonstrated a clear evolution that began on the field at First Manassas in July 1861, developed through the bloody fighting of 1862, and culminated in the brilliant defensive victory at Fredericksburg that December. The lethality with which his riflemen and artillery mowed down repeated Union assaults hinted at what was to come in World War I. Longstreet’s ability to launch and control powerful offensives was on display at Second Manassas in August 1862. His assault plan at Chickamauga in Georgia the following September was similar, if not the forerunner to, World War II tactical-level German armored tactics. Other areas show progressive applications with artillery, staff work, force projection, and operational-level thinking. Longstreet was not the sole agent of modern change away from the Napoleonic method, but his contributions were significant and executed on a large scale. They demonstrated that he was a modern thinker unparalleled in the Confederate Army. Unfortunately, many Civil War students have a one-sided view of Longstreet, whose legacy fell victim to bitter postwar Southern politics when “Old Pete” supported Reconstruction bills, accepted postings with the Grant Administration, and criticized Robert E. Lee. Many modern writers continue to skew the general’s legacy. This book draws heavily upon 20th century U.S. Army doctrine, field training, staff planning, command, and combat experience and is the first serious treatment of Longstreet’s generalship vis-a-vis modern warfare. Not everyone will agree with Knudsen’s conclusions, but it will now be impossible to write about the general without referencing this important study.
This is the first book-length, critical analysis of Lieutenant General James Longstreet's actions at the Battle of Gettysburg. The author argues that Longstreet's record has been discredited unfairly, beginning with character assassination by his contemporaries after the war and, persistently, by historians in the decades since. By closely studying the three-day battle, and conducting an incisive historiographical inquiry into Longstreet's treatment by scholars, this book presents an alternative view of Longstreet as an effective military leader, and refutes over a century of negative evaluations of his performance.
General James Longstreet in the West by Judith Lee Hallock Pdf
It is September 1863. Gen. James Longstreet and his Corps ride the rails westward to join Gen. Braxton Bragg's Army of Tennessee in its efforts to halt the advance of the Union Army. Longstreet, a favorite of Gen. Robert E. Lee, fully expects to replace Bragg as commander of the Western Army. Despite assurances to Longstreet from prominent Confederates, President Davis does not remove Bragg to make way for Longstreet. Longstreet's keen disappointment and unsoldierly behavior lead to disaster for the Army itself. Upon separation from Bragg's Army he fails spectacularly at Knoxville, proving to all his inability to function in an independent command. An objective and realistic look at a Confederate commander by a respected historian.
A “compelling portrait” (Jon Meacham, Pulitzer Prize–winning author) of the controversial Confederate general who later embraced Reconstruction and became an outcast in the South. It was the most remarkable political about-face in American history. During the Civil War, General James Longstreet fought tenaciously for the Confederacy. He was alongside Lee at Gettysburg (and counseled him not to order the ill-fated attacks on entrenched Union forces there). He won a major Confederate victory at Chickamauga and was seriously wounded during a later battle. After the war, Longstreet moved to New Orleans, where he dramatically changed course. He supported Black voting and joined the newly elected, integrated postwar government in Louisiana. When white supremacists took up arms to oust that government, Longstreet, leading the interracial state militia, did battle against former Confederates. His defiance ignited a firestorm of controversy, as white Southerners branded him a race traitor and blamed him retroactively for the South’s defeat in the Civil War. Although he was one of the highest-ranking Confederate generals, Longstreet has never been commemorated with statues or other memorials in the South because of his postwar actions in rejecting the Lost Cause mythology and urging racial reconciliation. He is being discovered in the new age of racial reckoning as “one of the most enduringly relevant voices in American history” (The Wall Street Journal). This is the first authoritative biography in decades and the first that “brilliantly creates the wider context for Longstreet’s career” (The New York Times).
General James Longstreet at Antietam by James Longstreet Pdf
One of the most important Confederate generals of the Civil War was Lieutenant General James Longstreet, the man Robert E. Lee called his "old war horse." Longstreet was arguably the best corps commander the Confederates have, and he played crucial roles at Antietam, Second Bull Run, Chickamauga, the Wilderness, and Fredericksburg. However, Longstreet had a controversial role at Gettysburg, when he was unable to roll up the Union Army of the Potomac's flank on Day 2 and Pickett's Charge failed on Day 3. Though Longstreet tried to talk Lee out of the attacks, they went forward, and Longstreet criticized Lee about them afterward, making him reviled among other Confederates. In turn, they tried to blame him for the loss at Gettysburg. Just a few years before his death, Longstreet finally published his crucial memoirs, From Manassas to Appomattox, which talked about his experiences and analysis of the decisions made during the war. Longstreet wrote it to respond to his own critics and because Lee himself didn't write any. Regardless, they are one of the most important post-war writings of any general on either side of the Civil War.
General James Longstreet at Chickamauga by James Longstreet Pdf
One of the most important Confederate generals of the Civil War was Lieutenant General James Longstreet, the man Robert E. Lee called his "old war horse." Longstreet was arguably the best corps commander the Confederates have, and he played crucial roles at Antietam, Second Bull Run, Chickamauga, the Wilderness, and Fredericksburg. However, Longstreet had a controversial role at Gettysburg, when he was unable to roll up the Union Army of the Potomac's flank on Day 2 and Pickett's Charge failed on Day 3. Though Longstreet tried to talk Lee out of the attacks, they went forward, and Longstreet criticized Lee about them afterward, making him reviled among other Confederates. In turn, they tried to blame him for the loss at Gettysburg. Just a few years before his death, Longstreet finally published his crucial memoirs, From Manassas to Appomattox, which talked about his experiences and analysis of the decisions made during the war. Longstreet wrote it to respond to his own critics and because Lee himself didn't write any. Regardless, they are one of the most important post-war writings of any general on either side of the Civil War.
