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    LEE AND LONGSTREET
    AT HIGH TIDE


[Illustration:
  Yours Truly
  James Longstreet
  Lieutenant-General]




    LEE AND LONGSTREET

    AT HIGH TIDE

    GETTYSBURG IN THE LIGHT OF THE
    OFFICIAL RECORDS

    BY

    HELEN D. LONGSTREET


    PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR

    GAINESVILLE, GA.

    1904


    COPYRIGHT, 1904
    BY HELEN D. LONGSTREET

    Electrotyped and Printed by J. B. Lippincott Company, Philadelphia




    TO

    LONGSTREET AT GETTYSBURG

    FROM HER WHO SINCE CHILDHOOD HAS HELD
    HIS HEROIC DEEDS AS SOLDIER AND CITIZEN
    AMONG THE PRICELESS INHERITANCES OF THE
    GREAT REPUBLIC




PREFACE


This brief story of a gigantic event, and General Longstreet’s part
therein was arranged for publication in book form in the fall of 1903,
before his death, which occurred January 2, 1904. It is the carefully
sifted story of the records and contemporaneous witnesses, and for
clearness I have here and there introduced General Longstreet’s
personal version of some of the disputed points. But the reader will
perceive that at last it is the _story of the records_.

For my undertaking I drew liberally from General Longstreet’s memoirs
of the war, “Manassas to Appomattox;” from his stores of knowledge in
the military art, and his treasure-house of memories of the Titanic
encounter on the field of Gettysburg. The war-pictures included herein
are also from the above-mentioned volume. And I am gratefully indebted
to Captain Leslie J. Perry, formerly of the War Records Office,
Washington City, for valuable assistance.

An appendix, added since General Longstreet’s death, includes a small
selection from the thousands of tributes from every quarter of the
republic.

One of the last of the brilliant generals of the Civil War, whose valor
and skill in the command of great armies, is to-day the common glory
of the restored Union, has contributed an introduction. No survivor
of the great struggle has a better right to speak of Gettysburg than
General Daniel E. Sickles. In this connection the following letter is
appreciatively reproduced.

            “WASHINGTON, September 19, 1902.

    “GENERAL D. E. SICKLES,
      “Gettysburg, Pennsylvania:

  “MY DEAR GENERAL SICKLES,--My plan and desire was to meet you at
  Gettysburg on the interesting ceremony attending the unveiling
  of the Slocum monument; but to-day I find myself in no condition
  to keep the promise made you when last we were together. I am
  quite disabled from a severe hurt in one of my feet, so that I
  am unable to stand more than a minute or two at a time. Please
  express my sincere regrets to the noble Army of the Potomac, and
  accept them, especially, for yourself.

  “On that field you made your mark that will place you prominently
  before the world as one of the leading figures of the most
  important battle of the Civil War. As a Northern veteran once
  remarked to me, ‘General Sickles can well afford to leave a leg
  on that field.’

  “I believe it is now conceded that the advanced position at the
  Peach-Orchard, taken by your corps and under your orders saved
  that battle-field to the Union cause. It was the sorest and
  saddest reflection of my life for many years; but, to-day, I can
  say, with sincerest emotion, that it was and is the best that
  could have come to us all, North and South; and I hope that the
  nation, reunited, may always enjoy the honor and glory brought to
  it by the grand work.

  “Please offer my kindest salutations to your governor and your
  fellow-comrades of the Army of the Potomac.

            “Always yours sincerely,
          (Signed)   “JAMES LONGSTREET,
            “_Lieutenant-General Confederate Army_.”

Early in December advance chapters were given to the press for January
3; by strangely pathetic coincidence that being the date on which
public announcement was made of General Longstreet’s death.

This hour does not clamor for the charity of silence, but for the white
light of truth which I reverently undertake to throw upon the deeds of
the commander who, from Manassas to Appomattox, was the strong right
arm of the Confederate States Army.

I was writing for love of him whose dear name and fame had been
attacked; to place before his fading vision enduring appreciation of
his valiant deeds as a soldier and high qualities as a gentleman.
Providence decreed otherwise. While the opening chapters were running
into type, the Great Captain on High called him hence, where he can at
last have his wrongs on earth forever righted.

The warrior sleeps serenely to-day, undisturbed by all earthly
contentions, the peace of God upon him. And I bring to his tomb
this little leaf fragrant with my love, bedewed with my tears,
heavy-weighted with my woe and desolation.

            H. D. L.

GAINESVILLE, GEORGIA, August 1, 1904.




CONTENTS


  LEE AND LONGSTREET AT HIGH TIDE

                                                                PAGE
  INTRODUCTION                                                    17

      CHAPTER I
  THE STORY OF GETTYSBURG                                         31

      CHAPTER II
  LEE CHANGES PLAN OF CAMPAIGN                                    40

      CHAPTER III
  PICKETT’S CHARGE                                                50

      CHAPTER IV
  GORDON’S “ESTABLISHED FACTS” AND PENDLETON’S FULMINATIONS       53

      CHAPTER V
  LONGSTREET’S VERSION OF THE OPERATIONS OF JULY 2                68

      CHAPTER VI
  PENDLETON’S REPORT                                              71

      CHAPTER VII
  PENDLETON’S UNRELIABLE MEMORY                                   75

      CHAPTER VIII
  GENERAL LONGSTREET’S AMERICANISM                                85

      CHAPTER IX
  FINALE                                                          89


  LONGSTREET THE MAN

  HIS BOYHOOD DAYS                                                93
  LIFE-LONG FRIENDSHIP OF GRANT AND LONGSTREET                   100
  HIS FIRST ROMANCE                                              109
  HEROIC CITIZEN OF THE RECONSTRUCTION PERIOD                    112
  THE CHRISTIAN PATRIOT LOVED THE SOUTH TO THE LAST              115
  WORSHIPPED BY THE SOLDIERS OF THE CONFEDERACY                  119
  HIS COUNTRY HOME IN PICTURESQUE NORTH GEORGIA                  123


  LONGSTREET ON THE FIELDS OF MEXICO

      CHAPTER I
  THE WINNING OF OUR WESTERN EMPIRE                              127

      CHAPTER II
  PECULIARITIES OF SCOTT AND TAYLOR                              134

      CHAPTER III
  UNPRETENTIOUS LIEUTENANT GRANT                                 139

      CHAPTER IV
  PLEASANT INCIDENTS OF CAMP LIFE AT CORPUS CHRISTI              144

      CHAPTER V
  INTO THE INTERIOR OF MEXICO                                    149

      CHAPTER VI
  FROM CONTRERAS TO CHAPULTEPEC                                  156

      CHAPTER VII
  LONGSTREET’S HONEYMOON                                         159


  GREAT BATTLES BEFORE AND AFTER GETTYSBURG

  THE FIRST MANASSAS                                             163
  WILLIAMSBURG                                                   167
  FRAYSER’S FARM                                                 170
  MARCH AGAINST POPE AND THE SECOND MANASSAS                     173
  THE INVASION OF MARYLAND AND THE BATTLE OF ANTIETAM            180
  FREDERICKSBURG                                                 185
  CHICKAMAUGA                                                    191
  IN EAST TENNESSEE                                              194
  THE WILDERNESS                                                 205
  THE CURTAIN FALLS AT APPOMATTOX                                208


  APPENDIX

  LONGSTREET                                                     213
  JAMES LONGSTREET                                               214
  THE FUNERAL CEREMONIES                                         217
  TRIBUTES FROM THE PRESS                                        226
  RESOLUTIONS BY CAMPS AND CHAPTERS                              272
  LETTER OF PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT                                  330
  PERSONAL LETTERS                                               331
  LETTER OF ARCHBISHOP IRELAND                                   332
  LETTER OF GENERAL FREDERICK D. GRANT                           334
  TRIBUTE FROM THE GRAND ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC                    345




LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS


                                                                PAGE

  General James Longstreet in 1863 (from the painting in
    the Corcoran Art Gallery, Washington)             _Frontispiece_

  General Robert E. Lee                                           32

  Major-General D. E. Sickles                                     40

  Second Day’s Battle, Gettysburg                                 68

  Retreat from Gettysburg (Accident during the Night-Crossing
    of the Potomac on a Pontoon Bridge)                           78

  General Longstreet in 1901                                      90

  Defeat of the Federal Troops by Longstreet’s Corps, Second
    Manassas                                                     178

  Battle of Fredericksburg (from the Battery on Lee’s Hill)      190

  Battle of Chickamauga (Confederates flanking the Union
    Forces)                                                      192

  The Assault on Fort Sanders, Knoxville                         196

  The Wounding of General Longstreet at the Wilderness,
    May 6, 1864                                                  206

  General Alexander arranging the Last Line of Battle formed
    in the Army of Northern Virginia, at Appomattox              212

  Fac-simile of Letter from President Theodore Roosevelt         330

  Fac-simile of Letter from Archbishop John Ireland              332

  Fac-simile of Letter from General Frederick D. Grant           334




INTRODUCTION

BY MAJOR-GENERAL D. E. SICKLES, U.S.A.


I am glad to write an introduction to a memoir of Lieutenant-General
Longstreet.

If it be thought strange that I should write a preface to a memoir
of a conspicuous adversary, I reply that the Civil War is only a
memory, its asperities are forgotten, both armies were American, old
army friendships have been renewed and new army friendships have been
formed among the combatants, the truth of history is dear to all of
us, and the amenities of chivalrous manhood are cherished alike by the
North and the South, when justice to either is involved. Longstreet’s
splendid record as a soldier needs neither apologies nor eulogium. And
if I venture, further along in this introduction, to defend him from
unfair criticism, it is because my personal knowledge of the battle
of July 2, 1863, qualifies me to testify in his behalf. It was the
fortune of my corps to meet Longstreet on many great fields. It is now
my privilege to offer a tribute to his memory. As Colonel Damas says in
“The Lady of Lyons,” after his duel with Melnotte, “It’s astonishing
how much I like a man after I’ve fought with him.”

Often adversaries on the field of battle, we became good friends after
peace was restored. He supported President Grant and his successors in
their wise policy of restoration. Longstreet’s example was the rainbow
of reconciliation that foreshadowed real peace between the North and
South. He drew the fire of the irreconcilable South. His statesmanlike
forecast blazed the path of progress and prosperity for his people,
impoverished by war and discouraged by adversity. He was the first
of the illustrious Southern war leaders to accept the result of the
great conflict as final. He folded up forever the Confederate flag he
had followed with supreme devotion, and thenceforth saluted the Stars
and Stripes of the Union with unfaltering homage. He was the trusted
servant of the republic in peace, as he had been its relentless foe in
war. The friends of the Union became his friends, the enemies of the
Union his enemies.

I trust I may be pardoned for relating an incident that reveals the
sunny side of Longstreet’s genial nature. When I visited Georgia, in
March, 1892, I was touched by a call from the General, who came from
Gainesville to Atlanta to welcome me to his State. On St. Patrick’s
Day we supped together as guests of the Irish Societies of Atlanta,
at their banquet. We entered the hall arm in arm, about nine o’clock
in the evening, and were received by some three hundred gentlemen,
with the wildest and loudest “rebel yell” I had ever heard. When I
rose to respond to a toast in honor of the Empire State of the North,
Longstreet stood also and leaned with one arm on my shoulder, the
better to hear what I had to say, and this was a signal for another
outburst. I concluded my remarks by proposing,--

  “Health and long life to my old adversary, Lieutenant-General
  Longstreet,”

assuring the audience that, although the General did not often make
speeches, he would sing the “Star-Spangled Banner.” This was, indeed,
a risky promise, as I had never heard the General sing. I was greatly
relieved by his exclamation:

“Yes, I will sing it!”

And he did sing the song admirably, the company joining with much
enthusiasm.

As the hour was late, and we had enjoyed quite a number of potations of
hot Irish whiskey punch, we decided to go to our lodgings long before
the end of the revel, which appeared likely to last until daybreak.
When we descended to the street we were unable to find a carriage, but
Longstreet proposed to be my guide; and, although the streets were dark
and the walk a long one, we reached my hotel in fairly good form. Not
wishing to be outdone in courtesy, I said,--

“Longstreet, the streets of Atlanta are very dark and it is very late,
and you are somewhat deaf and rather infirm; now I must escort you to
your head-quarters.”

“All right,” said Longstreet; “come on and we’ll have another handshake
over the bloody chasm.”

When we arrived at his stopping-place and were about to separate, as I
supposed, he turned to me and said,--

“Sickles, the streets of Atlanta are very dark and you are lame, and
a stranger here, and do not know the way back to your hotel; I must
escort you home.”

“Come along, Longstreet,” was my answer.

On our way to the hotel, I said to him,--

“Old fellow, I hope you are sorry for shooting off my leg at
Gettysburg. I suppose I will have to forgive you for it some day.”

“Forgive me?” Longstreet exclaimed. “You ought to thank me for leaving
you one leg to stand on, after the mean way you behaved to me at
Gettysburg.”

How often we performed escort duty for each other on that eventful
night I have never been able to recall with precision; but I am quite
sure that I shall never forget St. Patrick’s Day in 1892, at Atlanta,
Georgia, when Longstreet and I enjoyed the good Irish whiskey punch at
the banquet of the Knights of St. Patrick.

Afterwards Longstreet and I met again, at Gettysburg, this time as the
guests of John Russell Young, who had invited a number of his literary
and journalistic friends to join us on the old battle-field. We rode in
the same carriage. When I assisted the General in climbing up the rocky
face of Round Top, he turned to me and said,--

“Sickles, you can well afford to help me up here now, for if you had
not kept me away so long from Round Top on the 2d of July, 1863,
the war would have lasted longer than it did, and might have had a
different ending.”

As he said this, his stern, leonine face softened with a smile as sweet
as a brother’s.

We met in March, 1901, at the reception given to President McKinley on
his second inauguration. In the midst of the great throng assembled on
that occasion Longstreet and I had quite a reception of our own. He
was accompanied on this occasion by Mrs. Longstreet. Every one admired
the blended courtliness and gallantry of the veteran hero towards the
ladies who were presented to him and his charming wife.

At the West Point Centennial Longstreet and I sat together on the
dais, near President Roosevelt, the Secretary of War, Mr. Root, and
the commander of the army, Lieutenant-General Miles. Here among his
fellow-graduates of the Military Academy, he received a great ovation
from the vast audience that filled Cullum Hall. Again and again he was
cheered, when he turned to me, exclaiming,--

“Sickles, what are they all cheering about?”

“They are cheering you, General,” was my reply.

Joy lighted up his countenance, the war was forgotten, and Longstreet
was at home once more at West Point.

Again we stood upon the same platform, in Washington, on May
30,--Memorial Day,--1902. Together we reviewed, with President
Roosevelt, the magnificent column of Union veterans that marched past
the President’s reviewing-stand. That evening Longstreet joined me in a
visit to a thousand or more soldiers of the Third Army Corps, assembled
in a tent near the White House. These veterans, with a multitude of
their comrades, had come to Washington to commemorate another Memorial
Day in the Capitol of the Nation. The welcome given him by this crowd
of old soldiers, who had fought him with all their might again and
again, on many battle-fields, could hardly have been more cordial if he
had found himself in the midst of an equal number of his own command.
His speech to the men was felicitous, and enthusiastically cheered. In
an eloquent peroration he said, “I hope to live long enough to see my
surviving comrades march side by side with the Union veterans along
Pennsylvania Avenue, and then I will die happy.” This was the last time
I met Longstreet.

Longstreet was unjustly blamed for not attacking earlier in the day,
on July 2, 1863, at Gettysburg. I can answer that criticism, as I know
more about the matter than the critics. If he had attacked in the
morning, as it is said he should have done, he would have encountered
Buford’s division of cavalry, five thousand sabres, on his flank, and
my corps would have been in his front, as it was in the afternoon.
In a word, all the troops that opposed Longstreet in the afternoon,
including the Fifth Army Corps and Caldwell’s division of the Second
Corps, would have been available on the left flank of the Union army in
the morning. Every regiment and every battery that fired a shot in the
afternoon was on the field in the morning, and would have resisted an
assault in the morning as stubbornly as in the afternoon. Moreover,
if the assault had been made in the morning, Law’s strong brigade of
Alabamians could not have assisted in the attack, as they did not
arrive on the field until noon. On the other hand, if Lee had waited
an hour later, I would have been on Cemetery Ridge, in compliance with
General Meade’s orders, and Longstreet could have marched, unresisted,
from Seminary Ridge to the foot of Round Top, and might, perhaps, have
unlimbered his guns on the summit.

General Meade’s telegram to Halleck, dated 3 P.M., July 2, does not
indicate that Lee was then about to attack him. At the time that
despatch was sent, a council of corps commanders was assembled at
General Meade’s head-quarters. It was broken up by the sound of
Longstreet’s artillery. The probability is that Longstreet’s attack
held the Union army at Gettysburg. If Longstreet had waited until a
later hour, the Union army might have been moving towards Pipe Creek,
the position chosen by General Meade on June 30.

The best proof that Lee was not dissatisfied with Longstreet’s
movements on July 2 is the fact that Longstreet was intrusted with
the command of the column of attack on July 3,--Lee’s last hope at
Gettysburg. Of the eleven brigades that assaulted the Union left
centre on July 3, only three of them--Pickett’s division--belonged
to Longstreet’s corps, the other eight brigades belonged to Hill’s
corps. If Longstreet had disappointed Lee on July 2, why would Lee,
on the next day, give Longstreet a command of supreme importance, of
which more than two-thirds of the troops were taken from another corps
commander?

Longstreet did not look for success on July 3. He told General Lee that
“the fifteen thousand men who could make a successful assault over that
field had never been arrayed for battle,” and yet the command was
given to Longstreet. Why? Because the confidence of Lee in Longstreet
was unshaken; because he regarded Longstreet as his most capable
lieutenant.

Longstreet was never censured for the failure of the assault on July
3, although General Lee intimates, in his official report, that it was
not made as early in the day as was expected. Why, then, is Longstreet
blamed by them for the failure on July 2, when no fault was found by
General Lee with Longstreet’s dispositions on that day? The failure
of both assaults must be attributed to insurmountable obstacles,
which no commander could have overcome with the force at Longstreet’s
disposal,--seventeen thousand men on July 2, and fifteen thousand men
on July 3, against thirty thousand adversaries!

In General Lee’s official report not a word appears about any delay in
Longstreet’s movements on July 2, although, referring to the assault of
July 3, General Lee says, “General Longstreet’s dispositions were not
completed as early as was expected.” If General Lee did not hesitate to
point out unlooked for delay on July 3, why was he silent about delay
on July 2? His silence about delay on July 2 implies that there was
none on July 2. _Expresio unius exclusio alterius._

General Lee says, in his report, referring to July 3,--

  “General Longstreet was delayed by a force occupying the high,
  rocky hills on the enemy’s extreme left, from which his troops
  could be attacked in reverse as they advanced. His operations
  had been embarrassed the day previous by the same cause, and he
  now deemed it necessary to defend his flank and rear with the
  divisions of Hood and McLaws.”

Another embarrassment prevented an earlier attack on July 2. It was
the plan of General Lee to surprise the left flank of the Union army.
General Lee ordered Captain Johnson, the engineer officer of his staff,
to conduct Longstreet’s column by a route concealed from the enemy.
But the formation and movements of the attacking column had been
discovered by my reconnoisance; this exposure put an end to any chance
of surprise. Other dispositions became necessary; fresh orders from
head-quarters were asked for; another line of advance had to be found,
less exposed to view. All this took time. These circumstances were,
of course, known to General Lee; hence he saw no reason to reproach
Longstreet for delay.

The situation on the left flank of the Union army was entirely changed
by my advance to the Emmitsburg road. Fitzhugh Lee says, “Lee was
deceived by it and gave orders to attack up the Emmitsburg road,
partially enveloping the enemy’s left; there was much behind Sickles.”
The obvious purpose of my advance was to hold Lee’s force in check
until General Meade could bring his reserves from his right flank,
at Rock Creek, to the Round Tops, on the left. Fortunately for me,
General Lee believed that my line from the Peach-Orchard north--about a
division front--was all Longstreet would have to deal with. Longstreet
soon discovered that my left rested beyond Devil’s Den, about twelve
hundred yards easterly from the Emmitsburg road, and at a right
angle to it. Of course, Longstreet could not push forward to Lee’s
objective,--the Emmitsburg road ridge,--leaving this force on his flank
and rear, to take him in reverse. An obstinate conflict followed, which
detained Longstreet until the Fifth Corps, which had been in reserve on
the Union right, moved to the left and got into position on the Round
Tops. Thus it happened that my salient at the Peach-Orchard, on the
Emmitsburg road, was not attacked until six o’clock, the troops on my
line, from the Emmitsburg road to the Devil’s Den, having held their
positions until that hour. The surprise Lee had planned was turned
upon himself. The same thing would have happened if Longstreet had
attacked in the morning; all the troops that resisted Longstreet in the
afternoon--say thirty thousand--would have opposed him in the forenoon.

The alignment of the Union forces on the left flank at 11 A.M., when
Lee gave his preliminary orders to Longstreet for the attack, was
altogether different from the dispositions made by me at 3 P.M.,
when the attack was begun. At eleven in the morning my command was
on Cemetery Ridge, to the left of Hancock. At two o’clock in the
afternoon, anticipating General Lee’s attack, I changed front,
deploying my left division (Birney’s) from Plum Run, near the base
of Little Round Top, to the Peach-Orchard, at the intersection of
Millerstown and Emmitsburg roads. My right division (Humphrey’s) was
moved forward to the Emmitsburg road, its left connecting with Birney
at the Orchard, and its right _en echelon_ with Hancock, parallel with
the Codori House.

Longstreet was ordered to conceal his column of attack, for which the
ground on Lee’s right afforded excellent opportunities. Lee’s plan was
a repetition of Jackson’s attack on the right flank of the Union army
at Chancellorsville. In the afternoon, however, in view of the advance
of my corps, General Lee was obliged to form a new plan of battle. As
he believed that both of my flanks rested on the Emmitsburg road, Lee
directed Longstreet to envelop my left at the Peach-Orchard, and press
the attack northward “up the Emmitsburg road.”

Colonel Fairfax, of Longstreet’s staff, says that Lee and
Longstreet were together at three o’clock, when the attack began.
Lieutenant-General Hill, commanding the First Corps of Lee’s army, says
in his report,--

  “The corps of General Longstreet (McLaws’s and Hood’s divisions)
  was on my right, and in a line very nearly at right angles to
  mine. General Longstreet was to attack the left flank of the
  enemy, and sweep down his line, and I was ordered to co-operate
  with him with such of my brigades from the right as could join
  in with his troops in the attack. On the extreme right, Hood
  commenced the attack about two o’clock, McLaws about 5.30
  o’clock.”

Longstreet was not long in discovering, by his artillery practice,
that my position at the Peach-Orchard was a salient, and that my left
flank really rested twelve hundred yards eastward, at Plum Run, in the
valley between Little Round Top and the Devil’s Den, concealed from
observation by woods; my line extended to the high ground along the
Emmitsburg road, from which Lee says, “It was thought our artillery
could be used to advantage in assailing the more elevated ground
beyond.”

General J. B. Hood’s story of his part in the battle of July 2, taken
from a communication addressed to General Longstreet, which appears
in Hood’s “Advance and Retreat,” pages 57-59, is a clear narrative of
the movements of Longstreet’s assaulting column. It emphasizes the
firm adherence of Longstreet to the orders of General Lee. Again and
again, as Hood plainly points out, Longstreet refused to listen to
Hood’s appeal for leave to turn Round Top and assail the Union rear,
always replying, “General Lee’s orders are to attack up the Emmitsburg
road.”[A]

These often repeated orders of General Lee to “attack up the Emmitsburg
road” could not have been given until near three in the afternoon of
July 2, because before that hour there was no Union line of battle on
the Emmitsburg road. There had been only a few of my pickets there in
the morning, thrown forward by the First Massachusetts Infantry. It
distinctly appears that Lee rejected Longstreet’s plan to turn the
Federal left on Cemetery Ridge. And Hood makes it plain enough that
Longstreet refused to listen to Hood’s appeal for permission to turn
Round Top, on the main Federal line, always replying, “No; General
Lee’s orders are to attack up the Emmitsburg road.” Of course, that
plan of battle was not formed until troops had been placed in positions
commanding that road. This, we have seen, was not done until towards
three in the afternoon.

The only order of battle announced by General Lee on July 2 of which
there is any record was to assail my position on the Emmitsburg
road, turn my left flank (which he erroneously supposed to rest on
the Peach-Orchard), and sweep the attack “up the Emmitsburg road.”
This was impossible until I occupied that road, and it was then that
Longstreet’s artillery began its practice on my advanced line.

I am unable to see how any just person can charge Longstreet with
deviation from the orders of General Lee on July 2. It is true enough
that Longstreet had advised different tactics; but he was a soldier,--a
West Pointer,--and once he had indicated his own views, he obeyed
the orders of the general commanding,--he did not even exercise the
discretion allowed to the chief of a _corps d’armée_, which permits
him to modify instructions when an unforeseen emergency imposes fresh
responsibilities, or when an unlooked-for opportunity offers tempting
advantages.

We have seen that many circumstances required General Lee to modify
his plans and orders on July 2 between daybreak, when his first
reconnoisance was made, and three o’clock in the afternoon, when my
advanced position was defined. We have seen that if a morning attack
had been made the column would have encountered Buford’s strong
division of cavalry on its flank, and that it would have been weakened
by the absence of Law’s brigade of Hood’s division. We have seen that
Longstreet, even in the afternoon, when Law had come up and Buford had
been sent to Westminster, was still too weak to contend against the
reinforcements sent against him. We have seen that Lee was present all
day on July 2, and that his own staff-officer led the column of attack.
We have seen that General Lee, in his official report, gives no hint of
dissatisfaction with Longstreet’s conduct of the battle of July 2, nor
does it appear that Longstreet was ever afterwards criticised by Lee.
On the contrary, Lee points out that the same danger to Longstreet’s
flank, which required the protection of two divisions on July 3,
existed on July 2, when his flank was unsupported. We have seen that
again and again, when Hood appealed to Longstreet for leave to swing
his column to the right and turn the Round Tops, Longstreet as often
refused, always saying, “No; General Lee’s orders are to attack up
the Emmitsburg road.” The conclusion is irrefutable, that whilst the
operations were directed with signal ability and sustained by heroic
courage, the failure of both assaults, that of July 2 and the other
of July 3, must be attributed to the lack of strength in the columns
of attack on both days, for which the commanding general alone was
responsible.

It was Longstreet’s good fortune to live until he saw his country hold
a high place among the great powers of the world. He saw the new South
advancing in prosperity, hand in hand with the North, East, and West.
He saw his people in the ranks of our army, in Cuba, Porto Rico, the
Philippines, China, and Panama; he saw the Union stars and the blue
uniform worn by Fitzhugh Lee, and Butler, and Wheeler. He witnessed the
fulfilment of his prediction,--that the hearty reunion of the North
and South would advance the welfare of both. He lived long enough to
rejoice with all of us in a reunited nation, and to know that his name
was honored wherever the old flag was unfurled. His fame as a soldier
belongs to all Americans.

Farewell, Longstreet! I shall follow you very soon. May we meet in the
happy realm where strife is unknown and friendship is eternal!




LEE AND LONGSTREET AT HIGH TIDE




CHAPTER I

THE STORY OF GETTYSBURG

  Back of the day that opened so auspiciously for the Confederate
  cause at the first Manassas, and of the four years that followed,
  lies Longstreet’s record of a quarter of a century in the Union
  army, completing one of the most lustrous pages in the world’s
  war history. That page cannot be dimmed or darkened; it rests
  secure in its own white splendor, above the touch of detractors.


The detractors of General Longstreet’s military integrity assert that,
being opposed to fighting an offensive battle at Gettysburg, he was
“balky and stubborn” in executing Lee’s orders; that he disobeyed the
commanding general’s orders to attack at sunrise on the morning of July
2; that, again ordered to attack with half the army on the morning
of July 3, his culpably slow attack with only Pickett’s division,
supported by some of Hill’s troops, caused the fatal Confederate defeat
in that encounter.

General Gordon has seen fit, in a recent publication, to revive this
cruel aspersion.

When General Longstreet surrendered his sword at Appomattox his war
record was made up. It stands unassailable--needing no defenders. Back
of the day that opened so auspiciously for the Confederate cause at
the first Manassas, and of the four years that followed, lies the
record of a quarter of a century in the Union army.

In those times General Longstreet, at Cerro Gordo, Molino del Rey,
and Chapultepec, was aiding to win the great empire of the West; in
subsequent hard Indian campaigns lighting the fagots of a splendid
western civilization, adding new glory to American arms and, in the
struggles of a nation that fell, a new star of the first magnitude to
the galaxy of American valor, completing one of the most lustrous pages
in the world’s war history. That page cannot be dimmed or darkened; it
rests secure in its own white splendor, above the touch of detractors.

General Longstreet has of late years deemed it unnecessary to make
defence of his military integrity, save such as may be found in his
memoirs, “Manassas to Appomattox,” published nearly ten years since. He
has held that his deeds stand on the impartial pages of the nation’s
records--their own defender.

The cold historian of our Civil War of a hundred years hence will
not go for truth to the picturesque reminiscences of General John B.
Gordon, nor to the pyrotechnics of General Fitzhugh Lee, nor yet to
the somewhat hysterical ravings of Rev. Mr. Pendleton and scores of
other modern essayists who have sought to fix the failure of Gettysburg
upon General Longstreet. The coming chronicler will cast aside the
rubbish of passion and hate that followed the war, and have recourse
to the nation’s official war records, and in the cool, calm lights of
the letters and reports of the participants, written at the time, will
place the blunder of Gettysburg where it belongs. Longstreet’s fame has
nothing to fear in that hour.

[Illustration: R. E. Lee]

But for the benefit of the present--of the young, the busy, who
have neither time nor inclination to study the records, and for that
sentiment that is increasingly shaped by the public press,--for these
and other reasons it appears fitting that in this hour historical truth
should have a spokesman on the Gettysburg contentions. In the absence
of one more able to speak, this little story of the truth is written.
The writer belongs to a generation that has come up since the gloom
of Appomattox closed the drama of the great “Lost Cause” of American
history--a generation that seeks the truth, unwarped and undistorted by
passion, and can face the truth.

In the prosecution of my researches for the origin of the extraordinary
calumnies aimed at General Longstreet’s honor as a soldier, two most
significant facts have continually pressed upon my attention.

First, not one word appears to have been published openly accusing him
of disobedience at Gettysburg until the man who could forever have
silenced all criticism was in his grave--until the knightly soul of
Robert Edward Lee had passed into eternity.

Second, General Longstreet’s operations on the field of Gettysburg
were above the suspicion of reproach until he came under the political
ban in the South, for meeting in the proper spirit, as he saw it, the
requirements of good citizenship in the observance of his Appomattox
parole, and, after the removal of his political disabilities, for
having accepted office at the hands of a Republican President who
happened to be his old West Point comrade,--Grant.

Then the storm broke. He was heralded as traitor, deserter of his
people, deserter of Democracy, etc. In the fury of this onslaught
originated the cruel slander that he had disobeyed Lee’s most vital
orders, causing the loss of the Gettysburg battle and the ultimate fall
of the Confederate cause. Most singularly, this strange discovery was
not made until some years after the battle and General Lee’s death.
Thereafter for two decades the South was sedulously taught to believe
that the Federal victory was wholly the fortuitous outcome of the
culpable disobedience of General Longstreet.

The sectional complaint that he deserted “Democracy” is about as
relevant and truthful as the assertion that he lost Gettysburg. He was
a West Pointer, a professional soldier. He had never cast a ballot
before the Civil War; he had no politics. Its passions and prejudices
had no dwelling-place in his mind. The war was over, and he quietly
accepted the result, fraternizing with all Americans. It was no great
crime.

But the peculiar circumstances favored an opportunity to make
Longstreet the long-desired scape-goat for Gettysburg. There was
an ulterior and deeper purpose, however, than merely besmirching
his military record. Short-sighted partisans seemingly argued that
the disparagement of Longstreet was necessary to save the military
reputation of Lee. But Lee’s great fame needed no such sacrifice.

The outrageous charges against Longstreet have been wholly disproved.
Much of the partisan rancor that once pursued him has died out. Many of
the more intelligent Southerners have been long convinced that he was
the victim of a great wrong.

It was unworthy of Major-General John B. Gordon, once of the army
of Northern Virginia, to revive this dead controversy. He simply
reiterates the old charges in full, produces no evidence in their
support, and gratuitously endorses a false and cruel verdict. His
contribution is of no historical value. It carries inherent evidence
that General Gordon made no critical examination of the documentary
history of Gettysburg. He assumes to render a verdict on the say-so of
others.

Gordon’s unsupported assertions would require no attention but for one
fact. Both South and North there is a widespread impression that Gordon
was a conspicuous figure at Gettysburg. This is erroneous. He was
merely a brigade commander there, stationed five miles from Longstreet.
It is not certain that he personally saw either Lee or Longstreet while
the army was in Pennsylvania.

In his official report Gordon uses this language regarding the
operations of his own small command at Gettysburg when the heaviest
fighting was going on, finely showing the scope of his opportunities
for observation:

  “The movements during the succeeding days of the battle, July 2
  and 3, I do not consider of sufficient importance to mention.”

It is but just to Gordon, however, to say that in his subordinate
capacity at the head of one of the thirty-seven brigades of infantry
comprising Lee’s army, he performed excellent service on the first
day’s battle. But in estimating his value as a personal witness,
the foregoing undisputed facts must be taken into consideration.
His testimony is obviously of the hearsay kind. In fact, as will be
observed from his own admission, it is no more than his own personal
conclusions, wholly deduced from the assertions of others, based on an
assumed state of facts which did not exist.

In his recent publication, “Reminiscences of the Civil War,” Gordon
says,--

  “It now seems certain that impartial military critics, after
  thorough investigation, will consider the following facts
  established:

  “First, that General Lee distinctly ordered Longstreet to attack
  early on the morning of the second day, and if Longstreet had
  done so two of the largest corps of Meade’s army would not have
  been in the fight; but Longstreet delayed the fight until four
  o’clock in the afternoon, and thus lost his opportunity of
  occupying Little Round Top, the key of the position, which he
  might have done in the morning without firing a shot or losing a
  man.”

It is competent to point out that Longstreet’s orders from General
Lee were “to move around to gain the Emmitsburg road, on the enemy’s
left.” In short, he was “to attack up the Emmitsburg road,” as all the
authorities agree. He therefore could not well “occupy” Little Round
Top up the Emmitsburg road, because it was but a fraction less than a
mile to the east of that road. It is as clear as noonday that Lee had
no thought at first, if ever, that Little Round Top was the “key to the
position.” Lee merely contemplated driving the enemy from some high
ground on the Emmitsburg road from which the “more elevated ground” of
Cemetery Hill in its rear, more than a mile to the northward of Little
Round Top, could be subsequently assailed.

Lee’s luminous report of the battle, dated July 31, 1863, only four
weeks after, has escaped Gordon’s notice, or has been conveniently
ignored by him. It is found at page 305 _et seq._, of Part II., Vol.
XXVII., of the printed War Records, easily accessible to everybody. At
page 308, Lee’s report:

  “... In front of General Longstreet the enemy held a position
  from which, if he could be driven, it was thought our artillery
  could be used to advantage in assailing the more elevated ground
  beyond, and thus enable us to reach the crest of the ridge. That
  officer was directed to carry this position.... After a severe
  struggle, Longstreet succeeded in getting possession of and
  holding the desired ground.... The battle ceased at dark.”

The “desired ground” captured was that held by Sickles’s Federal Third
Corps,--the celebrated peach-orchard, wheat-field, and adjacent
high ground, from which Cemetery Hill was next day assailed by the
Confederate artillery as a prelude to Pickett’s infantry assault.

It was the “crest of the ridge,” not the Round Top, that Lee wished
to assail. His eye from the first appears to have been steadily fixed
upon the Federal centre. That is why he ordered the “attack up the
Emmitsburg road.”

Longstreet’s official report is very explicit on this point. It was
written July 27, 1863. On page 358 of the same book he says,--

  “I received instructions from the commanding general to move,
  with the portion of my command that was up, around to gain the
  Emmitsburg road, on the enemy’s left.”

Lieutenant-General R. H. Anderson, then of Hill’s corps, also makes
this definite statement:

  “Shortly after the line had been formed, I received notice that
  Lieutenant-General Longstreet would occupy the ground on my
  right, and that his line would be in a direction nearly at right
  angles with mine, and that he would assault the extreme left of
  the enemy and drive him towards Gettysburg.”

Just here it is pertinent to say that General Longstreet had the
afternoon previous, and again that morning, suggested to General Lee
the more promising plan of a movement by the Confederate right to
interpose between the Federals and their capital, and thus compel
General Meade to give battle at a disadvantage. On this point General
Longstreet uses the following language in a newspaper publication[B]
more than a quarter of a century ago:

  “When I overtook General Lee at five o’clock that afternoon [July
  1], he said, to my surprise, that he thought of attacking General
  Meade upon the heights the next day. I suggested that this course
  seemed to be at variance with the plan of the campaign that had
  been agreed upon before leaving Fredericksburg. He said, ‘If the
  enemy is there to-morrow, we must attack him.’ I replied: ‘If he
  is there, it will be because he is anxious that we should attack
  him--a good reason in my judgment for not doing so.’ I urged
  that we should move around by our right to the left of Meade and
  put our army between him and Washington, threatening his left
  and rear, and thus force him to attack us in such position as
  we might select.... I called his attention to the fact that the
  country was admirably adapted for a defensive battle, and that we
  should surely repulse Meade with crushing loss if we would take
  position so as to force him to attack us, and suggested that even
  if we carried the heights in front of us, and drove Meade out, we
  should be so badly crippled that we could not reap the fruits of
  victory; and that the heights of Gettysburg were in themselves
  of no more importance to us than the ground we then occupied,
  and that the mere possession of the ground was not worth a
  hundred men to us. That Meade’s army, not its position, was
  our objective. General Lee was impressed with the idea that by
  attacking the Federals he could whip them in detail. I reminded
  him that if the Federals were there in the morning it would be
  proof that they had their forces well in hand, and that with
  Pickett in Chambersburg, and Stuart out of reach, we should be
  somewhat in detail. He, however, did not seem to abandon the idea
  of attack on the next day. He seemed under a subdued excitement
  which occasionally took possession of him when ‘the hunt was up,’
  and threatened his superb equipoise.... When I left General Lee
  on the night of the 1st, I believed that he had made up his mind
  to attack, but was confident that he had not yet determined as to
  when the attack should be made.”

But General Lee persisted in the direct attack “up the Emmitsburg
road.” Hood, deployed on Longstreet’s extreme right, at once perceived
that the true direction was by flank against the southern slopes of
Big Round Top. He delayed the advance to advise of the discovery he
had made. Soon the positive order came back: “General Lee’s orders are
to attack up the Emmitsburg road.” He still hesitated and repeated
the suggestion. Again it was reiterated: “General Lee’s orders are to
attack up the Emmitsburg road.” Then the troops moved to the attack.
There was no alternative. Lee’s orders were imperative, and made after
he had personally examined the enemy’s position. Longstreet was ordered
to attack a specific position “up the Emmitsburg road,” which was _not_
Little Round Top, as assumed by Gordon. This point is particularly
elaborated because in it lies the “milk in the cocoanut” of the
charges against Longstreet. Without consulting the records Gordon
has merely followed the lead of some of General Lee’s biographers,
notably Fitzhugh Lee, who asserts that his illustrious uncle “expected
Longstreet to seize Little Round Top on the 2d of July.” The records
clearly show that nothing was farther from General Lee’s thoughts.

After the war it was discovered that a very early attack on Little
Round Top would perhaps have found it undefended, hence the afterthought
that General Longstreet was ordered to attack at sunrise. But whatever
the hour Longstreet was ordered to attack, it was most certainly not
Little Round Top that was made his objective.




CHAPTER II

LEE CHANGES PLAN OF CAMPAIGN

  “General, I have been a soldier all my life. I have been with
  soldiers engaged in fights by couples, by squads, companies,
  regiments, divisions, and armies, and should know as well as
  any one what soldiers can do. It is my opinion that no fifteen
  thousand men ever arrayed for battle can take that position,”
  pointing to Cemetery Hill.--LONGSTREET to LEE.


General Longstreet’s personal account of this magnificent battle “up
the Emmitsburg road” will not be out of place here. In the newspaper
article previously quoted from he very graphically describes the
advance of the two divisions of McLaws and Hood, for when he went into
battle it must be understood that even yet one of his divisions, that
of Pickett, was still absent. He states his total force at thirteen
thousand men. An account of this clash of arms must send a thrill of
pride through every Southern heart:

  “At half-past three o’clock the order was given General Hood to
  advance upon the enemy, and, hurrying to the head of McLaws’s
  division, I moved with his line. Then was fairly commenced what I
  do not hesitate to pronounce the best three hours’ fighting ever
  done by any troops on any battle-field. Directly in front of us,
  occupying the peach-orchard, on a piece of elevated ground that
  General Lee desired me to take and hold for his artillery, was
  the Third Corps of the Federals, commanded by General Sickles.

  [Illustration: MAJOR-GENERAL D. E. SICKLES]

  “Prompt to the order the combat opened, followed by artillery of
  the other corps, and our artillerists measured up to the better
  metal of the enemy by vigilant work....

  “In his usual gallant style Hood led his troops through the
  rocky fastnesses against the strong lines of his earnest
  adversary, and encountered battle that called for all of his
  power and skill. The enemy was tenacious of his strong ground;
  his skilfully handled batteries swept through the passes between
  the rocks; the more deadly fire of infantry concentrated as our
  men bore upon the angle of the enemy’s line and stemmed the
  fiercest onset until it became necessary to shorten their work
  by a desperate charge. This pressing struggle and the cross-fire
  of our batteries broke in the salient angle, but the thickening
  fire, as the angle was pressed back, hurt Hood’s left and held
  him in steady fight. His right brigade was drawn towards Round
  Top by the heavy fire pouring from that quarter, Benning’s
  brigade was pressed to the thickening line at the angle, and G.
  T. Anderson’s was put in support of the battle growing against
  Hood’s right.

  “I rode to McLaws, found him ready for his opportunity, and
  Barksdale chafing in his wait for the order to seize the battery
  in his front. Kershaw’s brigade of his right first advanced and
  struck near the angle of the enemy’s line where his forces were
  gathering strength. After additional caution to hold his ranks
  closed, McLaws ordered Barksdale in. With glorious bearing he
  sprang to his work, overriding obstacles and dangers. Without
  a pause to deliver a shot, he had the battery. Kershaw, joined
  by Semmes’s brigade, responded, and Hood’s men, feeling the
  impulsion of relief, resumed their bold fight, and presently the
  enemy’s line was broken through its length. But his well-seasoned
  troops knew how to utilize the advantage of their ground and put
  back their dreadful fires from rocks, depressions, and stone
  fences, as they went for shelter about Little Round Top.... The
  fighting had become tremendous, and brave men and officers were
  stricken by hundreds. Posey and Wilcox dislodged the forces about
  the Brick House.

  “General Sickles was desperately wounded!

  “General Willard was dead!

  “General Semmes, of McLaws’s division, was mortally wounded!...

  “I had one brigade--Wofford’s--that had not been engaged in the
  hottest battle. To urge the troops to their reserve power in the
  precious moments, I rode with Wofford. The rugged field, the
  rough plunge of artillery fire, and the piercing musket-shots
  delayed somewhat the march, but Alexander dashed up with his
  batteries and gave new spirit to the worn infantry ranks....
  While Meade’s lines were growing my men were dropping; we had
  no others to call to their aid, and the weight against us was
  too heavy to carry.... Nothing was heard or felt but the clear
  ring of the enemy’s fresh metal as he came against us. No other
  part of the army had engaged! My seventeen thousand against the
  Army of the Potomac! The sun was down, and with it went down the
  severe battle.”

Surely these are not the utterances of one who had been slow, balky,
and obstructive on that field. The ring of these sentences tells no
tale of apathy or backwardness because his advice to pursue a different
line of operations had been ignored by Lee.

General Gordon, continuing, very complacently assumes that “two of the
largest corps of Meade’s army would not have been in the fight” of the
2d had Longstreet attacked early in the morning. He refers to the Union
Fifth and Sixth Corps. That statement is correct only as regards the
Sixth Corps, which, it is true, did not arrive on the field until late
in the afternoon. But it took only a slight part at dark on the 2d,
when the battle was over. Indeed, as it was so slightly engaged, the
hour of its arrival at Gettysburg is unimportant. The losses of the
different corps conclusively show what part the Sixth, which was the
largest in the army, took in the battle of the 2d of July; as given in
the Rebellion Records:

Killed and wounded: First Corps, 3980; Second Corps, 3991; Third Corps,
3662; Fifth Corps, 1976; Sixth Corps, 212; Eleventh Corps, 2353;
Twelfth Corps, 1016.

Its non-participation strongly militates against the spirit of
Gordon’s argument, in that Meade entirely frustrated Lee’s plans and
defeated the Confederate army, scarcely using the Sixth Corps, some
fifteen thousand men, at all. This is a significant commentary on the
anti-Longstreet assumption of how easy it was to win at Gettysburg if
only Longstreet had obeyed orders!

At sunrise on the 2d, the hour at which Longstreet’s critics would have
had this attack delivered, the Federal Fifth Corps was as near the
battle-ground of that day as Longstreet’s troops. Longstreet’s troops
were bivouacked the night previous at Marsh Creek, four miles west of
Gettysburg. They began to arrive near Lee’s head-quarters on Seminary
Ridge not earlier than 7 A.M. of the 2d, and the last of the column
did not get in until near noon. Then they were still five miles by the
route pursued from the chosen point of attack.

The Union Fifth Corps was bivouacked five miles east of Gettysburg
about the same hour on the 1st that Longstreet’s tired infantry reached
Marsh Creek. At four o’clock A.M. of the 2d they marched on Gettysburg,
arriving about the same hour that Longstreet’s troops were being massed
near Lee’s head-quarters, and were thereupon posted upon the extreme
Federal right.

Upon the first manifestation of Confederate movements on the right and
left, we know that the Fifth Corps was immediately drawn in closer,
and about nine o’clock massed at the bridge over Rock Creek on the
Baltimore pike, ready for developments. Meade thought Lee intended
to attack his right. That Lee contemplated it is quite certain.
Colonel Venable, of his staff, was sent about sunrise to consult with
Lieutenant-General Ewell upon the feasibility of a general attack from
his front. Lee wanted Ewell’s views as to the advisability of moving
all the available troops around to that front for such a purpose.
Venable and Ewell rode from point to point to determine if this should
be done. Finally, Venable says, Lee himself came to Ewell’s lines, and
eventually the design for an attack on the Union right was abandoned.

Where the Fifth Corps was finally massed, it was only one and a half
miles in the rear of General Sickles’s position. Moreover, it had
an almost direct road to that point. This facility for reinforcing
incidentally illustrates the advantages of the Union position. At
the same hour General Longstreet’s troops were still massed near the
Chambersburg pike, three miles on a straight line from the point of
attack. That is to say, Longstreet had twice as far to march on an
air-line to strike Sickles “up the Emmitsburg road” as Sykes had to
reinforce the threatened point. But, in fact, Sykes’s advantage was
far greater in point of time, because, by order of Lee, Longstreet was
compelled to move by back roads and lanes, out of sight of the enemy’s
signal officers on Round Top. His troops actually marched six or seven
miles to reach the point of deployment.

Longstreet eventually attacked about 4 P.M., and the Fifth Corps was
used very effectively against him. But no historian who esteems the
truth, with the undisputed records before him, will deny that it
could and would have been used just as effectively at seven or eight
o’clock in the morning. The moment Longstreet’s movement was detected
it was immediately hurried over to the left and occupied Round Top. If
Longstreet had moved earlier, the Fifth Corps also would have moved
earlier. It could have been on Sickles’s left and rear as early as
seven o’clock A.M., had it been necessary. If Ewell and not Longstreet
had delivered the general attack it would have been found in his front.

It is mathematically correct to say that the troops which met
Longstreet on the afternoon of the 2d could have been brought against
him in the morning. The reports of General Meade, General Sykes, the
commander of the Fifth Corps of Sykes’s brigade, and regimental
commanders, and various other documentary history bearing on the
subject, are convincing upon this point.

General Sickles’s advance was made in consequence of the Confederate
threatening, and would have been sooner or later according as that
threatening was made. The critics ignore this fact.

General Longstreet says on this point:

  “General Meade was with General Sickles discussing the
  feasibility of moving the Third Corps back to the line originally
  assigned for it; the discussion was cut short by the opening of
  the Confederate battle. If that opening had been delayed thirty
  or forty minutes, Sickles’s corps would have been drawn back to
  the general line, and my first deployment would have enveloped
  Little Round Top and carried it before it could have been
  strongly manned. The point should have been that the battle was
  opened too soon.”

So much for one part of Gordon’s assumption, based upon other
assumptions founded upon an erroneous presumption, that if Longstreet
had taken wings and flown on an air-line from his bivouac at Marsh
Creek to the Federal left and attacked at sunrise he would have found
no enemy near the Round Tops.

In another equally unwarranted assumption of what the “impartial”
military critic will consider an “established fact,” Gordon declares:

  “Secondly, that General Lee ordered Longstreet to attack at
  daylight on the morning of the third day, and that the latter
  did not attack until two or three o’clock in the afternoon, the
  artillery opening at one.”

Lee himself mentions no such order. In his final report, penned six
months afterwards, he merely mentions that the “general plan was
unchanged,” and Longstreet, reinforced, ordered to attack “next
morning,” no definite hour being fixed. It is significant, however,
that in his letter to Jefferson Davis from the field, dated July 4, Lee
uses this language:

  “Next day (July 3), the third division of General Longstreet’s
  corps having come up, a more extensive attack was made,” etc.

The “third division” was Pickett’s, which did not arrive from
Chambersburg until 9 A.M. of the 3d. In the same report, Lee himself
states that “Pickett, with three of his brigades, joined Longstreet the
following morning.” There is no dispute, however, about the hour of
Pickett’s arrival.

So that, as Pickett was selected by Lee to lead the charge, and as Lee
knew exactly where Pickett was, it is morally impossible that it was
fixed for daylight, five hours before Pickett’s troops were up.

In one place Lee remarks in his report: “The morning was occupied in
_necessary_ preparations, and the battle recommenced in the afternoon
of the 3d.” Time was not an essential element in the problem of the
3d. The Federal army was then all up, whereas Pickett’s Confederate
division was still absent. The delay of a few hours was therefore a
distinct gain for the Confederates, and not prejudicial, as Gordon
would have the world believe.

But Longstreet’s official report is decisive of the whole question. He
says,--

  “On the following morning (that is, after the fight of the 2d)
  our arrangements were made for renewing the attack by my right,
  with a view to pass round the hill occupied by the enemy’s left,
  and gain it by flank and reverse attack. A few moments after my
  orders for the execution of this plan were given, the commanding
  general joined me, and ordered a column of attack to be formed of
  Pickett’s, Heth’s, and part of Pender’s divisions, the assault to
  be made directly at the enemy’s main position, the Cemetery Hill.”

Clearly this shows that Longstreet had no orders for the morning of
July 3. As Longstreet’s report passed through Lee’s hands, the superior
would most certainly have returned it to the subordinate for correction
if there were errors in it. This he did not do, neither did Lee indorse
upon the document itself any dissent from its tenor.

As Pickett did not come up until 9 A.M., and as General Lee says “the
morning was occupied in _necessary_ preparations,” it was logistically
and morally impossible to make an attack at daylight, and General
Longstreet states that it could not have been delivered sooner than it
was.

Finally, Longstreet emphatically denies that Lee ordered him to attack
at daylight on the 3d. He says that he had no orders of any kind on
that morning until Lee personally came over to his front and ordered
the Pickett charge. No early attack was possible under the conditions
imposed by Lee to use Pickett’s, Pettigrew’s, and Pender’s troops,
widely separated.

But without any orders from Lee, as is quite apparent, Longstreet
had already given orders for a flank attack by the southern face of
Big Round Top, as an alternative to directly attacking again the
impregnable heights from which he had been repulsed the night before.
That would have been “simple madness,” to quote the language of the
Confederate General Law. But such an act of “simple madness” was the
only daylight attack possible from Longstreet’s front on the morning
of the 3d. Lee substituted for the feasible early attack projected by
Longstreet the Pickett movement straight on Cemetery Heights which it
required hours of preparation to fulminate, and which proved the most
disastrous and destructive in Confederate annals. It was, in fact, the
death-knell of the Southern republic.

In his published memoirs,[C] page 385, General Longstreet makes this
concise statement in regard to Lee’s alleged orders for the early
morning operations on the 3d: “He [General Lee] did not give or send
me orders for the morning of the third day, nor did he reinforce me by
Pickett’s brigades for morning attack. As his head-quarters were about
four miles from the command, I did not ride over, but sent, to report
the work of the second day. In the absence of orders, I had scouting
parties out during the night in search of a way by which we might
strike the enemy’s left and push it down towards his centre. I found
a way that gave some promise of results, and was about to move the
command when he [Lee] rode over after sunrise and gave his orders.”

But in his paper of 1877, on Gettysburg, herein-before freely quoted
from, General Longstreet goes more into detail with relation to Lee’s
plans and orders for the morning of the 3d, and more fully discloses
the genesis of the Pickett charge. In this account his own opposition
to a renewal of the attack on Cemetery Hill is developed and the
obvious reasons therefor. As he is confirmed in nearly every particular
by participants and by the records, his account is here reprinted:

  “On the next morning he came to see me, and, fearing that he was
  still in his disposition to attack, I tried to anticipate him by
  saying, ‘General, I have had my scouts out all night, and I find
  that you still have an excellent opportunity to move around to
  the right of Meade’s army and manœuvre him into attacking us.’ He
  replied, pointing with his fist at Cemetery Hill, ‘The enemy is
  there, and I am going to strike him.’ I felt then that it was my
  duty to express my convictions. I said, ‘General, I have been a
  soldier all my life. I have been with soldiers engaged in fights
  by couples, by squads, companies, regiments, divisions, and
  armies, and should know as well as any one what soldiers can do.
  It is my opinion that no fifteen thousand men ever arrayed for
  battle can take that position,’ pointing to Cemetery Hill.

  “General Lee, in reply to this, ordered me to prepare Pickett’s
  division for the attack. I should not have been so urgent had I
  not foreseen the hopelessness of the proposed assault. I felt
  that I must say a word against the sacrifice of my men; and
  then I felt that my record was such that General Lee would or
  could not misconstrue my motives. I said no more, however, but
  turned away. The most of the morning was consumed in waiting for
  Pickett’s men and getting into position.”

To make the attitude of the superior and his subordinate more clear in
relation to the proposed desperate throw of General Lee for victory,
and to further explain the foregoing protest of General Longstreet,
quotations from a second paper of the series printed in 1877 are here
given, in which he says,--

  “In my first article I declared that the invasion of Pennsylvania
  was a movement that General Lee and his council agreed should
  be defensive in tactics, while of course it was offensive in
  strategy; that the campaign was conducted on this plan until
  we had left Chambersburg, when, owing to the absence of our
  cavalry and our consequent ignorance of the enemy’s whereabouts,
  we collided with them unexpectedly, and that General Lee had
  lost the matchless equipoise that usually characterized him,
  and through excitement and the doubt that enveloped the enemy’s
  movements, changed the whole plan of the campaign and delivered a
  battle under ominous circumstances.”




CHAPTER III

PICKETT’S CHARGE

  “Pickett swept past our artillery in splendid style, and the men
  marched steadily and compactly down the slope. As they started
  up the ridge over one hundred cannon from the breastworks of the
  Federals hurled a rain of canister, grape, and shell down upon
  them; still they pressed on until half-way up the slope, when
  the crest of the hill was lit with a solid sheet of flame as the
  masses of infantry rose and fired. When the smoke cleared away
  Pickett’s division was gone. Nearly two-thirds of his men lay
  dead on the field.”--LONGSTREET ON PICKETT’S CHARGE.


General Longstreet’s description of the Pickett charge itself also
throws much light on these old controversies. It is confirmed in all
essential particulars by General Alexander and others who have written
on the subject since the war, and also by the reports:

  “The plan of assault was as follows: Our artillery was to be
  massed in a wood from which Pickett was to charge, and it was to
  pour a continuous fire upon the cemetery. Under cover of this
  fire, and supported by it, Pickett was to charge. General E. P.
  Alexander, a brave and gifted officer, being at the head of the
  column, and being first in position, and being besides an officer
  of unusual promptness, sagacity, and intelligence, was given
  charge of the artillery. The arrangements were completed about
  one o’clock. General Alexander had arranged that a battery of
  seven 11-pound howitzers, with fresh horses and full caissons,
  were to charge with Pickett, at the head of his line, but General
  Pendleton, from whom the guns had been borrowed, recalled them
  just before the charge was made, and thus deranged this wise plan.

  “Never was I so depressed as upon that day. I felt that my men
  were to be sacrificed, and that I should have to order them to
  make a hopeless charge. I had instructed General Alexander,
  being unwilling to trust myself with the entire responsibility,
  to carefully observe the effect of the fire upon the enemy, and
  when it began to tell to notify Pickett to begin the assault. I
  was so much impressed with the hopelessness of the charge that I
  wrote the following note to General Alexander:

    “‘If the artillery fire does not have the effect to drive off
    the enemy or greatly demoralize him, so as to make our efforts
    pretty certain, I would prefer that you should not advise General
    Pickett to make the charge. I shall rely a great deal on your
    judgment to determine the matter, and shall expect you to let
    Pickett know when the moment offers.’

  “To my note the general replied as follows:

    “‘I will only be able to judge the effect of our fire upon the
    enemy by his return fire, for his infantry is but little exposed
    to view, and the smoke will obscure the whole field. If, as I
    infer from your note, there is an alternative to this attack, it
    should be carefully considered before opening our fire, for it
    will take all of the artillery ammunition we have left to test
    this one thoroughly, and if the result is unfavorable, we will
    have none left for another effort, and even if this is entirely
    successful it can only be so at a very bloody cost.’

  “I still desired to save my men, and felt that if the artillery
  did not produce the desired effect I would be justified in
  holding Pickett off. I wrote this note to Colonel Walton at
  exactly 1.30 P.M.:

    “‘Let the batteries open. Order great precision in firing. If the
    batteries at the peach-orchard cannot be used against the point
    we intend attacking, let them open on the enemy at Rocky Hill.’

  “The cannonading which opened along both lines was grand. In a
  few moments a courier brought a note to General Pickett (who was
  standing near me) from Alexander, which, after reading, he handed
  to me. It was as follows:

    “‘If you are coming at all you must come at once, or I cannot
    give you proper support; but the enemy’s fire has not slackened
    at all; at least eighteen guns are still firing from the cemetery
    itself.’

  “After I had read the note Pickett said to me, ‘General, shall I
  advance?’ My feelings had so overcome me that I would not speak
  for fear of betraying my want of confidence to him. I bowed
  affirmation and turned to mount my horse. Pickett immediately
  said, ‘I shall lead my division forward, sir.’ I spurred my
  horse to the wood where Alexander was stationed with artillery.
  When I reached him he told me of the disappearance of the seven
  guns which were to have led the charge with Pickett, and that
  his ammunition was so low that he could not properly support
  the charge. I at once ordered him to stop Pickett until the
  ammunition had been replenished. He informed me that he had no
  ammunition with which to replenish. I then saw that there was
  no help for it, and that Pickett must advance under his orders.
  He swept past our artillery in splendid style, and the men
  marched steadily and compactly down the slope. As they started
  up the ridge over one hundred cannon from the breastworks of the
  Federals hurled a rain of canister, grape, and shell down upon
  them; still they pressed on until half-way up the slope, when
  the crest of the hill was lit with a solid sheet of flame as the
  masses of infantry rose and fired. When the smoke cleared away
  Pickett’s division was gone. Nearly two-thirds of his men lay
  dead on the field, and the survivors were sullenly retreating
  down the hill. Mortal man could not have stood that fire. In
  half an hour the contested field was cleared and the battle of
  Gettysburg was over.

  “When this charge had failed I expected that of course the enemy
  would throw himself against our shattered ranks and try to crush
  us. I sent my staff-officers to the rear to assist in rallying
  the troops, and hurried to our line of batteries as the only
  support that I could give them, knowing that my presence would
  impress upon every one of them the necessity of holding the
  ground to the last extremity. I knew if the army was to be saved
  those batteries must check the enemy.”




CHAPTER IV

GORDON’S “ESTABLISHED FACTS” AND PENDLETON’S FULMINATIONS

  No officer in a position to know anything about the matter
  confirmed Pendleton’s statement, while everybody who should have
  been aware of such an important order directly contradicted it,
  as do all the records.


Continuing on the subject of Longstreet’s alleged disobedience, Gordon
considers the following as another of the “facts established:”

  “Thirdly, that General Lee, according to the testimony of Colonel
  Walter Taylor, Colonel C. S. Venable, and General A. L. Long,
  who were present when the order was given, ordered Longstreet
  to make the attack on the last day with the three divisions of
  his own corps and two divisions of A. P. Hill’s corps, and that
  instead of doing so Longstreet sent only fourteen thousand men to
  assail Meade’s army in the latter’s strong and heavily intrenched
  position.”

This is the old story that Longstreet was culpable in not sending
McLaws and Hood to the attack with Pickett.

But, in fact, Lee’s own utterances show that McLaws and Hood were not
to join in the Pickett attack, but, on the contrary, were excluded
for other vital service by Lee’s specific directions. It is true this
was done upon Longstreet’s strenuous representations that twenty
thousand Federals were massed behind the Round Top to swoop down on
the Confederate flank if Hood and McLaws were withdrawn. After viewing
the ground himself Lee acquiesced. The eye-witnesses quoted by Gordon
heard only the original order; they evidently did not know of its
necessary modification, after Lee was made aware by his own personal
observations and by Longstreet’s explanations that it was impossible to
withdraw Hood and McLaws.

The official reports of both Lee and Longstreet are conclusive on this
point, and they substantially agree. In the paragraph quoted in the
preceding chapter, Longstreet states explicitly that “the commanding
general joined me” (on the far right on the morning of the 3d) “and
ordered a column of attack to be formed of Pickett’s, Heth’s, and part
of Pender’s divisions,” etc. If this was a misstatement, why did not
Lee correct it before sending the report to the War Department? He did
not; on the contrary, Lee corroborates Longstreet in these paragraphs
of his own official report, in which he also explains in detail why
McLaws and Hood were not ordered forward with Pickett:

  “General Longstreet was delayed by a force occupying the high
  rocky hills on the enemy’s extreme left, from which his troops
  could be attacked in reverse as they advanced. His operations
  had been embarrassed the day previous by the same cause, and
  he now deemed it necessary to defend his flank and rear with
  the divisions of Hood and McLaws. He was therefore reinforced
  by Heth’s division and two brigades of Pender’s.... General
  Longstreet ordered forward the column of attack, consisting of
  Pickett’s and Heth’s divisions in two lines, Pickett on the
  right.”

Now, one of Lee’s favorite officers, General Pickett, had personal
supervision of the formation of the attacking column. General Lee was
for a time personally present while this work was going on, conversing
with Pickett concerning the proper dispositions and making various
suggestions. He therefore knew by personal observation, before the
charge was made, exactly what troops were included and what were not.
He knew that the extreme right of Hood’s division was at that moment
fully three miles away, holding a difficult position in face of an
overwhelming force of Federals, and McLaws almost equally distant.

With these documents before him, how can Gordon believe it an
“established fact” that Lee expected McLaws and Hood to take part in
the Pickett charge?

It is admitted by almost if not quite all authority on the subject
that Pickett’s charge was hopeless. The addition of McLaws and Hood
would not have increased the chances of success. The Confederates
under Longstreet and R. H. Anderson had tested the enemy’s position on
that front thoroughly in the battle of the 2d, and with a much larger
force, including these same divisions of McLaws and Hood, who had been
repulsed. There was every reason to believe that the position was much
stronger on the final day than when Longstreet attacked it on the 2d.
The troops of Hood and McLaws, in view of their enormous losses, were
in no condition to support Pickett effectively, even had they been free
for that purpose. But it has been shown above by the testimony of both
Lee and Longstreet that they were required to maintain the position
they had won in the desperate struggle of the evening previous to
prevent the twenty-two thousand men of the Union Fifth and Sixth Corps
from falling _en masse_ upon Pickett’s right flank, or their own flank
and rear had they moved in unison with Pickett.

Having proved from Lee’s own official written utterances that the
three foregoing points set up by Gordon cannot possibly be accepted as
“established facts,” we now come to his “fourthly,” which is really a
summing up of the whole case against Longstreet,--viz., that he was
disobedient, slow, “balky,” and obstructive at Gettysburg. He says,--

  “Fourthly, that the great mistake of the halt on the first day
  would have been repaired on the second, and even on the third
  day, if Lee’s orders had been vigorously executed, and that
  General Lee died believing that he lost Gettysburg at last by
  Longstreet’s disobedience of orders.”

The first positive utterance holding General Longstreet responsible for
the defeat at Gettysburg, through failure to obey Lee’s orders, came
from Rev. Dr. William N. Pendleton, an Episcopal clergyman of Virginia,
on the 17th of January, 1873. General Lee had then been dead more than
two years. In view of what follows it is well to bear in mind these two
distinct dates. There had been some vague hints, particularly among
some of the higher ex-Confederates from Virginia prior to Pendleton’s
categorical story, but Pendleton was the first person to distinctly
formulate the indictment against Longstreet for disobedience of orders.
In an address delivered in the town of Lexington, Virginia, on the date
mentioned, in behalf of a memorial church to General Lee, Pendleton
uses this language, referring to the battle of Gettysburg:

  “The ground southwest of the town [Gettysburg] was carefully
  examined by me after the engagement of July 1.... Its practicable
  character was reported to our commanding general. He informed
  me that he had _ordered Longstreet to attack on that front at
  sunrise next morning_. And he added to myself: ‘I want you to be
  out long before sunrise, so as to re-examine and save time.’ He
  also desired me to communicate with General Longstreet, as well
  as himself. The reconnoissance was accordingly made as soon as it
  was light enough on the 2d.... All this, as it occurred under my
  personal observation, it is nothing short of imperative duty that
  I thus fairly state.”

Rev. Dr. Pendleton was a brigadier-general and chief of artillery
on Lee’s staff. He was a graduate of West Point, and was the cadet
friend of Lee for more than three years in the Military Academy. After
the war they were closely associated at Lexington, Virginia. His
fulmination had the effect of a bombshell. There was a hue and cry at
once; corroborative evidence of the easy hearsay sort was forthcoming
from various interested quarters, but most markedly and noisily from
the State of Virginia, as if by preconcert. Pendleton’s fulmination
appeared to have been expected by those who had previously been
pursuing Longstreet. The late General Jubal A. Early was particularly
strenuous in unreserved endorsement of the Pendleton story. The Rev. J.
William Jones, of Richmond, the self-appointed conservator of General
Lee’s fair fame, also quickly added his testimony to the reliability of
the Rev. Dr. Pendleton’s discovery and dramatic disclosure. Those who
approved generally fortified Pendleton with additional statements of
their own.

Pendleton’s statement is characteristic of the whole, but it was for
a time the more effective because it was more definite, in that it
purported to recite a positive statement by Lee of an alleged order to
Longstreet. If Pendleton’s statement falls, the whole falls.

General Longstreet was astounded when Pendleton’s Lexington story was
brought to his attention. He had previously paid but little attention
to indefinite gossip of a certain coterie that he had been “slow” and
even “obstructive” at Gettysburg, and had never heard before that he
was accused of having disobeyed a positive order to attack at any given
hour. That false accusation aroused him to action. He categorically
denied Pendleton’s absurd allegations, and at once appealed to several
living members of Lee’s staff and to others in a position to know the
facts, to exonerate him from the charge of having disobeyed his chief,
thereby causing disaster.

Colonel Walter H. Taylor, a Virginian, and General Lee’s
adjutant-general, promptly responded as follows:

            “NORFOLK, VIRGINIA, April 28, 1875.

  “DEAR GENERAL,--I have received your letter of the 20th inst. I
  have not read the article of which you speak, nor have I ever
  seen any copy of General Pendleton’s address; indeed, I have
  read little or nothing of what has been written since the war.
  In the first place, because I could not spare the time, and in
  the second, of those of whose writings I have heard I deem but
  very few entitled to any attention whatever. I can only say that
  I never before heard of ‘the sunrise attack’ you were to have
  made as charged by General Pendleton. If such an order was given
  you I never knew of it, or it has strangely escaped my memory.
  I think it more than probable that if General Lee had had your
  troops available the evening previous to the day of which you
  speak he would have ordered an early attack, but this does not
  touch the point at issue. I regard it as a great mistake on the
  part of those who, perhaps because of political differences, now
  undertake to criticise and attack your war record. Such conduct
  is most ungenerous, and I am sure meets the disapprobation of
  all good Confederates with whom I have had the pleasure of
  associating in the daily walks of life.

            “Yours very respectfully,
              “W. H. TAYLOR.

  “TO GENERAL LONGSTREET.”

Two years afterwards Colonel Taylor published an article strongly
criticising General Longstreet’s operations at Gettysburg, but in that
article was this candid admission:

  “Indeed, great injustice has been done him [Longstreet] in the
  charge that he had orders from the commanding general to attack
  the enemy at sunrise on the 2d of July, and that he disobeyed
  these orders. This would imply that he was in position to attack,
  whereas General Lee but anticipated his early arrival on the
  2d, and based his calculations upon it. I have shown how he was
  disappointed, and I need hardly add that the delay was fatal.”

The fact that Colonel Taylor was himself a somewhat severe critic of
General Longstreet, through a misapprehension of certain facts and
conditions, gives additional force and value to this statement.

Colonel Charles Marshall, then an aide on Lee’s staff, who succeeded
Long as Military Secretary and subsequently had charge of all the
papers left by General Lee, wrote as follows:

            “BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, May 7, 1875.

  “DEAR GENERAL,--Your letter of the 20th ult. was received
  and should have had an earlier reply but for my engagements
  preventing me from looking at my papers to find what I could
  on the subject. I have no personal recollection of the order
  to which you refer. It certainly was not conveyed by me, nor
  is there anything in General Lee’s official report to show the
  attack on the 2d was expected by him to begin earlier, except
  that he notices that there was not proper concert of action on
  that day....

            “Respectfully,
              “CHARLES MARSHALL.

  “TO GENERAL LONGSTREET, NEW ORLEANS.”

Colonel Charles S. Venable, another of Lee’s aides and after the war
one of his firmest partisans, made the following detailed statement,
which not only refutes Pendleton’s Lexington story, but bears
luminously upon every other point at issue concerning the alleged early
attack order of the 2d:

            “UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA, May 11, 1875.

  “GENERAL JAMES LONGSTREET:

  “DEAR GENERAL,--Your letter of the 25th ultimo, with regard
  to General Lee’s battle order on the 1st and 2d of July at
  Gettysburg, was duly received. I did not know of any order for an
  attack on the enemy at sunrise on the 2d, nor can I believe any
  such order was issued by General Lee. About sunrise on the 2d of
  July I was sent by General Lee to General Ewell to ask him what
  he thought of the advantages of an attack on the enemy from his
  position. (Colonel Marshall had been sent with a similar order
  on the night of the 1st.) General Ewell made me ride with him
  from point to point of his lines, so as to see with him the exact
  position of things. Before he got through the examination of the
  enemy’s position General Lee came himself to General Ewell’s
  lines. In sending the message to General Ewell, General Lee was
  explicit in saying that the question was whether he should move
  all the troops around on the right and attack on that side. I do
  not think that the errand on which I was sent by the commanding
  general is consistent with the idea of an attack at sunrise by
  any portion of the army.

            “Yours very truly,
              “CHAS. S. VENABLE.”

General A. L. Long, a Virginian, was General Lee’s Military Secretary
and aide at Gettysburg. After the war he wrote a book,--“Memoirs of
General Lee,”--in which he endeavored to hold Longstreet largely
responsible for the Gettysburg disaster. But in it he made no assertion
that Longstreet had disobeyed an order for a sunrise attack on the 2d,
or at any other specific hour on that or the next day. He wrote as
follows:

            “BIG ISLAND, BEDFORD, VIRGINIA, May 31, 1875.

  “DEAR GENERAL,--Your letter of the 20th ult., referring to an
  assertion of General Pendleton’s, made in a lecture delivered
  several years ago, which was recently published in the _Southern
  Historical Society Magazine_ substantially as follows: ‘That
  General Lee ordered General Longstreet to attack General Meade
  at sunrise on the morning of the 2d of July,’ has been received.
  I do not recollect of hearing of an order to attack at sunrise,
  or at any other designated hour, pending the operations at
  Gettysburg during the first three days of July, 1863....

            “Yours truly,
              “A. L. LONG,

  “TO GENERAL LONGSTREET.”

The foregoing letters, all written by members of General Lee’s military
family, all his close friends and personal partisans, are worth a
careful study. They not only negative General Pendleton’s “sunrise”
story, but as a whole they go to prove that it was not expected by Lee,
Longstreet, Pendleton, nor any other high officer, that an early attack
was to have been delivered on the 2d of July. Both Generals McLaws and
Hood, Longstreet’s division commanders, made statements disclosing that
they were totally unaware at Gettysburg of any order for a sunrise
attack on that day. No officer in a position to know anything about the
matter confirmed Pendleton’s statement, while everybody who should have
been aware of such an important order, directly contradicted it, as do
all the records.

The statement of General McLaws appeared in a narrative of Gettysburg
published in a Savannah paper nearly thirty years ago. Besides
its direct bearing on the Pendleton story, it furnishes valuable
information as to some of the causes of delay encountered by
Longstreet’s troops in their long march from Chambersburg on the 1st of
July:

  “On the 30th of June I had been directed to have my division
  in readiness to follow General Ewell’s corps. Marching towards
  Gettysburg, which it was intimated we would have passed by
  ten o’clock the next day (the 1st of July), my division was
  accordingly marched from its camp and lined along the road in the
  order of march by eight o’clock the 1st of July. When the troops
  of Ewell’s corps (it was Johnston’s division in charge of Ewell’s
  wagon-trains, which were coming from Carlisle by the road west of
  the mountains) had passed the head of my column I asked General
  Longstreet’s staff-officer, Major Fairfax, if my division should
  follow. He went off to inquire, and returned with orders for
  me to wait until Ewell’s wagon-train had passed, which did not
  happen until after four o’clock P.M.

  “The train was calculated to be fourteen miles long, when I
  took up the line of march and continued marching until I arrived
  within three miles of Gettysburg, where my command camped along
  a creek. This was far into the night. My division was leading
  Longstreet’s corps, and of course the other divisions came up
  later. I saw Hood’s division the next morning, and understood
  that Pickett had been detached to guard the rear.

  “While on the march, at about ten o’clock at night I met General
  Longstreet and some of his staff coming from the direction of
  Gettysburg and had a few moments’ conversation with him. He said
  nothing of having received an order to attack at daylight the
  next morning. Here I will state that until General Pendleton
  mentioned it about two years ago, when he was on a lecturing
  tour, after the death of General Lee, I never heard it intimated
  even that any such order had ever been given.”

The following is an extract from a letter[D] of General Hood to General
Longstreet on the subject of the sunrise order, which indirectly,
though conclusively, shows there could have been no such order, besides
being interesting and instructive as to other points:

  “I arrived with my staff in front of the heights of Gettysburg
  shortly after daybreak, as I have already stated, on the morning
  of the 2d of July. My division soon commenced filing into an
  open field near me, when the troops were allowed to stack arms
  and rest until further orders. A short distance in advance of
  this point, and during the early part of the same morning, we
  were both engaged in company with Generals A. P. Hill and Lee
  in observing the position of the Federals. General Lee, with
  coat buttoned to the throat, sabre belt around his waist, and
  field-glasses pending at his side, walked up and down in the
  shade of large trees near us, halting now and then to observe
  the enemy. He seemed full of hope, yet at times buried in
  deep thought. Colonel Fremantle, of England, was ensconced in
  the forks of a tree not far off with glasses in constant use
  examining the lofty position of the Federal army.

  “General Lee was seemingly anxious that you should attack that
  morning. He remarked to me, ‘The enemy is here, and if we do not
  whip him he will whip us.’ You thought it better to await the
  arrival of Pickett’s division, at that time still in the rear, in
  order to make the attack, and you said to me subsequently, while
  we were seated together near the trunk of a tree, ‘General Lee is
  a little nervous this morning. He wishes me to attack. I do not
  wish to do so without Pickett. I never like to go into a battle
  with one boot off.’”

Another letter, which in a way is still more important than any of the
foregoing, is one from Colonel John W. Fairfax, a member of General
Longstreet’s staff. It tends to show that the sunrise-order story was
conjured up by Dr. Pendleton and others at Lexington after Lee’s death;
in other words, it is strong circumstantial confirmation of General
Longstreet’s belief in a conspiracy. Written more than twenty-six years
ago, the manner in which it dovetails with all the foregoing statements
and documents as to the various events involved is peculiarly
significant. Colonel Fairfax is a Virginian and was always an ardent
admirer of General Lee, but not to the extent of desiring to uphold his
fame at the expense of honor or the ruin of another:

            “FREESTONE P. O., PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY, VIRGINIA.
              “November 12, 1877.

  “MY DEAR GENERAL LONGSTREET,-- ... The winter after the death
  of General Lee I was in Lexington, visiting my sons at the
  Virginia Military Institute. General Pendleton called to see me
  at the hotel. General Custis Lee was in my room when he came in.
  After General Lee left, General Pendleton asked me if General
  Longstreet was not ordered to attack on the 2d of July at six
  o’clock in the morning, and did not attack until four in the
  evening. I told him it was not possible. When he left me I was
  under the impression I had convinced him of his mistaken idea. I
  told General Pendleton that you and General Lee were together the
  greater part of the day up to about three o’clock or later; that
  you separated at the mouth of a lane not long thereafter. You
  said to me, ‘Those troops will be in position by the time you get
  there; tell General Hood to attack.’

  “When I gave the order to General Hood he was standing within a
  step or two of his line of battle. I asked him to please delay
  his attack until I could communicate to General Longstreet that
  he can turn the enemy--pointing to a gorge in the mountain, where
  we would be sheltered from his view and attack by his cavalry.
  General Hood slapped me on the knee, and said, ‘I agree with you;
  bring General Longstreet to see for himself. When I reported to
  you, your answer was, ‘It is General Lee’s order; the time is
  up,--attack at once.’ I lost no time in repeating the same to
  General Hood, and remained with him to see the attack, which was
  made instantly. We had a beautiful view of the enemy’s left from
  Hood’s position, which was close up to him. He gave way quickly.
  General Hood charged, and I spurred to report to you; found you
  with hat in hand, cheering on General McLaws’s division....

            “Truly your friend,
              “JOHN W. FAIRFAX.”

General Longstreet’s views at the time of the Gettysburg operations are
conveyed in a personal letter of a confidential nature, written only
twenty days after the event to his uncle in Georgia, upon being made
aware that there was a sly undercurrent of misrepresentation of his
course current in certain circles of the army:

            “CAMP CULPEPER COURT-HOUSE,
              “July 24, 1863.

  “MY DEAR UNCLE,--Your letters of the 13th and 14th were received
  on yesterday. As to our late battle I cannot say much. I have
  no right to say anything, in fact, but will venture a little
  for you alone. If it goes to aunt and cousins it must be under
  promise that it will go no farther. The battle was not made as
  I would have made it. My idea was to throw ourselves between the
  enemy and Washington, select a strong position, and force the
  enemy to attack us. So far as is given to man the ability to
  judge, we may say with confidence that we should have destroyed
  the Federal army, marched into Washington, and dictated our
  terms, or at least held Washington and marched over as much of
  Pennsylvania as we cared to, had we drawn the enemy into attack
  upon our carefully chosen position in his rear. General Lee chose
  the plans adopted, and he is the person appointed to choose and
  to order. I consider it a part of my duty to express my views
  to the commanding general. If he approves and adopts them, it
  is well; if he does not, it is my duty to adopt his views and
  to execute his orders as faithfully as if they were my own. I
  cannot help but think that great results would have been obtained
  had my views been thought better of, yet I am much inclined to
  accept the present condition as for the best. I hope and trust
  that it is so. Your programme would all be well enough had it
  been practicable, and was duly thought of, too. I fancy that no
  good ideas upon that campaign will be mentioned at any time that
  did not receive their share of consideration by General Lee.
  The few things that he might have overlooked himself were, I
  believe, suggested by myself. As we failed, I must take my share
  of the responsibility. In fact, I would prefer that all the blame
  should rest upon me. As General Lee is our commander, he should
  have the support and influence we can give him. If the blame, if
  there is any, can be shifted from him to me, I shall help him
  and our cause by taking it. I desire, therefore, that all the
  responsibility that can be put upon me shall go there and shall
  remain there. The truth will be known in time, and I leave that
  to show how much of the responsibility of Gettysburg rests on my
  shoulders....

            “Most affectionately yours,
              “J. LONGSTREET.

  “TO A. B. LONGSTREET, LL.D., COLUMBUS, GA.”

Aside from all this irrefragable personal testimony of conspicuous
participants disproving Pendleton’s apocryphal story, there is other
evidence still more conclusive that no sunrise order for attack by
Longstreet was given by Lee, and equally strong that an early attack on
that day was out of the question. The position of Longstreet’s troops,
all still absent from the field and on the march, forbade an attack by
him at sunrise, or at any other hour much before noon, at the point
designated by Lee. General Lee was well aware of its impossibility. At
sunrise Longstreet’s infantry was still distant from the field, but
rapidly coming up. One brigade (Law’s) was not less than twenty miles
away at the very hour Pendleton would have had Longstreet attack.
McLaws’s and Hood’s divisions had encamped at Marsh Creek, four miles
from Gettysburg, at midnight of the 1st, and did not begin to arrive on
Seminary Ridge until more than three hours after sunrise on the 2d.

The corps artillery did not get up until nine or ten o’clock, and part
of it not until noon or after. Pickett’s division did not begin its
march from the vicinity of Chambersburg, some thirty miles away, until
the 2d. Pendleton’s report, herein quoted, shows how the artillery was
delayed, and the deterrent effect that delay had upon Longstreet’s
advance after he received the order. Pendleton himself was the chief of
artillery, and largely responsible for its manœuvres.

After their arrival upon Seminary Ridge, the infantry of Hood and
McLaws was massed in a field within musket shot of General Lee’s
head-quarters, and there rested until the troops took arms for the
march to the point of attack. From this point of rest near Lee’s
head-quarters to the point of attack, by the circuitous route selected
by Pendleton, was between five and seven miles.

So that Longstreet’s infantry, the nearest at hand, had from nine
to eleven miles to march to reach the selected point of attack, the
greater part of which march by the back roads and ravines, to avoid
the observation of the enemy, was necessarily slow at best, and made
doubly so by the mistakes of Pendleton’s guides, who put the troops
upon the wrong routes. The artillery, still back on the Chambersburg
road, did not all get up until noon, causing a further delay of the
whole column, as shown by the Pendleton report. General Law’s brigade,
marching from 3 A.M., arrived about noon.

After they came up all movements were still several hours delayed,
awaiting Lee’s personal reconnoissances on the left and right to
determine the point of attack.

Colonel Venable says that “about sunrise” he was sent to General
Ewell on the left to inquire if it were not more feasible to attack
in that quarter. While he was riding from point to point with Ewell,
Lee himself came over to see Ewell in person. Lee did not return
to Longstreet’s front until about nine o’clock. Meanwhile, his
staff-officers, Pendleton, Long, Colonel Walker, and Captain Johnston,
by Lee’s orders, had been examining the ground to the right. Upon Lee’s
return from the left he rode far to the right and joined Pendleton.

Not until then was the attack on the enemy’s left by Longstreet finally
decided upon. Longstreet said it was not earlier than eleven o’clock
when he received his orders to move; from the time consumed by Lee and
his staff it was probably later. The front of the Confederate army was
six miles in extent.

Hence matters on the morning of July 2 were not awaiting Longstreet’s
movements. All that long forenoon everything was still in the air,
depending upon Lee’s personal examinations and final decisions.

It is perfectly clear from this indecision on the 2d that Lee could not
have arrived at a decision the previous night, as asserted by Pendleton
at Lexington long after the war.




CHAPTER V

LONGSTREET’S VERSION OF THE OPERATIONS OF JULY 2

  “General Lee never in his life gave me orders to open an attack
  at a specific hour. He was perfectly satisfied that when I had my
  troops in position and was ordered to attack, no time was ever
  lost.”--LONGSTREET ON THE SECOND DAY AT GETTYSBURG.


The hour, the feasibility, and point of attack have now been thoroughly
discussed, mainly from the stand-point of the official records. As
supplementary to the recitations of the official reports of Lee,
Longstreet, Pendleton, and others quoted on these heads, it seems
desirable to introduce just here General Longstreet’s version of his
operations on July 2, published so long ago as 1877, only twelve
years after Appomattox and two decades before he knew the tenor
of Pendleton’s report. It was given to the world long before the
publication of the official records by the government, to which he
could therefore have had no access. How closely he is confirmed in all
essential particulars by the records is marvellous. In this regard it
is to be noted that in all these controversies his statements have
always stood analysis in the light of all the evidence far better than
those of his reckless critics. The following is useful because it
comprehensively sums up from Longstreet’s stand-point all the movements
relating to fixing the point and time of his attack, the movement and
disposition of his troops, and other incidents:

[Illustration: SECOND DAY’S BATTLE, GETTYSBURG.]

  “General Lee never in his life gave me orders to open an attack
  at a specific hour. He was perfectly satisfied that when I had
  my troops in position and was ordered to attack, no time was
  ever lost. On the night of the 1st I left him without any
  orders at all. On the morning of the 2d I went to General Lee’s
  head-quarters at daylight and renewed my views against making
  an attack. He seemed resolved, however, and we discussed the
  probable results. We observed the position of the Federals and
  got a general idea of the nature of the ground. About sunrise
  General Lee sent Colonel Venable, of his staff, to General
  Ewell’s head-quarters, ordering him to make a reconnoissance of
  the ground in his front, with a view of making the main attack on
  his left. A short time afterwards he followed Colonel Venable in
  person. He returned at about nine o’clock and informed me that it
  would not do to have Ewell open the attack. He finally determined
  that I should make the main attack on the extreme right. It was
  fully eleven o’clock when General Lee arrived at this conclusion
  and ordered the movement. In the mean time, by General Lee’s
  authority, Law’s brigade, which had been put upon picket duty,
  was ordered to rejoin my command, and upon my suggestion that
  it would be better to await its arrival, General Lee assented.
  We waited about forty minutes for these troops and then moved
  forward. A delay of several hours occurred in the march of the
  troops. The cause of this delay was that we had been ordered by
  General Lee to proceed cautiously upon the forward movement so
  as to avoid being seen by the enemy. General Lee ordered Captain
  Johnston, of his engineer corps, to lead and conduct the head
  of the column. My troops therefore moved forward under guidance
  of a special officer of General Lee, and with instructions to
  follow his directions. I left General Lee only after the line had
  stretched out on the march, and rode along with Hood’s division,
  which was in the rear. The march was necessarily slow, the
  conductor frequently encountering points that exposed the troops
  to the view of the signal station on Round Top. At length the
  column halted.

  “After waiting some time, supposing that it would soon move
  forward, I sent to the front to inquire the occasion of the
  delay. It was reported that the column was awaiting the movements
  of Captain Johnston, who was trying to lead it by some route by
  which it could pursue its march without falling under view of the
  Federal signal station. Looking up towards Round Top, I saw that
  the signal station was in full view, and, as we could plainly
  see this station, it was apparent that our heavy columns were
  seen from their position and that further efforts to conceal
  ourselves would be a waste of time.

  “I became very impatient at this delay, and determined to take
  upon myself the responsibility of hurrying the troops forward.
  I did not order General McLaws forward because, as the head of
  the column, he had direct orders from General Lee to follow the
  conduct of Colonel Johnston. Therefore I sent orders to Hood,
  who was in the rear and not encumbered by these instructions, to
  push his division forward by the most direct route so as to take
  position on my right. He did so, and thus broke up the delay. The
  troops were rapidly thrown into position and preparations were
  made for the attack.

  “We had learned on the night of the 1st, from some prisoners
  captured near Seminary Ridge, that the First, Eleventh, and
  Third Corps had arrived by the Emmitsburg road and had taken
  position on the heights in front of us, and that reinforcements
  had been seen coming by the Baltimore road just after the fight
  of the 1st. From an intercepted despatch we learned that another
  corps was in camp about four miles from the field. We had every
  reason, therefore, to believe that the Federals were prepared to
  renew the battle. Our army was stretched in an elliptical curve,
  reaching from the front of Round Top around Seminary Ridge, and
  enveloping Cemetery Heights on the left; thus covering a space of
  four or five miles. The enemy occupied the high ground in front
  of us, being massed within a curve of about two miles, nearly
  concentric with the curve described by our forces. His line was
  about fourteen hundred yards from ours. Any one will see that
  the proposition for this inferior force to assault and drive out
  the masses of troops upon the heights was a very problematical
  one. My orders from General Lee were ‘to envelop the enemy’s left
  and begin the attack there, following up as near as possible the
  direction of the Emmitsburg road.’

  “My corps occupied our right, with Hood on the extreme right
  and McLaws next. Hill’s corps was next to mine, in front of the
  Federal centre, and Ewell was on our extreme left. My corps, with
  Pickett’s division absent, numbered hardly thirteen thousand
  men. I realized that the fight was to be a fearful one; but
  being assured that my flank would be protected by the brigades of
  Wilcox, Perry, Wright, Posey, and Mahone, moving _en echelon_,
  and that Ewell was to co-operate by a direct attack on the
  enemy’s right, and Hill to threaten his centre and attack if
  opportunity offered, and thus prevent reinforcements from being
  launched either against myself or Ewell, it seemed that we might
  possibly dislodge the great army in front of us.”




CHAPTER VI

PENDLETON’S REPORT

  “Pendleton’s report will destroy many illusions of Lee’s
  misguided friends who are unwittingly doing deadly injury to
  his military fame by magnifying the mistakes of Gettysburg and
  ascribing them to another.”--LESLIE J. PERRY, formerly of the War
  Records Department.


There is even more positive proof than has yet been produced. That
Lee gave no such order as described in Pendleton’s Lexington lecture,
or for an “early attack,” as asserted by Gordon now, is absolutely
proved by an official report of Gettysburg, penned by General Pendleton
himself. That Pendleton was an oral falsifier of history is established
by his own hand, under date of September 12, 1863, only nine weeks
after the battle.

Confident in his own rectitude of purpose and conduct, and far from
being an expert controversialist, for he was without guile himself,
it is not at all singular that the significance of Pendleton’s report
in connection with the Lexington story should for years have entirely
escaped General Longstreet’s notice. He knew that the document was
printed in its sequence in the Gettysburg volumes of the War Records,
and for certain purposes had even quoted from it regarding other
questions. He was also fully aware that General Pendleton had long
been distinguished for the unreliability of his memory. Nevertheless
General Longstreet had never analyzed the report to the extent of
observing that it made ridiculous the reverend gentleman’s version of
1873.

It is most striking that the extraordinary tenor of this old
Pendletonian exhumation of the War Records office in Washington
should so long have passed entirely unnoticed by everybody, despite
the researches of the most industrious. It remained for Mr. Leslie J.
Perry, one of the historical experts then in charge of the government
publication of the Union and Confederate records of the Civil War, to
point out some nine years ago how glaringly the Pendleton report of
1863 stultified the Pendleton story of 1873.

The immediate result of the exploitation of the Pendleton report
was the elimination of the sunrise story from the repertory of the
anti-Longstreet crusaders. In the subsequent literature of the
subject a decided change of tone regarding other allegations was
soon perceived, more favorable to Longstreet. General Longstreet was
astounded by this bald disclosure of his old military associate’s
tergiversation, to call it nothing worse. For a time after the
appearance of the Lexington story, he had charitably presumed that, in
an excess of zeal to protect General Lee’s military fame, Pendleton
might really have harbored in good faith the belief that his Lexington
statements were true. But after reading the detailed analysis of the
Pendleton report, and carefully studying the report itself, General
Longstreet speedily arrived at the conclusion that he was the victim
of a deliberate conspiracy. It is not strange that he found it hard
to forgive the conspirators, even after becoming fully aware that the
world was practically convinced that he had been cruelly misrepresented.

Let us see how “fairly” Pendleton stated the case against General
Longstreet in his Lexington lecture. His official report[E] of
Gettysburg was written only about sixty days after the battle. It was
dated September 12, 1863. It is a detailed report of the operations of
the Confederate artillery in the Pennsylvania campaign, embodying a
minute description of General Pendleton’s personal movements on that
day. That is its only value to this discussion. The paragraphs having a
bearing upon the time of Longstreet’s attack are as follows:

  “From the farthest occupied point on the right and front, in
  company with Colonels Long and Walker and Captain Johnston
  (engineer), soon _after sunrise_ I surveyed the enemy’s position
  towards some estimate of the ground and best mode of attack.
  So far as judgment could be formed from such a view, assault
  on the enemy’s left by our extreme right might succeed, should
  the mountain there offer no insuperable obstacle. The attack on
  that side, if practicable, I understood to be the purpose of the
  commanding general.

  “Returning from this position more to the right and rear, for the
  sake of tracing more exactly the mode of approach, I proceeded
  some distance along the ravine road noticed the previous evening,
  and was made aware of having entered the enemy’s lines by meeting
  two armed dismounted cavalrymen. Apparently surprised, they
  immediately surrendered, and were disarmed and sent to the rear.

  “Having satisfied myself of the course and character of this
  road, I returned to an elevated point on the Fairfield road,
  which furnished a very extensive view, and despatched messengers
  to General Longstreet and the commanding general. This front was,
  after some time, examined by Colonel Smith and Captain Johnston
  (engineers), and about midday General Longstreet arrived and
  viewed the ground. He desired Colonel Alexander to obtain the
  best view he then could of the front. I therefore conducted the
  colonel to the advanced point of observation previously visited.
  Its approach was now more hazardous from the fire of the enemy’s
  sharp-shooters, so that special caution was necessary in making
  the desired observation. Just then a sharp contest occurred in
  the woods to the right and rear of this forward point. Anderson’s
  division, Third Corps, had moved up and was driving the enemy
  from these woods. These woods having thus been cleared of the
  enemy, some view of the ground beyond them, and much farther
  to the right than had yet been examined, seemed practicable. I
  therefore rode in that direction, and when about to enter the
  woods, met the commanding general _en route_ himself to survey
  the ground.

  “There being here still a good deal of sharp-shooting, the front
  had to be examined with caution.... Having noticed the field and
  the enemy’s batteries, etc., I returned to General Longstreet
  for the purpose of conducting his column to this point, and
  supervising, as might be necessary, the disposition of his
  artillery. He was advancing by the ravine road (as most out of
  view), time having already been lost in attempting another, which
  proved objectionable because exposed to observation. On learning
  the state of facts ahead, the general halted, and sent back to
  hasten his artillery. Members of my staff were also despatched to
  remedy, as far as practicable, the delay. Cabell’s, Alexander’s,
  and Henry’s battalions at length arrived, and the whole column
  moved towards the enemy’s left.... The enemy opened a furious
  cannonade, the course of which rendered necessary a change in
  the main artillery column. Cabell’s deflected to the left, while
  Alexander’s was mainly parked for a season, somewhat under cover,
  till it could advance to better purpose.... Soon after, at about
  4 P.M., the general assault was made.”

Here is the whole of Pendleton’s celebrated report, so far as it bears
upon the hour of Longstreet’s attack on the 2d of July. Nothing is
omitted relating to the preliminary movements of Longstreet’s column
of attack, or that in any manner modifies the tenor of the parts
introduced.




CHAPTER VII

PENDLETON’S UNRELIABLE MEMORY

  All the battle worthy the name for the Southern cause at
  Gettysburg on the 2d and 3d was made by Longstreet. The whole
  superstructure of the contentions against his honor as a soldier
  is based solely on the statements since the war, and since Lee’s
  death, of two or three obscure individuals. They are easily
  exploded by the records of the battles; they are corroborated by
  none.


When the Rev. Dr. Pendleton told that dramatic story to his breathless
hearers at Lexington in 1873, under “pressure of imperative duty,” had
he forgotten the tenor of his official report, made in 1863? The story
as modified by the prior report forms the greatest anticlimax in all
history. Several decisive facts are disclosed by this unbiassed report.

1. Instead of being dilatory and obstructive, Pendleton himself
establishes that Longstreet was personally exerting himself to “hasten
forward” the very artillery of which he, Pendleton, was the chief.

2. As late certainly as eleven o’clock, if not noon, General Lee and
his staff-officers were still rambling all over a front six miles
long, yet undetermined either as to the point or proper route of
attack. According to both Pendleton and Venable, they did not _begin_
this necessary preliminary survey until “about sunrise,” the specific
hour at which General Lee on the night previous had already ordered
Longstreet to begin his attack, as asserted by Pendleton at Lexington.

3. Not until Lee and Pendleton had devoted the entire forenoon to the
examination of the ground, did Pendleton go to conduct Longstreet to
the point of attack thereupon decided upon. Evidently Longstreet was
not delaying action; he was awaiting their motions.

The following general conclusions upon the state of facts disclosed by
Pendleton’s remarkable report are therefore inevitable and unavoidable.

1. At sunrise of the 2d, General Lee himself did not know where to
attack. He did not know as late as ten or eleven o’clock. His mind
was not fully made up until after he came back from Ewell’s front
(about nine o’clock, according to all authorities), and had made the
final examination on the right. General Longstreet says he received
his orders to move about eleven o’clock, and this corresponds with
Pendleton’s report. But if anything, it was later, rather than earlier.

2. These painstaking, time-consuming reconnoissances of the commanding
general and his staff-officers, the journey of Colonel Venable to
Ewell, three miles to the left, and Lee’s later visit to Ewell,
together with the unavoidable absence of General Longstreet’s troops
until late in the morning, prove absolutely that Lee issued no order
for Longstreet to attack at any specific hour on July 2.

3. Longstreet’s preliminary movements from start to finish were
under the personal supervision of Lee’s confidential staff-officer,
Pendleton, and the subordinate staff-officers. So Longstreet has
positively stated, so has General McLaws, and both are confirmed by
Pendleton’s report. The staff guide caused a loss of three hours by
putting the head of McLaws’s column upon a wrong road. This compelled
Longstreet to “hasten matters” by assuming personal direction of the
movement, and pushing Hood’s division rapidly to the front past McLaws.

4. Pendleton’s official utterances make it an “established fact” that
General Longstreet made his tremendous and successful attack on July
2 at the earliest moment possible after receiving Lee’s orders to
advance, under the conditions imposed by Lee,--viz., to be conducted to
the point of attack by Pendleton himself and the other staff-officers.

Thus the misapprehensions respecting Longstreet’s great part at
Gettysburg were cleared away, and a better general understanding of
what actually occurred was obtained from the Rev. Mr. Pendleton’s
report of September 12, 1863. Few military students now hold that
Longstreet was in the remotest degree culpable for Lee’s defeat. On
the contrary, most of them severely criticise Lee’s operations from
start to finish, particularly the hopeless assaults he persisted in
making, and for the lack of concert. It is held generally now that the
dreadful result fully justified Longstreet’s protests against attacking
the Federals in that position, and that his suggestion of a turning
movement was far more promising of success.

In all the circumstances it is not only entirely improbable, but the
developed facts of the battle make it impossible that “General Lee died
believing that he lost Gettysburg at last by Longstreet’s disobedience
of orders.” Longstreet disobeyed no orders at Gettysburg, and Lee
was well aware of the fact. General Gordon has simply reiterated the
claque set up after Lee’s death by his fond admirers to shift the
responsibility of defeat from his shoulders upon Longstreet. It was
necessary to the success of that folly to make the world believe Lee
always quietly held that view, and only imparted it in the strictest
confidence to close friends like the ex-army chaplain, Rev. J. William
Jones, and the Rev. William N. Pendleton.

The evidence is totally insufficient. Its gauzy character is fully
exposed by the Pendleton report. But apocryphal after-war evidence of
this kind was the only reliance of the conspirators. It is absolutely
certain that there is no evidence of any such belief in any of Lee’s
official utterances during the progress of the war, nor a hint of it
in his private correspondence then or afterwards, so far as has been
produced. The whole superstructure of the contention is based solely on
the statements since the war, and since Lee’s death, of two or three
obscure individuals. Pendleton’s Lexington yarn is an example. They are
easily exploded by the records of the battle; they are corroborated
by none. All the battle worthy the name for the Southern cause at
Gettysburg on the 2d and 3d was made by Longstreet.

Another evidence of the falsehoods concerning Longstreet’s disobedience
and Lee’s alleged belief is found in the relations of the two men.
Their personal friendship continued after Gettysburg as it was before.
It was of the closest and most cordial description. General Lee always
manifested the highest regard for General Longstreet, and continued to
manifest undiminished confidence in his military capacity, fighting
qualities, and subordination. There is no manifestation of a withdrawal
of that confidence after Gettysburg. I here cite a few illustrations of
their relations after Gettysburg. Just after his corps was ordered to
reinforce Bragg before Chattanooga, Longstreet wrote Lee from Richmond,
where he had temporarily stopped on his journey to the new field:

  “If I did not think our move a necessary one, my regrets at
  leaving you would be distressing to me.... Our affections for you
  are stronger, if it is possible for them to be stronger, than our
  admiration for you.”

[Illustration: RETREAT FROM GETTYSBURG. ACCIDENT DURING THE
NIGHT-CROSSING OF THE POTOMAC ON A PONTOON BRIDGE]

After the battle of Chickamauga Lee wrote to Longstreet:

  “... My whole heart and soul have been with you and your brave
  corps in your late battle.... Finish the work before you, my
  dear General, _and return to me. I want you badly, and you cannot
  get back too soon._”

These letters, printed in the official records, were written less than
ninety days after the battle of Gettysburg.

“I want you badly” does not indicate that Longstreet had ever failed
General Lee. They are significant words, so soon after the event
wherein Longstreet, by mere obstinacy and obduracy, had defeated
his chief’s plans, if we may believe Gordon, Pendleton, and Jones.
After the forlorn campaign in East Tennessee against overwhelming
numbers, when General Longstreet was on his way back to the Army of
Northern Virginia with his troops to aid in repelling Grant, Lee’s
adjutant-general wrote him as follows at Gordonsville or Orange
Court-House:

            “HEAD-QUARTERS ARMY OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA,
              “April 26, 1864.

  “MY DEAR GENERAL,--I have received your note of yesterday and
  have consulted the General about reviewing your command. He
  directs me to say that he has written to the President to know if
  he can visit and review the army this week, and until his reply
  is received, the General cannot say when he can visit you. He is
  anxious to see you, and it will give him much pleasure to meet
  you and your corps once more. He hopes soon to be able to do
  this, and I will give you due notice when he can come. I really
  am beside myself, General, with joy of having you back. It is
  like the reunion of a family.

            “Truly and respectfully yours,
              “W. H. TAYLOR, A.A.G.

  “To GENERAL LONGSTREET.”

After the war was over and the Southern cause lost, there are warm
letters from General Lee, written before Longstreet had accepted
appointment at the hands of a Republican President. A few months after
the surrender General Lee wrote:

[Illustration: Fac-simile of General Lee’s Letter to General Longstreet]

            Lexington Va: 19 Jan ’66

  My dear Genl

  Upon my return from Richmond, where I have been for a week,
  on business connected with Washington College, I found your
  letter of the 26th ulto. I regret very much that you never
  recd my first letter, as you might then perhaps have given me
  the information I desired, with more ease to yourself, & with
  more expedition than now. I did not know how to address it,
  but sent it to a friend in Richmond, who gave it to one of our
  officers going south, who transferred it to another etc., & after
  travelling many weary miles, has been recently returned to me. I
  start it again in pursuit of you, though you did not tell me how
  to address you. I have almost forgotten what it contained, but I
  hope it will inform you of my purpose in writing a history of the
  campaigns in Viga, & of the object that I have in view so that
  you may give me all the information in your power. I shall be in
  no hurry in publishing, & will not do so, until I feel satisfied
  that I have got the true story, as my only object is to
  disseminate the truth. I am very sorry to hear that your records
  were destroyed too, but I hope Sorrel & Latrobe will be able to
  supply you with all you require. I wish to relate the acts of all
  the corps of the Army of N. Va. wherever they did duty, & do not
  wish to omit so important a one as yours. I will therefore wait
  as long as I can.

  I shall be very glad to receive anything you may give to Mr.
  Washington McLean, as I know you recommend no one but those who
  deserve your good opinion.

  I am delighted to hear that your arm is still improving & hope it
  will soon be restored. You are however becoming so accomplished
  with your left hand, as not to need it. You must remember me
  very kindly to Mrs. Longstreet & all your children. I have
  not had an opportunity yet to return the compliment she paid
  me. I had while in Richmond a great many inquiries after you, &
  learned that you intended commencing business in New Orleans. If
  you become as good a merchant as you were a soldier I shall be
  content. No one will then excel you, & no one can wish you more
  success & more happiness than I. My interest & affection for
  you will never cease, & my prayers are always offered for your
  prosperity--

            I am most truly yours
              R E Lee

“If you become as good a merchant as you were a soldier I shall be
content. No one will then excel you, and no one can wish you more
success and more happiness than I. My interest and affection for
you will never cease, and my prayers are always offered for your
prosperity.” Strange words from the commander to the subordinate whose
disobedience at Gettysburg, according to Rev. Dr. Pendleton and others,
led the way to Appomattox.

While General Longstreet held General Lee to be a great strategist, he
thought him to be less able as an offensive battle tactician. Those
views are shared by many other military officers, who have of late
given free expression to them. The Gettysburg controversies, followed
by such criticisms, led to the belief that Longstreet was the open
enemy of Lee’s fame, and lost no opportunity to maliciously decry his
military ability. But this is a mistake. General Longstreet’s intimate
friends know that he has always born for General Lee the most profound
love and respect, both as a man and as a commander. His views of Lee’s
military capacity are discriminating and just, and they are probably
correct. Longstreet saw things military with a practical eye. A fine
professional soldier himself, who had taken hard knocks on many great
fields, he clearly discerned General Lee’s incomparable attributes as
a commander, and was never loath to praise them. He also knew Lee’s
weaknesses, and has sometimes spoken of them, but never in malice or
contemptuously. Those who read his utterances in that sense are very
narrow indeed. He has never, like the mass of Southerners, looked upon
Lee as infallible, yet in one particular Longstreet has held him to be
one of the very greatest of commanders.

As an example of General Longstreet’s estimate of Lee’s professional
place in history, one of his interviews when on a visit to the Antietam
battle-field, published a few years ago, is quoted: “General Lee, as
a rule, did not underestimate his opponents or the fighting qualities
of the Federal troops. But after Chancellorsville he came to have
unlimited confidence in his own army, and undoubtedly exaggerated its
capacity to overcome obstacles, to march, to fight, to bear up under
deprivations and exhaustion. It was a dangerous confidence. I think
every officer who served under him will unhesitatingly agree with me on
this point.”

In answer to a question as to which he regarded as Lee’s best
battle: “Well, perhaps the second battle of Manassas was, all things
considered, the best tactical battle General Lee ever fought. The grand
strategy of the campaign was also fine, and seems to have completely
deceived General Pope. Indeed, Pope failed to comprehend Lee’s purpose
from start to finish. Pope was outgeneralled and outclassed by Lee,
and through improper dispositions his fine army was out-fought. Still,
it will not do to underrate Pope; he was an enterprising soldier and a
fighter.”

General Longstreet, in the interview at Antietam, summed up Lee’s
characteristics as a commander in the following succinct manner:
“General Lee was a large-minded man, of great and profound learning in
the science of war. In all strategical movements he handled a great
army with comprehensive ability and signal success. His campaigns
against McClellan and Pope fully illustrate his capacity. On the
defensive General Lee was absolutely perfect. Reconciled to the single
purpose of defence, he was invincible. But of the art of war, more
particularly that of giving offensive battle, I do not think General
Lee was a master. In science and military learning he was greatly the
superior of General Grant, or any other commander on either side.
But in the art of war I have no doubt that Grant and several other
officers were his equals. In the field his characteristic fault was
headlong combativeness. His impatience to strike, once in the presence
of the enemy, whatever the disparity of forces or relative conditions,
I consider the one weakness of General Lee’s military character.
This trait of aggressiveness led him to take too many chances--into
dangerous situations. At Gettysburg, all the vast interests at
stake and the improbability of success would not deter him. In the
immediate presence of the enemy General Lee’s mind, at all other times
calm and clear, became excited. The same may be said of most other
highly educated, theoretical soldiers. General Lee had the absolute
confidence of his own troops, and the most unquestioning support of his
subordinates. He was wholesomely feared by the Federal rank and file,
who undoubtedly considered him the easy superior of their own generals.
These were tremendous advantages.”

It is very difficult to detect malice or hatred in these calm and
dispassionate conclusions.

It is most probable that General Longstreet would have never written or
uttered one word concerning Gettysburg had it not been for the attempt
of wordy soldiers to specifically fix upon him the whole burden of that
battle, their rashness carrying them so far as to lead them to put
false orders in the mouth of the great captain, and charge Longstreet
with having broken them. To disprove these untrue assertions, and
to give the world the truth concerning the battle, then became what
General Longstreet considered an imperative duty. He has always
regretted deeply that this discussion was not opened before the death
of General Lee. If the charges so vehemently urged had been preferred
or even suggested in Lee’s lifetime, Longstreet does not believe they
would have needed any reply from him. General Lee would have answered
them himself and set history right.

But after all, Longstreet does not fear the verdict of history on
Gettysburg. He holds that time sets all things right. Error lives but a
day--truth is eternal.




CHAPTER VIII

GENERAL LONGSTREET’S AMERICANISM

  “The strongest laws are those established by the sword. The ideas
  that divided political parties before the war--upon the rights of
  the States--were thoroughly discussed by our wisest statesmen,
  and eventually appealed to the arbitrament of the sword. The
  decision was in favor of the North, so that her construction
  becomes the law, and should be so accepted.”--GENERAL LONGSTREET
  in “From Manassas to Appomattox.”


It seems advisable here to introduce General Longstreet’s personal
version of the animus of the after-the-war criticism of his operations
on the field of Gettysburg, taken from his war history, “From Manassas
to Appomattox:”

“As the whole animus of the latter-day adverse criticisms upon, and
uncritical assertions in regard to, the commander of the First Corps
of the Army of Northern Virginia had its origin in this matter of
politics, a brief review of the circumstances is in order.

“As will be readily recalled by my older readers (while for the
younger it is a matter of history), President Johnson, after the war,
adopted a reconstruction policy of his own, and some of the States
were reorganized under it with Democratic governors and legislatures,
and all would have followed. But Congress, being largely Republican,
was not satisfied, and enacted that the States could not be accepted
unless they provided in their new constitutions for _negro suffrage_.
In case they would not, the State governments should be removed and the
States placed in the hands of general officers of the army as military
governors, who should see that the States were reorganized and
restored to the Union under the laws.

“Under the severe ordeal one of the city papers of New Orleans called
upon the generals of Confederate service to advise the people of the
course that they should pursue,--naming the officers. I thought it
better policy to hold the States, as they were organized, under the
President’s policy, shape their constitutions as directed by Congress,
and have the States not yet reorganized follow the same course. My
letter upon the subject was as follows:

            “‘NEW ORLEANS, LA., June 3, 1867.

  “‘J. M. G. PARKER, ESQ.:

  “‘DEAR SIR,--Your esteemed favor of the 15th ultimo was duly
  received.

  “‘I was much pleased to have the opportunity to hear Senator
  Wilson, and was agreeably surprised to meet such fairness and
  frankness from a politician whom I had been taught to believe
  harsh in his feelings towards the people of the South.

  “‘I have considered your suggestion to wisely unite in efforts
  to restore Louisiana to her former position in the Union,
  “through the party now in power.” My letter of the 6th of April,
  to which you refer, clearly indicates a desire for practical
  reconstruction and reconciliation. There is only one route left
  open, which practical men cannot fail to see.

  “‘The serious difficulty arises from want of that wisdom so
  important for the great work in hand. Still, I will be happy
  to work in any harness that promises relief to our discomfited
  people and harmony to the nation, whether bearing the mantle of
  Mr. Davis or Mr. Sumner.

  “‘It is fair to assume that the strongest laws are those
  established by the sword. The ideas that divided political
  parties before the war--upon the rights of the States--were
  thoroughly discussed by our wisest statesmen, and eventually
  appealed to the arbitrament of the sword. The decision was in
  favor of the North, so that her construction becomes the law, and
  should be so accepted.

  “‘The military bill and amendments are the only peace-offerings
  they have for us, and should be accepted as the starting-point
  for future issues.

  “‘Like others of the South not previously connected with
  politics, I naturally acquiesced in the ways of Democracy, but,
  so far as I can judge, there is nothing tangible in them, beyond
  the issues that were put to test in the war and there lost. As
  there is nothing left to take hold of except prejudice, which
  cannot be worked for good for any one, it seems proper and right
  that we should seek some standing which may encourage hope for
  the future.

  “‘If I appreciate the issues of Democracy at this moment, they
  are the enfranchisement of the negro and the rights of Congress
  in the premises, but the acts have been passed, are parts of the
  laws of the land, and no power but Congress can remove them.

  “‘Besides, if we now accept the doctrine that the States only can
  legislate on suffrage, we will fix the negro vote upon us, for he
  is now a suffragan, and his vote, with the vote that will go with
  him, will hold to his rights, while, by recognizing the acts of
  Congress, we may, after a fair trial, if negro suffrage proves
  a mistake, appeal and have Congress correct the error. It will
  accord better with wise policy to insist that the negro shall
  vote in the Northern as well as the Southern States.

  “‘If every one will meet the crisis with proper appreciation
  of our condition and obligations, the sun will rise to-morrow
  on a happy people. Our fields will again begin to yield their
  increase, our railways and water will teem with abundant
  commerce, our towns and cities will resound with the tumult of
  trade, and we will be reinvigorated by the blessings of Almighty
  God.

            “‘Very respectfully yours,
              “‘JAMES LONGSTREET.’

“I might have added that not less forceful than the grounds I gave
were the obligations under which we were placed by the terms of our
paroles,--‘To respect the laws of Congress,’--but the letter was enough.

“The afternoon of the day upon which my letter was published the
paper that had called for advice published a column of editorial
calling me traitor! deserter of my friends! and accusing me of joining
the enemy! but did not publish a line of the letter upon which it
based the charges! Other papers of the Democracy took up the garbled
representation of this journal and spread it broadcast, not even giving
the letter upon which they based their evil attacks upon me.

“Up to that time the First Corps, in all of its parts, in all of its
history, was above reproach. I was in successful business in New
Orleans as cotton factor, with a salary from an insurance company of
five thousand dollars per year.

“The day after the announcement old comrades passed me on the streets
without speaking. Business began to grow dull. General Hood (the only
one of my old comrades who occasionally visited me) thought that he
could save the insurance business, and in a few weeks I found myself at
leisure.

“Two years after that period, on March 4, 1869, General Grant was
inaugurated President of the United States, and in the bigness of his
generous heart called me to Washington. Before I found opportunity to
see him he sent my name to the Senate for confirmation as surveyor of
customs at New Orleans. I was duly confirmed, and held the office until
1873, when I resigned. Since that time I have lived in New Orleans,
Louisiana, and in Gainesville, Georgia, surrounded by a few of my old
friends, and in occasional appreciative touch with others, South and
North.”




CHAPTER IX

FINALE

  Mr. Valiant summoned. His will. His last words.

  Then, said he, “I am going to my Father’s.... My sword I give to
  him that shall succeed me in my pilgrimage, and my courage and
  skill to him that can get it.” ... And as he went down deeper, he
  said, “Grave, where is thy victory?”

  So he passed over, and all the trumpets sounded for him on the
  other side.--BUNYAN’S “Pilgrim’s Progress.”


The personal letters and official reports of Robert E. Lee, reproduced
in this work, clearly established that from Gettysburg to Appomattox
Longstreet continued to be Lee’s most trusted Lieutenant; their mutual
affection and admiration had no diminution.

The official reports of Lee and Pendleton herein given make it clear as
noonday that Longstreet disobeyed no orders of his chief at Gettysburg,
and was at no time “slow” or “obstructive” on that great field.

The man who, under the weight of official evidence massed in this
little story, can still raise his voice to assert that “Longstreet was
slow and balky” at Gettysburg, takes direct issue with the official
reports of Robert E. Lee and the Rev. Mr. Pendleton, and his becomes a
quarrel with the war records.

Longstreet had unhesitatingly thrown up his commission in the old
army and joined the Southern cause at the very outset. He was a
chief participant in the first and last great scenes of the drama in
Virginia. He had copiously shed his blood for the South. The sum of
General Longstreet’s offending was,--

1. When the war was over he placed himself on the high plane of
American citizenship, where all patriots now stand. He accepted office
at the hands of a Republican President (pardonable offence in this good
day); these were crimes which the temper of the South could not condone
some forty years ago.

2. He had protested against wrecking the Confederate cause on the
rocks of Cemetery Hill. In sheer self-defence he was compelled to
recapitulate in plainest terms General Lee’s tactical mistakes and
their fatal consequences. To many that was a crime never to be
forgiven. Yet at the time and on the spot General Lee was morally brave
enough to place the blame where it belonged,--on his own shoulders. Lee
never sought a scape-goat for the mistakes of Gettysburg.

This is the story, short enough for the busy; clear and straight enough
for the young. It is the story of sentiment as well as reverence and
admiration, growing up from childhood, of him who led the forlorn hope
at Gettysburg.

But behind the sentiment is the unassailable truth. It is undeniably
the story of the records, of the events exactly as they occurred. It
is fully corroborated by all the probabilities; in no part disputed by
one. It is the story told by General Longstreet himself, and nobody
familiar with his open character and candid manner of discussing its
various phases can doubt for one instant that he tells the details of
Gettysburg exactly as they occurred, in so far as his personal part was
concerned.

[Illustration: GENERAL LONGSTREET IN 1901]

Of him I would say, as his sun slants towards the west and the evening
hours draw near, that his unmatched courage to meet the enemies of the
peace time outshines the valor of the fields whereon his blood was
shed so copiously in the cause of his country. I would tell him that
his detractors are not the South; they are not the Democratic party;
they represent nobody and nothing but the blindness of passion that
desires not light. I would tell him that the great, loyal South loves
him to-day as in the old days when he sacrificed on her altars a career
in the army of the nation; when the thunder of his guns was heard
around the world and the earth shook beneath the tread of his soldiers.

And as he journeys down to the Valley of Silence, the true sentiment of
the generous South that he loves so well is voiced by Hon. John Temple
Graves, in the Atlanta, Georgia, _News_:

  “As there walks ‘thoughtful on the silent, solemn shore of that
  vast ocean he must sail so soon,’ one of the last of the great
  figures that moved colossal upon the tragic stage of the Civil
  War,--Longstreet, the grim and tenacious, the bulldog of war
  whose grip never relaxed, whose guns never ceased to thunder,--as
  the eye grows dim that blazed like lightning over so many stormy
  fields, let the noble woman who bears his name read to her heroic
  soldier the message that the South of the present, the not
  ignoble offspring of the past, compasses the couch of Longstreet
  with love, and covers his fading years with unfading admiration
  and unforgetting tenderness.”

      WASHINGTON, D. C., December, 1903.




LONGSTREET THE MAN




HIS BOYHOOD DAYS


The original plan of this little work was to publish only the short
story of Gettysburg which was written while General Longstreet lived.
My friends have insisted that the generous public, although it has
received the prospectus of the work with such warm appreciation, will
be disappointed if I discuss only the one event of his most eventful
life. And so have been added the paper on the Mexican War and chapters
on his famous campaigns of the Civil War.

They have insisted further that I must speak of Longstreet the man.
I have replied that I could not. My heart is sore. I cannot forget
that he poured out his heroic blood in defence of the Southern people,
and when there was not a flag left for him to fight for many of them
turned against him and persecuted him with a bitterness that saddened
his last years. They undertook to rob him of the glories of his many
peerless campaigns; to convict him of treason to his cause on the field
of battle. And when he lay dead, forty years after his world-famous
victories, perhaps from an opening of the old wound received at the
Wilderness, a Chapter of the Daughters of the Confederacy of the State
beneath whose sod rests his valiant dust, refused to send flowers to
his grave, because, they said, he disobeyed orders at Gettysburg. And
a Southern Camp of the Sons of Confederate Veterans refused, for the
same alleged reason, to send a message of sympathy to his family. If I
should now undertake to write about him I might speak of such things as
these with bitterness; and I must not so speak, because I am a Southern
woman, and the Southern people--my people--must forever be to me as
they were to him, “dear as the ruddy drops about his heart.”

I must not write about him until I can write bravely, sweetly,
cheerfully, and in this hour it is, perhaps, more than my human nature
can do. And I cannot take the public into my confidence about the man
I loved. The subject is too sacred. But my friends demand at least one
page on the man as I knew him, that the South at last--the dear South
that I love with all my heart--may know him and love him as I did.

And so I undertake to string together disjointedly a few incidents
of a life that was lived upon high levels, brave and blameless, and
that the days give back to me a glorified memory, coupled with a great
thankfulness that I had a small part in it.

From my childhood he had been the fine embodiment of my ideals of
chivalry and courage. The sorrows of his later years aroused all the
tender pity of my heart. His wounds and sufferings enveloped him with
poetic interest. He was fighting the battles of my country before I was
born. The blood of my ancestors had dyed the brilliant fields whereon
he led. He was ever the hero of my young dreams; and throughout a long
and checkered career always to me a figure of matchless splendor and
gallantry.

His life was set to serious work. His father died before he was old
enough to understand the meaning of a father’s care. He had but little
schooling before he went to West Point as cadet of the Military
Academy. From West Point he went into service in the Mexican War,
and was in every battle, save one, of the war that gave to us an
empire in wealth and territory; winning promotions for gallantry on
the field. After the Mexican War he saw long service on the Western
frontier. He entered the Civil War of 1861-65, and the greatest
Confederate victories of that greatest war of civilized times are
inscribed upon his battle-flags. The glories of Manassas, Williamsburg,
Fredericksburg, Chickamauga, the East Tennessee campaigns, the
Wilderness, the campaigns about Richmond, and the last desperate
struggles on the way to Appomattox, gather about his name.

After the Civil War came the most trying period of his life,--the dark
days of reconstruction, the fierce dissensions between the sections,
and between those holding different views in the same section, the
hot feeling and prejudices of the time, the struggle to repair the
ruined fortunes of war. When he was finally gathered to his fathers,
at the ripe old age of eighty-three, he was still in harness, holding
the position under the government of United States Commissioner of
Railroads.

This busy, exciting, and strenuous life was calculated to develop
in him the qualities of the soldier, the man of affairs, the blood
and iron of nature rather than her gentler qualities. Nevertheless,
his heart was as tender as a woman’s, the sentiment and romance of
his being never ceased to be exerted, and he exhibited to the last a
tenderness of feeling and thoughtfulness regarding others which were in
singular and beautiful contrast to the main currents of his life. This,
I think, will appear without any special effort to show it as this
sketch goes on.

General Longstreet was born in Edgefield District, South Carolina,
January 8, 1821. His early years were spent in the country. His father
was a planter. Natural to him was all the vigor and fire of that heroic
section, and still there was in him a coolness, conservatism, and iron
will tempered by justice and fair judgment embracing the best of his
Dutch ancestry. His ancestors on this side of the water were chiefly
the Dents, Marshalls, and Randolphs, of Virginia. On the maternal side,
his grandfather, Marshall Dent, traced his line back to the Conqueror.
His mother was Mary Ann Dent, of the family that furnished the lady who
became famous as the wife of the soldier-President, Grant. His father
was James Longstreet. His grandfather on his father’s side was William
Longstreet.

It is interesting here to note that this William Longstreet was the
inventor of the steamboat. He discovered the principle in a series of
experiments about the kitchen and the mills, and after much care and
trouble he was able to apply the principle. He made a rather pudgy
steamboat, rigged it up with all necessary equipment, and successfully
ran it for some miles up and down the Savannah River. He did not have
the means to develop it to such extent as to demonstrate to the world
its possibilities. Fully appreciating the importance of the invention,
he appealed to Governor Telfair, the then governor of Georgia, for
aid. Very naturally, the aid was refused him, for that was a day of
scepticism regarding new-fangled things. He was made sport of by the
people around, and called “Billy Boy,” the dreamer, and made the
subject of doggerel poetry. As an authentic part of the story, I give
here the letter which he wrote to Governor Telfair, which is still
preserved in the State archives of Georgia:

            “AUGUSTA, GEORGIA, September 26, 1790.

  “SIR,--I make no doubt but you have often heard of my steamboat,
  and as often heard it laughed at, but in this I have only shared
  the fate of other projectors, for it has uniformly been the
  custom of every country to ridicule the greatest inventions until
  they had proved their utility. In not reducing my scheme to
  active use it has been unfortunate for me, I confess, and perhaps
  the people in general; but, until very lately, I did not think
  that artists or material could be had in the place sufficient.
  However, necessity, that grand mother of invention, has furnished
  me with an idea of perfecting my plan almost entirely of wooden
  material, and by such workmen as may be had here; and, from a
  thorough confidence of its success, I have presumed to ask your
  assistance and patronage. Should it succeed agreeably to my
  expectations, I hope I shall discover that sense of duty which
  such favors always merit; and should it not succeed, your reward
  must lay with other unlucky adventures.

  “For me to mention all of the advantages arising from such
  a machine would be tedious, and, indeed, quite unnecessary.
  Therefore I have taken the liberty to state, in this plain and
  humble manner, my wish and opinion, which I hope you will excuse,
  and I shall remain, either with or without your approbation,

  “Your Excellency’s most obedient and humble servant,

            “WM. LONGSTREET.

  “GOVERNOR TELFAIR.”

Some time afterwards Robert Fulton took up and developed the idea.
At first he, too, was laughed at and discredited fully as much as
was William Longstreet; but he finally succeeded in enlisting the
patronage of Gouverneur Morris, a rich New Yorker, and the success of
the steamboat, with all its tremendous meaning to civilization, was the
result.

His father having died when he was but twelve years old, General
Longstreet’s mother moved shortly afterwards to Augusta, Georgia,
where she resided a few years, after which she moved to Alabama. The
education of young Longstreet was then intrusted to his uncle, Judge A.
B. Longstreet, for many years president of Emory College, at Oxford,
Georgia, and one of the most illustrious presidents of that famous
old college. Judge Longstreet was noted as lawyer, judge, educator,
and writer. He is a very poorly read Georgian, a rather poorly read
Southerner, who has not enjoyed and talked to his friends about that
book of wonderful naturalness, humor, and human philosophy, “Georgia
Scenes.” The author of this book was Judge A. B. Longstreet. In later
years its authorship has been often erroneously credited to General
Longstreet.

Entirely immersed in his college duties, Judge Longstreet had but
little time to give to his youthful nephew. Of those early days, it is
only known that the boy was not much of a student; that the massive old
oaks of Oxford appealed to him more than the school-room; that fishing
in the streams around and chasing rabbits over the fields formed his
dearest enjoyment. In his habits and feeling he was then and always
near to nature. The flash of the lightning in mid-heaven interested him
more than the Voltaic sparks of the lecture-room. He was mischievous,
full of fun and frolic, but beneath all that he was almost from
babyhood planning for a larger career in the outside world and longing
to be a soldier and fight his country’s battles. The books that he
loved most told of Alexander and Cæsar, of Napoleon and his marshals,
of George Washington and the Revolution. He wanted to do things, not to
study about them.

He received his West Point appointment through a relative in Alabama,
who was a member of Congress. The appointment came naturally from
Alabama, because his mother was living there. He went to West Point at
the age of sixteen. This was one of the proudest days of his life; it
was the beginning of the fulfilment of his dreams; he had not an idea
that any human agency could turn him from the soldier course in which
he was directed, or could delay him for an instant. And yet, while
he was in New York City arranging for the change from the cars to the
Hudson River boat, he was approached by two little boys of guileless
appearance, who told him that their father had recently died away down
in South Carolina, that they had no money, that their mother had no
money, that they just must get to their dead father, and wouldn’t he
help them out. With a tenderness of heart characteristic of him then
and always, he was about to open to them his purse and take the chances
of never reaching West Point, when a policeman who had observed the
performance approached and prevented the innocent embryo soldier from
being fleeced by the youthful bunco steerers of the city.

Arriving at West Point, he proudly went to the hotel to register and
take a room, and was much chagrined upon being told by the proprietor
that they didn’t “take in kids.” He was directed to the cadets’
quarters, and his first humiliation there was the further discovery
that instead of being waited on as a dignified soldier should be by
half a dozen servants, he had to keep his own room, make his own bed,
black his own boots.

His thoughts of war had been associated with fierce fighting, the
killing of many enemies, the capturing of many prisoners. His
preconceived idea of a prisoner was gained while a small boy in
Alabama. He had heard that a prisoner was down at the station, and
ran there full of expectancy to see what a “prisoner” was like. He
discovered a big buck negro, black as midnight, large as two ordinary
men, with countenance ferocious. His first West Point assignment which
gave promise of the heroic was to guard a “prisoner.” He was given
a gun for the purpose. The figure of the Alabama darky came to his
mind, and he wondered if the gun were big enough to kill him in case
that should be necessary. Examining it, he discovered, alas! that
it was not even loaded. Sent to guard a terrible prisoner with an
unloaded gun! When he got to the place of service he was relieved,
surprised, and equally disgusted by the discovery that the prisoner
was a fellow-student who had broken the rules--a poor little weakly,
cadaverous fellow, whom he could pick up and throw into the Hudson
without half trying.

As a West Point cadet, so far as the drilling, the field practice,
the athletics, all the out-door work was concerned, he sustained
himself well. He was very large, very strong, well proportioned. He
had dark-brown hair, blue eyes, features that might have served for a
Grecian model. He was six feet two inches tall, of soldierly bearing,
and was voted the handsomest cadet at West Point. As a student of
books, however, he was not a success. They seemed to contain so much
that did not properly belong to the life of a soldier that he could not
become interested enough in them to learn them. In his third year he
failed in mechanics, and did not “rise” until given a second trial. In
scholarship, he always ranked much closer to the foot than to the head
of his class. He was just a little better student than his friend, U.
S. Grant, which was poor praise, indeed. But their after careers told a
different story.




LIFE-LONG FRIENDSHIP OF GRANT AND LONGSTREET


I may be pardoned for digressing here to speak of the strong school-boy
friendship which began at West Point between Grant and Longstreet and
lasted throughout their lives. Grant was of the class after Longstreet,
but somehow their silent serious natures were in spontaneous accord,
and they became fast friends from their first meeting. That one was
from the West and one from the South made no difference, just as later
it made no difference in their feeling of personal affection that one
led the army of the Union and the other the army of the Confederacy.

After their graduation at West Point they were both stationed at
Jefferson Barracks near St. Louis. The Dent family lived near by;
Longstreet was a cousin. And he was particularly fond of his cousin
Julia Dent! He took his friend Grant out to see her, and the result of
the introduction was their marriage five years later. There was such a
contrast between her tall cousin James and her short admirer, Ulysses,
that her friends often joked her about “the little lieutenant with the
big epaulettes.”

Grant and Longstreet went through the Mexican War together, and their
boyhood friendship was indissolubly cemented by the associations of
camp life on the Mexican border. Longstreet went in as a lieutenant
and came out as a major. General Worth apologized, giving Longstreet’s
youth as an excuse for not recommending him for higher promotion.
Promotions in the army in those days were not so rapid as at the
present time.

The first meeting of Grant and Longstreet during the Civil War was not
a personal meeting; it was when they were leading opposing forces at
the battle of the Wilderness. It is known to all students of our Civil
War history that the Confederate forces led by Longstreet were getting
all the better of it at the Wilderness and that the Union forces under
Grant were being driven back, when Longstreet was shot down and carried
from the field. He was _leading_ his men, after his custom,--he never
followed, never told them to go, but always bade them come. He was at
this crucial point at the battle of the Wilderness far in advance of
his men--so far in advance that they mistook him for the enemy and
fired upon him. Shot through the shoulder and the throat, wounded nigh
unto death, he was taken from the field. With this calamity discovered,
the Confederates held up in their swift advance. The impression rapidly
spread that Longstreet was killed. The surgeons and attendants who
were bearing him to the rear called out to the soldiers and asked that
the cry be sent down the lines: “Longstreet is not killed, he is only
wounded.” The men who had seen him fall cried out, “They are fooling
us; he is dead.” General Longstreet has said that he heard both cries;
he knew he was not dead, but did not know how soon he might be; he had
just strength enough left to lift his hat. For this purpose he exerted
that strength, and waved his hat to his men that they might see that he
still lived. But the genius of the battle of the Wilderness borne to
the rear, even the ever dauntless Confederates could not follow up the
advantage they had won.

The next meeting of these two personal friends and opposing generals
was at Appomattox. In the beginning of that momentous conference
General Lee called General Longstreet to him and asked him, in case
honorable terms of surrender should not be offered, and in the ensuing
developments it should be necessary for the Confederates to fight their
way out, if he would stand by him. Longstreet replied that he would
fight and die fighting.

General Longstreet often spoke of the details of the capitulation at
Appomattox. He said that when he went into the conference-room, in
the McLean residence, as one of the Confederate Commissioners, he was
compelled to pass through the room occupied by General Grant as his
head-quarters. He felt curious to know how General Grant would receive
him. He had loved Grant as one of his closest boyhood friends, but
times were much changed. Grant was victor, he was vanquished. He was
therefore prepared to observe the rigid demeanor of those between whom
ceremony only forces recognition. But immediately he entered the room
Grant rose, approached him with a greater show of demonstration than
ever in the olden days, and slapped him on the shoulder, exclaiming,
“Well, Old Pete, can’t we get back to the good old days by playing a
game of brag?” At West Point the nickname among the boys for General
Longstreet was “Old Pete.” No one ever knew why, any more than they
know why this or that college president is designated Peleg or Squeers.

It has often been related by General Longstreet and by others that
General Lee went into the Appomattox conference dressed in full
uniform, and making withal the best appearance that this most noble
soldier in his dire defeat could make. General Grant, on the contrary,
had not dressed up for the occasion. He wore his old fighting uniform,
mud bespattered, evidencing no acquaintance even with a dusting-brush.
The important part of that meeting, the splendid bearing of the
conquered Confederates, the modest demeanor of the Union victors,
and, above all, the noble generosity of Grant in refusing to accept
the sword of Lee and in giving the fairest terms possible under the
existing conditions,--these are known to all who have read United
States history. When General Lee rode back to his head-quarters
from this fateful conference, his half-starved, ragged, worn-out,
worshipful followers saluted him from both sides of the road. Overcome
with emotion, he dared not look directly into their faces. He held
his hat in his hand and fixed his eyes straight between his horse’s
ears. The parting at Appomattox between Lee and his officers was
most kindly, affectionate, and touching in every instance. But when
General Longstreet approached, General Lee threw his arms about him,
and, locked in each other’s embrace, the two wept with a bitterness of
regret that ordinary mortals can never understand.

Soon after the war General Longstreet visited Washington and was
invited to be the guest of a Union officer. He protested against
accepting the invitation, saying that it was too soon after the
fighting. But the insistence was so cordial as to leave no excuse for
refusal. Once under an officer’s roof, it became his pleasant duty
to pay his respects to the commanding general, who was, of course,
General Grant. Grant received him with all his old-time cordiality, and
invited him to take supper at his house that evening, saying quickly,
as enforcement of the invitation, that his wife would be anxious to
see him. The evening was pleasantly spent, and upon taking his leave,
General Grant walked to the gate with General Longstreet, where he
said, “Now that it is all over, would you not like to have pardon?”
General Longstreet replied, with a touch of Southern fire, that he
was unaware of having done anything in need of pardon. General Grant
replied that he had perhaps used the wrong word, as he was more of a
soldier than a linguist; that he meant to ask if General Longstreet
would like to have amnesty. General Longstreet answered that he was
back in the Union, meant to live in the Union, was ready at that
moment to fight for the Union, and would be happy if his old friend
could place him in the way of restored citizenship. General Grant
requested him to come again to his office the following morning, and
said that in the mean time he would see the President and Secretary
of War in General Longstreet’s behalf. In the morning he gave General
Longstreet a letter to President Johnson full of warm interest and
broad-mindedness characteristic of Grant, which is here reproduced:

            “HEAD-QUARTERS ARMIES OF THE UNITED STATES,
              WASHINGTON, D. C., November 7, 1865.

    “HIS EXCELLENCY, A. JOHNSON,
      “President:

  “Knowing that General Longstreet, late of the army which was in
  rebellion against the authority of the United States, is in the
  city, and presuming that he intends asking executive clemency
  before leaving, I beg to say a word in his favor.

  “General Longstreet comes under the third, fifth, and eighth
  exceptions made in your proclamation of the 29th of May, 1865.
  I believe I can safely say that there is nowhere among the
  exceptions a more honorable class of men than those embraced
  in the fifth and eighth of these, nor a class that will more
  faithfully observe any obligation which they may impose upon
  themselves. General Longstreet, in my opinion, stands high among
  this class. I have known him well for more than twenty-six years,
  first as cadet at West Point and afterwards as an officer of
  the army. For five years from my graduation we served together,
  a portion of the time in the same regiment. I speak of him,
  therefore, from actual personal acquaintance.

  “In the late rebellion, I think, not one single charge was ever
  brought against General Longstreet for persecution of prisoners
  of war or of persons for their political opinions. If such
  charges were ever made, I never heard them. I have no hesitation,
  therefore, in recommending General Longstreet to your Excellency
  for pardon. I will further state that my opinion of him is such
  that I shall feel it as a personal favor to myself if this pardon
  is granted.

            “Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
              “U. S. GRANT,
            “_Lieutenant-General_.”

Armed with this letter, General Longstreet sought President Johnson.
In the interview that followed the presentation of the letter the
President was nervous, ill at ease, and somewhat resentful. He would
not decide to grant the request, and he would not positively refuse.
Finally, he asked General Longstreet to call again the following
morning. At this next meeting he was still non-committal, and at
length closed the interview by saying, “There are three men this
Union will never forgive. They have given it too much trouble.
They are Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee, and James Longstreet.”
General Longstreet said, “Those who are forgiven much, love much,
Mr. President.” Johnson answered, “You have high authority for that
statement, General, but you cannot have amnesty.” It was shortly
afterwards granted by act of Congress, General Longstreet’s name being
added to a list of prominent Confederate officers by the especial
request of Grant.

These incidents in the associations of Grant and Longstreet come in
naturally in a paper of this kind. I always think of them together,--as
chums at West Point; as comrades in the West and on the fields
of Mexico; as opposing forces in the mightiest war the world has
witnessed; and after that war was ended, as good friends again in the
stronger nation.

President Johnson, who had started out with the plan of being generous
to the South, and for some unknown reason departed from that policy,
conceived the idea of having arrested and thrown into prison and tried
for treason a number of the high officers of the Confederacy. He called
for a Cabinet meeting to get an endorsement of this plan, and sent for
General Grant to attend the meeting. He forcibly presented his reasons
for the procedure, and asked for the opinions of those present. After
much discussion there was general acquiescence by the Cabinet. “The
silent man of destiny” was the last member of the conference to open
his lips. He said, “I will resign my commission in the army before I
will, as commanding general, sign a warrant for the arrest of any of
these Confederate officers as long as they observe the honorable terms
of surrender made to me.”

It would be easy to write a book about a statement like that, but the
book when written would not be as good as the unadorned statement.

The illustrious Union general’s noble generosity to the conquered South
is an old tale. But it is so beautiful that it bears repetition, and I
love to repeat it. I have digressed from the main line of this paper
to pay to General Longstreet’s boyhood friend the modest tribute of my
admiration. From early childhood I reverenced Grant. I always regarded
him as the greatest man, the greatest general, the greatest hero on
the Union side. I have now a life-size steel-engraving of him that I
secured when a girl. This was long before I knew much of that side of
his life which has since most appealed to me. My admiration of him
has been in every way strengthened by the stories General Longstreet
told me of him, particularly the stories showing his generosity to his
foes and his many private and official kindnesses to the widows and
orphans of Confederate officers and privates. Of these stories I give
one typical of many: When Grant was President, a widow of a Confederate
officer applied for a post-office in a small Southern town. Hearing
nothing of her application, she came to Washington to press it. She was
unable to move the authorities at the Post-Office Department, and was
about to go home in despair, when a friend suggested that it might be
worth while for her to see the President. With much effort she summoned
courage and appeared at the White House. The President received her
in a most friendly manner, and after hearing her story took her
application and wrote a brief but strong endorsement on the back of
it. She hurried in triumph to the Post-Office Department. The official
to whom she presented the application frowned and pondered over it
for some time, and then wrote under the President’s endorsement:
“This being a fourth-class office, the President does not have the
appointing power.” The application was handed back to her, and she
went away in deep distress, and was again preparing to return home,
when another friend told her by all means to take the paper back to the
President so that he might see how his endorsement had been received.
She did so. The President wrote under the last endorsement: “While the
President does not have the appointing power in this office, he has the
appointment of the Postmaster-General,” and, summoning his secretary,
directed him to accompany the lady to the Department and in person
deliver her application to the Postmaster-General. It is needless to
add that she received the commission before leaving the office.

While on a tour through the West in 1899, General Longstreet was
entertained in San Diego, California, at a dinner at the home of U.
S. Grant, Jr. After dinner he requested the company to stand while he
proposed a toast. We expected, perhaps, some pleasantry or gallant
compliment to the hostess. He said: “Thirty-odd years ago I first met
General Grant in the Civil War at the Wilderness, and there received
the wound that paralyzed my right arm. During the fiercest warfare this
nation has seen, General Grant was the strongest obstacle that stood
between me and my people and the consummation of the dearest hopes that
they then cherished. Now, in this day of peace and union, with not a
cloud upon the sky of a reunited country, in the presence of General
Grant’s descendants, under the roof of his namesake son, I want to
drink this toast to the memory of Grant, revered alike by the brave men
who fought with him and the equally brave men who fought him.”




HIS FIRST ROMANCE


Fifty years before the pleasant day in San Diego, fresh from the fields
of his honors and victories in Mexico, young Major Longstreet had come
home to wed the daughter of his old brigade commander, Colonel John
Garland. She was Marie Louise Garland, a very charming woman, and so
small of figure as to be in striking contrast to her husband of six
feet two. They were engaged for some time before the breaking out of
the Mexican War. With a lofty deference, which he bravely overcame in
later life, he had never kissed his fiancée. In setting out for the
Mexican War, he said that he thought, inasmuch as he might get killed
and never see her again, it might not be improper, under all the sad
circumstances, to kiss her. They had ten children, five of whom died
in infancy. A word as to the living five. A son born in Virginia
during the war was named Robert Lee, after the Southern Commander.
This son served in the recent Spanish-American War, and was, by happy
fortune, a member of the staff of General Fitzhugh Lee. He is now in
the government service at Washington City. Another son, named James,
after his father, was born in Virginia not long after the surrender. At
the time, General Longstreet wrote to an absent relative: “This is my
Union son, but he has a yell like the rebel yell when trying to reach
the breastworks. I have named him James, after myself, and I know he
will always be as good a Union man as I am going to be hereafter.”
This son likewise saw volunteer service in the Spanish-American War.
He afterwards received a commission in the regular army, and is now
serving in the Philippines in the Thirteenth Cavalry. This Union
officer son is a strong Democrat; his brother in Washington is an
equally strong Republican. The General always taught that political
alignment should be based upon conviction alone. His oldest son, John,
an architect, lives in Atlanta, the youngest son, Randolph, a farmer,
lives on the home place at Gainesville; the only daughter is Mrs.
Whelchel, of Gainesville, Georgia. There are five grandchildren.

General Longstreet said that he started out in his married life with
the purpose of preserving military discipline in the family,--managing
the family as he would manage soldiers on the field. He soon found that
this would not work, and turned over the chief control of his home to
his wife.

General Longstreet was a great admirer of ladies, and has often said
that he never saw enough of them, never knew as many as he wanted to
know. Into his soldier life few ladies had come. When he got into
civil life he wondered where all the ladies came from. After the
Civil War he was much petted and kissed by the ladies of the South,
as was the custom with the old heroes of the war. He submitted to it
with something more than willingness, particularly from the younger
and prettier girls. He always had for woman in the abstract the
tenderest love and reverence. He considered her the human temple of all
loveliness. He preserved to the end of his long life the romance and
sentiment which, having but half a chance to develop in his youth, had
continued to develop in his later years. The home was ever to him the
holy of holies.

Last summer, at Chicago, he met the daughter of his first sweetheart,
and told her, with beautiful _naïveté,_ that her mother had been his
sweetheart before going to West Point; that he had meant to marry her
when he got back, though he had not told her so; and on returning, to
his disgust, he found her married to another fellow.

After the Mexican War General Longstreet served extensively in the
Indian campaigns out West. He considered it his duty and made it his
delight, as do all good soldiers, to go willingly where he was sent.
When choice was allowed him he went where the service was hardest. He
did not ask to dine nicely nor to sleep warm. A storm cloud was not
too rough a covering for him. He did not seek Olympian sunshine. He
could gladly make the Rocky Mountains his bed, and the war-whoop of
the Indian seeking to disturb the peace of his country was music to
his ears. The highest word that he knew was duty. His country he loved
above all things else. He served in the United States army for almost a
quarter of a century, nearly always west of the Mississippi.

When the Civil War broke out he was paymaster at Albuquerque, New
Mexico, with the rank of major. The country had for years been in
comparative peace, and he had given up the cherished idea of military
glory and high promotion. Where did his duty lie in this hour? He had
loyally served in the Union army for nearly twenty-five years and
through the war that gave to the nation a rich empire. His State and
his people were now going to fight the Union. The Union officers with
whom he was serving and the Union soldiers whom he had commanded,
pleaded with him to stay with the Union; their wives and daughters
entreated him and wept over him; the power of vast association appealed
wonderfully to him; but he thought that duty called him to the service
of the South, and no earthly power could keep him from that service.
He sent in his resignation, and set out at once for Richmond. His
relatives and friends along the way, only taking time to speak to him
as he passed, hastened him on to Richmond. It was a gala journey that
he made through the Southern country. The music of Southern songs was
borne upon every breeze. The wildest enthusiasm electrified town
and hamlet; from the open doors of every farm-house came salutations
cheering the passengers on to Richmond. He was not allowed to pay for
entertainment at any Southern hotel. Everything was free for those who
were going to join “Jeff. Davis for Dixie and for Southern rights.”




HEROIC CITIZEN OF THE RECONSTRUCTION PERIOD


Longstreet entered the Confederate service as brigadier-general,
and reported for duty to General Beauregard at the first Manassas.
After the baptism of fire at Antietam, in 1862, Longstreet was made
lieutenant-general, next in rank to Lee. This rank he retained to the
end of the war, ranking even Stonewall Jackson. This fact is especially
mentioned, because the last generation of the South have often confused
the rank secured by their fathers in the war with the paper ranks given
by the Confederacy when the war was over and that government, heroic in
its ruins, had nothing else to give.

I have heard it said by many Union officers that Longstreet’s corps,
the First Corps, was the terror of the Union army. I have heard it
said that Longstreet was the only officer in the Confederate army whom
Grant and Lincoln wholesomely feared. He was Lee’s right arm in very
truth. The morning of the battle of the Wilderness, while President
Lincoln was at the War Department, some one asked him, “What is the
best thing that can happen to the Union to-day?” He answered, “To kill
Longstreet.” It nearly happened, but by the bullets of Longstreet’s own
men, because in so gallantly leading them he went too far in front.

After the fall of the curtain at Appomattox General Longstreet went
to New Orleans and engaged in the cotton and insurance business.
He developed in business the splendid ability that marked him as a
soldier. He was making ten thousand dollars a year at the time the
celebrated difference of opinion came up as to the course the South
should pursue in the rehabilitation of the war-wasted land. It was
then that he wrote the famous political letter of 1867 that turned the
South against him and made it practically impossible for him to do
business in that section of the country. The idea that this letter was
written to secure political preferment from the powers in authority is
perfectly absurd. He was making more in business, and would have made
still more and more as the years went on, than he could make then or
ever afterwards in politics. Besides, to me, and to any one who ever
knew the real man, the idea of his changing his convictions a hair’s
breadth for any sort of gain is too far-fetched for serious discussion.
The very head and front of his offending consisted in his belief that
it was better for the South to accept the situation then presented;
better for the high-class men of the South to hold the offices than
to have the negroes and scallawags hold them; better for the South
to keep faith with its Appomattox parole, which promised obedience
to constituted authority. It was a few years after this letter that
President Grant appointed him Surveyor of the Port at New Orleans.
He never asked for this appointment, and was not consulted about it.
President Grant, in the generosity of his heart, voluntarily sent his
name to the Senate, and the first news General Longstreet had of it
came through the press.

General Longstreet never affiliated with the controlling element of the
Republican party in the South. He believed in a white man’s Republican
party in the South, and therefore was never in favor with the dominant
Republican party in that section that believed differently. The
political appointments that came to him came because of his high
character and his record of substantial achievement, and in spite of
the opposition of miscellaneous competitive place-seekers. He led a
political movement that has had no following in the Southern section.
It would seemingly have been easy for him to have acquiesced in the
methods of the Republican machinery in the Southern States which would
naturally have made him the head and front of the Southern Republican
party. It would have seemed easier in an earlier day for him to have
gone with the Democracy, which would have made him the political idol
of the South, as he had been its military idol. Is is so much easier
to be a demagogue than it is to be a man. It requires no unusual
moral caliber to take a seat on the band-wagon and go with the crowd.
Conscience compelled James Longstreet to oppose politically, for their
own good, as he saw it, his Southern fellow-countrymen. He announced
his convictions and stood by them. He never profited, as we measure
material benefits; he lost. The qualities he exhibited in these crucial
periods of his life differentiated the man from the time-server and
place-seeker.

One who loved him and was close to him in life said, regretfully,
not long ago, in speaking of him, that he never did anything after
Appomattox that “turned out for his own good.” I felt a sudden
tightening about my heart at this criticism. Perhaps as we view worldly
honors and earthly goods the things he did after Appomattox did not
“turn out for his own good.” But to me he has always been a figure of
more sublime courage in the gathering storms of ’67 and the years that
followed than on any of the brilliant fields of the Civil War. And
I love best to think of him, not as the warrior leading his legions
to victory, but as the grand citizen after the war was ended, nobly
dedicating himself to the rehabilitation of his broken people, offering
a brave man’s homage to the flag of the established government, and
standing steadfast in all the passions, prejudices, and persecutions
of that unhappy period. It was the love and honor and soul of the man
crystallized into a being of wonderful majesty, immovable as Gibraltar.

“There be things, O sons of what has deserved birthright in the land
of freedom, the ‘good of which’ and ‘the use of which’ are beyond all
calculation of earthly goods and worldly uses--things that cannot
be bought with a price and do not die with death;” these, gathering
strength and beauty in James Longstreet’s character, through the four
terrible years of warfare, assumed colossal proportions in the dark
reconstruction era. And when the story of his life has finally been
told, in all its grandeur, the finer fame will settle not about the
valorous soldier, but about Longstreet, the patriot-citizen.




THE CHRISTIAN PATRIOT LOVED THE SOUTH TO THE LAST


When General Longstreet quit fighting, he quit fighting for good. He
considered that the South was back in the Union to stay. There is
no doubt in the minds of many with whom I have talked that General
Longstreet’s conciliatory course, because of its effect in holding
thousands obedient to the laws of the government, prevented the
confiscation of much property in the South immediately after the war,
and greatly alleviated the trials of that distressing period. The
local ostracism of that day and subsequently cut General Longstreet
deeply. He loved the South with all the tenderness of one who was
willing to die for it. In all the quiet hours that he discussed the
misrepresentations of the Southern people, the resentment they bore
him, the criticisms and slanders that had been hurled at him, I never
heard him utter a word against them or give expression to a note of
bitterness. But I think towards the last, exhausted by much suffering,
he had a pitiful yearning for complete reconciliation with all his
people. Not many months before he died an officer of the Northern
armies was calling on him at his hotel in Washington, and in discussing
the Civil War and subsequent events, and General Longstreet’s part
therein, said, “The Southern people have not appreciated you since the
war, General, but when you are dead they will build monuments to you.”
General Longstreet said nothing, but his eyes slowly filled. While he
bore unjust criticism in silence, he was visibly moved by any evidence
of affection from the Southern people.

I recall two very beautiful press tributes that appeared last summer
while he was lying desperately ill at his home in Gainesville, Georgia;
one was from the pen of Hon. John Temple Graves, in the Atlanta,
Georgia, _News_; the other by Mrs. W. H. Felton, an old-time friend,
in the Atlanta _Journal_. Mr. Graves, a representative of the splendid
new South, spoke of the new generations as worthy descendants of the
heroic days, and the place General Longstreet would always hold in
their hearts; and Mrs. Felton, one of the important figures of the
old South, told of the undying love for him of the soldiers of the
Confederacy, and of the place he had worthily won in the affections of
all the people; she wanted to speak these words to him for the comfort
they would give him; and because he had nobly earned the right to hear
them, and ten thousand times more from the people whose battles he had
fought. When he seemed out of immediate danger, and strong enough to
understand, I read these tributes to him, and he wept like a child.

The forbearance of the man and his generous feeling towards those who
used him harshly finally became a wonder, and is to-day a joy for me to
remember. I will here give an instance or two touchingly illustrative
of this side of his character. General Wade Hampton, as stoical as ever
a Roman was, felt very bitterly against General Longstreet because
of his Republican politics. He expressed his feelings freely both in
public and private, and was embittered to the extent that he refused
to speak to General Longstreet. When General Longstreet succeeded him
as United States Commissioner of Railroads, he would not come to the
office to turn it over to his successor. General Longstreet went to the
office, took the oath alone, and endeavored as best he could to make
himself acquainted with the duties of the position. When he came home
that evening and told me, with evident surprise, that General Hampton
was still bitter against him, I asked, rather in the hope of getting
a reply in criticism of General Hampton, “What sort of a soldier was
General Hampton, since he seems so intractable in civil life?” General
Longstreet replied, without a moment’s hesitation: “There was not a
finer, braver, more gallant officer in the Confederate service than
Wade Hampton.” And when General Hampton died, I think the most splendid
tribute paid him came from the pen of General Longstreet.

Years ago there were political differences between General Longstreet
and Judge Emory Speer, now of the Federal Bench of Georgia, then a
member of Congress from the old Eighth District of Georgia. General
Longstreet felt that he had been wronged. The summer before his death
we were at Mt. Airy, Georgia, for a short time. One day I saw Judge
Speer in the hotel where we were stopping, and asked General Longstreet
how he was going to receive him if Judge Speer should come to speak
to him, in view of their past differences. The General replied, “As I
would receive any other distinguished American. And as for our past
differences, that has been a long time ago, and I have forgotten what
it was all about.”

General John B. Gordon, during recent years, did General Longstreet
injustice. I know he caused him much pain. At a time when General
Longstreet was suffering horribly,--one eye had already been destroyed
by the dreadful disease; he had long been deaf and paralyzed from war
service; the wound in his throat was giving him severest pain,--at this
sad time General Gordon revived the old, threadbare story that he had
disobeyed orders at Gettysburg. But when a reporter from one of the
New York dailies called to interview him about General Gordon and his
charges, he refused to say one word. It was then that I said, “If you
will not reply to General Gordon, I will. And in the future, so long
as I shall live, whenever your war record is attacked, I will make
answer.” And so it happened that the little story of Gettysburg was
written while General Longstreet was nearing the grave. During these
last, sorrowful days he had heard that General Gordon was not in good
health, and he asked me, with touching concern, about his condition.
I expected to tell General Gordon of these occurrences, but I never
saw him again. The Reaper gathered him in, ten days after General
Longstreet answered the call.

General Longstreet was a most devout churchman. In early life he was
an Episcopalian, and he regularly attended that church in New Orleans
until the political differences developed between himself and his
friends. After that he noticed that even his church associates avoided
him. They would not sit in the same pew with him. Cut to the quick
by such treatment, he began to wonder if there was any church broad
enough to withstand differences caused by political and sectional
feeling. He discovered that the Roman Catholic priests extended him
the treatment he longed for. He began to attend that church, and has
said that its atmosphere from the first appealed to him as the church
of the sorrow-laden of earth. He was converted under the ministration
of Father Ryan. After accepting the faith of the Catholic Church he
followed it with beautiful devotion. He regarded it as the compensation
sent him by the Almighty for doing his duty as he saw it. He clung to
it as the best consolation there was in life. He went to his duties as
devoutly as any priest of the church, and was on his knees night and
morning, with the simple, loving faith of a little child.




WORSHIPPED BY THE SOLDIERS OF THE CONFEDERACY


The political estrangements between General Longstreet and many of the
leaders of the South never extended to the soldiers who did any large
amount of fighting for the South. There was a Confederate reunion in
Atlanta in 1898. A camp of Confederate Veterans, of Augusta, Georgia,
made up of his old command, sent General Longstreet a special request
to come down from his home in Gainesville, and to wear his old uniform.
He replied that his uniform had been destroyed years ago in the fire
which burned his home and practically everything else he had, but that
he would gladly go down with what was left of himself--that his old
trunk of a body was the only relic of the Confederacy remaining to him.
They then secured his measure and had a new Confederate uniform made
for him to represent the old as nearly as possible. During all his
stay at that reunion the old soldiers flocked about him with a devotion
that Napoleon would have envied. They went wild over him. When he went
to the dining-room at the hotel, the doors had to be closed so that he
could take his meals without interruption. One evening, in the Kimball,
his old “boys” surged about him by the thousands for hours, eager to
touch his hand, to touch his garments, to look into his face, and the
tears streamed down his cheeks. Just before that, one day, outraged at
some unkindness that had come from the South, I had said to General
Longstreet, “The Southern people are no longer my people. I have no
home and no country.” In the midst of the splendid demonstration at the
reunion of 1898, when the thousands who had followed his colors stood
with uncovered heads in his honored presence, I said to him, “This is
the South that I love, because it loves you; it is the magnificent,
generous, loyal South that I love with every impulse of my heart; these
are my people.”

I think he never forgot the Confederate reunion in Atlanta in 1898. His
old soldiers came to his room in a continuous stream. One afternoon,
when he was asleep, utterly worn out, a one-legged, one-armed veteran,
poorly clad, looking poorly fed, came to his room. I told him of the
General’s exhausted condition--that he needed the rest, and I was
really afraid to disturb him. Then he said, “Won’t you let me go in and
look at my old commander, asleep. I haven’t seen him since Appomattox.
I came all the way from Texas to see him, and I may never see him
again.” Without a word I opened the door, and as the worn veteran
looked upon his old chieftain we both cried. In the midst of it General
Longstreet wakened and called the veteran to him. They embraced like
brothers and wept together.

On the eve of the Spanish-American War General Longstreet received
hundreds of letters from his old soldiers in every part of the country,
asking for the privilege of seeing service with him under the flag of
the Union. One of them wrote: “If this country is going to have another
war, I want to be in it, and I want to follow my old commander.”
General Longstreet answered that he was seventy-eight, deaf, and
paralyzed; that he had two sons he would send to fight for him, but
that if his country needed his services, his sword was at its command.

As Commissioner of Railroads, General Longstreet made a tour of the
West in 1899. He was received with beautiful consideration everywhere,
but the welcome which touched him most was that of his old soldiers who
greeted him in every State. It was marvellous to see how the veterans
of a war that was over forty years ago had scattered through the West,
and it certainly seemed that every one there had heard that General
Longstreet was coming, and came to the nearest station to see him. With
them were many Union veterans who gave him an equally cordial greeting.

I will digress here to say that General Longstreet could never stand
on a foot of Northern soil where he was not received with every
manifestation of earthly honor and esteem by the Union veterans and
their descendants, and this touched him as nothing else in the world
could have done. I wish to offer the humble tribute of my love to the
chivalrous section that is to-day so close to my heart; the honors
they paid General Longstreet, their tributes to him, did not end with
the grave. Two weeks after the prospectus of this little volume had
been sent out, the first edition had been bought, long before it was
ready for delivery, by the Grand Army of the Republic, and the orders
were accompanied by testimonials to General Longstreet as soldier and
patriot that would make a memorial volume of rich value, and a brief
selection, at least, I hope to give in future editions.

At one place, on his Western tour in 1899, it became necessary for him
to telegraph to an official of the Rock Island road to ask if he would
“pass” his car. It happened that this official had been a Union officer
who had received hard blows from Longstreet on many bloody fields. He
replied that in the old days that tried the courage of men he was much
more anxious to “pass” Longstreet than to meet him; that now he was
going to insist on meeting him first, and afterwards he would “pass”
anything the General wanted him to “pass.”

Next to the pleasure of meeting his old friends on this Western tour,
General Longstreet most enjoyed the wonderful development of the
country that had taken place since he was chasing wild Indians across
its wide plains. The smiling farms that greeted him, the magnificent
cities, the marvellously fertile irrigated sections that he had last
beheld as deserts, the net-work of competing railroads which had
taken the place of the trail and the half-worked wagon-roads, the
evidences everywhere of a magnificent country built up by progressive
people,--all these, with all the suggestiveness attaching to them,
appealed with mighty force to his heart and to his mental appreciation.
The picture of industrial growth is a beautiful and impressive one. It
is a story in itself that needs only a suggestion to make it as large a
part of this as it should make.

Genuine Americanism, a love of his country in every sentiment that
concerns it and every line of development affecting it, formed a very
large and attractive phase of General Longstreet’s character. And so,
from every stand-point he enjoyed this Western trip to the full.




HIS COUNTRY HOME IN PICTURESQUE NORTH GEORGIA


Next to the smoke of battle in the cause of his country, he loved
nature in her gentlest and most quiet moods. He was fond of the
forest and farm. He owned a small farm near Gainesville, Georgia,
which was one of the delights of his life. Here he set out an orchard
and a vineyard on a scale somewhat extensive, in which he found much
pleasure. It is a hilly, uneven country, this rugged Piedmont section
of north Georgia, noted for its red clay, its rocks, its mighty trees,
the wild honeysuckles that carpet its woods, and the purity of the air
that sweeps over it and the water that gushes in abundance from its
depths. General Longstreet made his little farm in this picturesque
section as productive and attractive as he could. It was mostly hills,
and had to be terraced extensively to keep it from washing away. He had
it terraced with much care, and laid off something after the manner
of a battle-field. Thereupon the people around jokingly called it
“Gettysburg.”

Here he had built and lived in a splendid home of the old colonial
style of architecture, such as has long been popular in the South.
The house was richly furnished. He had one of the finest libraries
in the South, and had collected interesting and valuable souvenirs,
and furnishings from all over the world. His residence was situated
on a lordly eminence; beyond, the everlasting mountains stretched
in unbroken length; in the valley between, the placid waters of the
mountain streams wound lazily to the sea. The location was most
beautiful, and has often been called “Inspiration Point.” Amid these
romantic surroundings General Longstreet dispensed a hospitality
characteristic of the most splendid days of the old South. He often
laughingly said that his house became a rendezvous for old Confederates
who were hastily going West, and needed a “little aid.” They never
knocked in vain at his door. He has said that a favorite tale of theirs
was that they “had just killed a Yankee, and had to go West hurriedly;”
thinking, of course, that this plea would strike a sympathetic chord.

Some twenty years ago General Longstreet’s home and everything it
contained, save the people, vanished in flames. After that he lived
in one of the out-houses, a small frame cottage such as any carpenter
might build and any countryman might own.

Some years ago Hamlin Garland visited Gainesville for the purpose of
calling on General Longstreet. After talking with him Mr. Garland
wrote a very interesting article about him. He especially marvelled
that he should find so great a man, so colossal a character, living in
such modest fashion, seemingly almost forgotten by all sections of the
country in whose destiny he had played so important a part. He said he
found a world-famous general pruning grape-vines on a red hill-side of
the picturesque mountain region of Georgia. He was delighted with his
versatility, his information, and, most of all, with his glowing love
of country and his broad ideas of the future greatness of America.

When the imposing house stood and when he afterwards occupied the
cottage, his home was still the boasted “show-place” of Gainesville.
He was Gainesville’s grand historic character, her first gentleman,
and her best-loved citizen. Whatever resentment towards him because of
political views may have been felt in other parts of the country where
men were striving to be at the head of state processions, in his little
home city there was never a break in the loving and proud esteem in
which he was held by his home people.

Here life remained interesting to him to the last. His heart was ever
young; when he died he was eighty-three years young. Only a day or
two before he was taken away he was planning things that were to take
place years in the future. Blindness, deafness, paralysis, the decay of
physical faculties, failed to move his dauntless courage or quell his
splendid determination.

General Longstreet’s last days were spent in revising his memoirs
of the Civil War, as were Grant’s in writing his. The two colossal
characters passed away suffering the excruciating pains of the same
dread disease,--cancer,--both disdaining death, heroic to the end.

On the eve of the Spanish-American War General Longstreet was invited
by the New York _Herald_ to contribute to its columns a paper on the
subject of the threatened trouble with Spain.

The closing paragraph of that paper comes across the years a prophecy
and prayer for all mankind:

  “As the evening hours draw near, the bugle calls of the eternal
  years sound clearer to my understanding than when drowned in
  the hiss of musketry and the roar of cannon. By memory of
  battle-fields and prophecy of coming events, I declare the hope
  that the present generation may witness the disbandment of
  standing armies, the reign of natural justice, the ushering in of
  the brotherhood of man. If I could recall one hour of my distant
  but glorious command, I would say, on the eve of battle with a
  foreign foe, “Little children, love one another.”




LONGSTREET ON THE FIELDS OF MEXICO[F]




CHAPTER I

THE WINNING OF OUR WESTERN EMPIRE

  Mexico will always be a land of romance. Her ruins are yet
  fragrant with memories of the mighty plans of Louis Napoleon.


After an absence of fifty years, General Longstreet revisited Mexico
in the eventful summer of 1898, leisurely passing over some of the
scenes of his early military experiences. Half a century had stolen
away, yet architecturally he found Mexico but little changed. Few of
the old landmarks were effaced. Modern ideas and inventions have been
encouraged and do prevail in our sister republic, but the dream-like
strangeness of its civilization is still all-pervading. Mexico is not
unlike Egypt in some respects. Everywhere is the poetry of a past age.
Egypt has its sphinx and the pyramids to illustrate a mysterious past;
in Mexico we find the temples of the Aztecs and the monuments of their
cruel conquerors. The Montezumas have left the impress of their race
and civilization on every hand. To the northern visitor Mexico will
always be the land of the Aztecs, worshippers of the sun.

To me the battle-fields of 1846-47 were of supreme interest. They
are to most Americans doubtless the chief magnet of attraction. But
the eye of an active participant in those glorious achievements of
American arms sees more as it sweeps over the valley of Mexico than
is comprehensible to the unprofessional casual observer. It was my
great privilege--to-day a cherished memory--to go over the fields that
stretch away from Chapultepec with a war-worn soldier who fifty years
earlier had there learned his first lessons in real warfare.

Mexico will always be a land of romance. Her civilization stands apart.
Her ruins are yet fragrant with memories of the mighty plans of Louis
Napoleon. From the ill-fated Maximilian empire to our own war with
Mexico seems but a step back, and yet between the steps great history
has been written.

Excepting Vera Cruz and Cerro Gordo, the scene of all the leading
events of General Scott’s campaign lie almost within cannon-shot of the
Mexican capital.

The four battles of Contreras, Churubusco, Molino del Rey, and
Chapultepec, which decided the fate of the war, occurred within a
period of four weeks and within a radius of a dozen miles. The Mexican
General Valencia was disastrously routed at Contreras August 19, 1847,
and Churubusco was fought and won by the Americans next day. Then
there was a short truce between the two belligerents, and terms of
peace were proposed by an American plenipotentiary. These not proving
satisfactory, hostilities were resumed. Scott moved with energy. On
September 8 the battle of Molino del Rey occurred, the Americans
winning, but at heavy sacrifice in killed and wounded. The successful
assault on Chapultepec hill was made on the 13th, five days later,
and on the morning of the 14th Scott’s splendid little army entered
the Mexican capital and hoisted its flag over the public buildings.
The belligerents engaged in these affairs were comparatively small
and the losses on both sides very severe. The Mexicans fought well,
but were execrably led. With the fall of Mexico Scott had conquered a
nation with an army fewer in numbers than the single corps Longstreet
commanded at Gettysburg.

Scott’s army, for the most part, was composed of veteran
troops,--regulars, with a considerable contingent of fine and
well-officered volunteers. Most of them were already battle-seasoned,
having participated in General Taylor’s initiatory campaign of 1846 on
the Rio Grande, where they had signally defeated the Mexicans at Palo
Alto, Resaca de la Palma, and Monterey. Taylor’s crowning victory at
Buena Vista, February 23, 1847, did not occur until after Scott had
drafted away the best part of his regulars for the march on Mexico.

Among them were the Fourth and Eighth Infantry regiments. Lieutenant
Longstreet had served in both,--in the Fourth as brevet second
lieutenant after graduating from the Military Academy in 1842, up to
1845, when he was promoted and transferred to the Eighth, and he was
lucky enough to be with the latter in the action at Palo Alto, May 8,
1846, at Resaca de la Palma next day, and in the siege and capture of
Monterey, September 21 to 23, of the same year. It was on these fields
that most of the young fellows who afterwards became conspicuous in the
Union and Confederate armies flashed their maiden swords.

In the Fourth, among Longstreet’s earlier official and social intimates
at Jefferson Barracks and Camp Salubrity, were Captain George A.
McCall, Lieutenants Augur, Grant, Alex. Hays, and David A. Russell,
all afterwards distinguished Union generals. Captain McCall was then
forty-three years old, and was graduated from West Point in 1822, just
twenty years ahead of Longstreet’s class.

The subsequent Civil War produced some singular anticlimaxes to these
old Mexican War friendships. It so happened, for instance, that
sixteen years afterwards, at the battle of Glendale before Richmond,
Longstreet’s Confederate division was pitted against McCall’s smaller
Union division, and the Confederates had the best of it. About dusk,
after the heavy fighting was over, McCall and his staff accidentally
rode into the Forty-seventh Virginia. Curiously enough, the Union
general alone was captured and brought to Longstreet’s head-quarters.

Having for a time been a brevet second lieutenant under McCall in the
old Fourth Infantry, and really commiserating his personal mishap,
General Longstreet cordially advanced, offering his hand and proffering
such hospitality as was permissible in the untoward circumstances. But,
deeply chagrined by his defeat and capture, McCall sullenly repelled
Longstreet’s friendly advances. It only remained for the Union general
to be sent back to Richmond in charge of a staff-officer and guard. It
was the last meeting between the old captain and his former lieutenant,
and, strangely, was McCall’s last appearance in battle, though he
was exchanged in a few weeks. He somehow fell into disfavor with the
Washington authorities, resigned in March, 1863, and died on a farm
near Westchester, Pennsylvania, in 1868. McCall was a fine soldier of
the old school. Grant was also a second lieutenant with McCall in the
Fourth, and liked him very much.

Alex. Hays and Longstreet had been associated in both regiments. Like
Longstreet, Hays was promoted and transferred from the Fourth to
the Eighth, though upward of a year subsequently. Grant never left
the Fourth until he resigned as captain, about seven years after the
Mexican War. Hays and Grant had been friends at West Point, though not
classmates, and very chummy afterwards while subs. in the old Fourth
Infantry. The official personnel of General Taylor’s army, scant
three thousand men, was so small that they were almost like a family.
Everybody knew everybody else.

Hays was detached from the Eighth when Scott advanced into the
valley of Mexico, but was engaged in several severe affairs in
defence of convoys of supplies to the front, and also at Heamantle
and Sequaltiplan. After that war was over he resigned, but in 1861
immediately sought service again, and soon rose to the command of a
Union division. His division contributed materially to the repulse of
Longstreet’s attack at Gettysburg on July 3. But poor Hays was killed
in front of Longstreet’s lines at the Wilderness in 1864, the first
battle in Virginia after his old comrade, Grant, had assumed command of
the Union armies. Such was the fortune of war of the civil struggle.

The Eighth Infantry furnished from its Mexican War contingent few
conspicuous leaders to either side in the subsequent Civil War. The
regiment was compelled to surrender to the local authorities of Texas
early in 1861, and were detained at the South many months. Only a few
of its old officers then remained. All those of Southern proclivities
had already withdrawn. Longstreet left the Eighth in 1858, ten years
after peace with Mexico, having been promoted to major and paymaster.
By detention as prisoners of war the Union soldiers of the Eighth were
deprived of the early promotion which fell to the lot of most regulars.

Out of all the officers of the two regiments engaged in Mexico,
only seven, it appears, espoused the Southern cause, and of these
but three attained to any considerable rank in the Confederate
armies,--Longstreet, Pickett, and Cadmus E. Wilcox. Pickett was a
magnificent soldier, one of the most daring in the Confederate army.

In the two campaigns of Taylor and Scott the Fourth and Eighth lost no
fewer than twelve officers killed and fatally wounded, and eighteen
others seriously wounded, a very heavy percentage. This alone proves
that the Americans had no walkover. Every foot of the ground was
bravely contested by the Mexicans.

To continue this digression a little farther, it may be said that the
genesis of the two Mexican campaigns is not well understood. Winfield
Scott was and had long been the commanding general of the United
States army, and entitled as such, aside from his military renown, to
the Mexican command. But Scott, a Southern Whig, was ambitious to be
President. The Democratic administration of Polk was quite naturally
chary of giving Scott an opportunity to win public applause through
a victorious military campaign. Scott had early submitted a plan of
operations, with request for permission to lead an American army into
Mexico. But Zachary Taylor, then only a colonel and brevet brigadier,
was chosen for the purpose, to the discomfiture of Scott and his
coterie. Of course, the general-in-chief chafed because he had thus
designedly been over-slaughed by a junior.

The administration overreached itself. Taylor’s small victories in
northern Mexico in the Spring of 1846 were so greatly magnified by the
press of the States that he at once became the hero of the hour. Soon
he was the open candidate of the Whig party for the Presidency; for
Taylor, like Scott, was a Southern Whig. Polk and his advisers were
now between the devil and the deep sea. To beat back and neutralize the
rising Taylor tide they precipitately turned to Scott. His original
plan for bringing Mexico to terms _via_ Vera Cruz was adopted, and he
assigned to the command, with fulsome assurances of ample and continued
support, which were never fulfilled.

Scott was thereupon given _carte blanche_ to withdraw such force
of regulars from Taylor as he deemed necessary to the successful
prosecution of his proposed invasion, and meanwhile Taylor, with some
five thousand volunteers and a slight leaven of regular troops, was to
remain on the defensive. Then something happened. Taylor did not choose
to remain stock still, but advanced. A few weeks after the depletion of
his army, which began in January, 1847, and before Scott had landed at
Vera Cruz with his raw volunteers, Taylor worsted Santa Anna at Buena
Vista. He not only signally defeated the foreign enemy, but completed
the rout of the Democratic administration at Washington, and the next
year was nominated by the Whigs and elected President hands down,
wholly on the strength of his military achievements. Scott, nominated
in 1852, was disastrously beaten by the Democratic candidate, Franklin
Pierce, one of his inconspicuous civilian brigadiers in Mexico. It must
have been a galling blow to the old General’s pride. His defeat was the
death-blow of the Whig party.




CHAPTER II

PECULIARITIES OF SCOTT AND TAYLOR

  As we gazed down from Chapultepec’s heights, on that fragrant day
  of 1898, across the beautiful valley of Mexico, the war of fifty
  years agone seemed but yesterday to him who on those fields had
  added a new star of the first magnitude to the galaxy of American
  valor.


Since those old days General Longstreet often speculated on the result
if Taylor and Scott had been required to handle the armies of Lee and
Grant and meet the conditions which confronted the great Union and
Confederate leaders at the crucial periods of their campaigns. He
concluded that both would have maintained their high reputations at the
head of much larger bodies of troops than they marshalled in Mexico,
even though confronted by abler opponents than Santa Anna, supported
by stronger and better-disciplined armies than the half-starved,
ill-appointed levies he brought against them at Buena Vista and Cerro
Gordo. At all events, the young fellows of 1846-47 to a man believed
Taylor and Scott adequately equipped to successfully meet any military
emergency.

They were extraordinary characters. Both were practised officers dating
back to the war of 1812, though neither was a West Point graduate.
Scott on the Canadian frontier had commanded against considerable
bodies of disciplined British troops in pitched battle, and came off
with increased reputation. He had then visited Europe and observed the
continental armies. He was well educated; had studied for the bar,
but by preference took up the military profession, of which he was a
diligent student. Scott was thoroughly up in the literature of war. To
a cultivated mind he added a colossal person and a fine presence.

General Scott’s chief fault was an overweening personal vanity
which often took the form of mere pedantry, not unseldom bringing
him into personal ridicule. Insufferably pompous, he invariably
maintained a vast, unbending dignity, both of manner and speech,
whether oral or written. The subalterns of the army looked upon him
with absolute awe. Many a brevetted cadet would readily have chosen
to go against a Mexican intrenchment rather than into the commanding
general’s presence. He brooked no familiarity from high or low. While
he sometimes indulged in a sort of elephantine affability, he was
naturally dictatorial towards all subordinates, though always within
the limits of decency. Scott’s was not at all the overbearing insolence
of the coward. He always rode in full uniform, with all the insignia of
his rank visible to the naked eye.

Such a queer combination of bigness and littleness, learning, practical
ability, and whimsicality formed a character sure to create enemies,
and it must be said that Scott had plenty of them, both in and out of
the army. By them he was derisively dubbed “Old Fuss and Feathers.”
Notwithstanding his weakness, the General was physically and morally
a very brave man. He was cool and deliberate in forming his military
plans, and once determined upon they were prosecuted with unhesitating
energy and precision. Above all he was an honest man. Undoubtedly
General Scott possessed a comprehensive military mind.

Equally cool and careful in planning, equally energetic in execution,
and equally brave, honest, and true, in other respects Taylor was an
entirely different type of man. Personally he was the antipodes of the
handsome giant, Scott, being only of middle stature. His complexion was
swarthy and his face rugged and homely, but with a kindly expression.
Unlike Scott again, Taylor’s schooling had been limited, yet without
any affectation of style he wrote clearly and vigorously. From the age
of one year he had lived the life of a Kentucky frontier farmer boy up
to his entry into the army as a lieutenant in 1808.

Taylor’s military experience, confined wholly to the Western border in
1812, was limited to outpost affairs with Indians and the few squads
of British soldiers and borderers who supported them. As an officer he
had never met so much as a full company of disciplined soldiers until
Palo Alto. Taylor never wore his uniform, or almost never. He dressed
in rough clothes no better than those worn by the common soldier. He
was often seen riding without his staff or other attendant, seeing
things with his own eyes. He was frank and somewhat rough, but kindly
in speech. While he was not without proper dignity, he talked and acted
straight to the mark without much consideration for appearances. He
treated his subordinates with easy consideration, and was often seen
joking and laughing with mere subalterns. He was given the sobriquet
of “Old Rough and Ready” by the army, in which he was dearly loved by
all. It was a title which rang through the country in the political
campaign of 1848. He not only inspired universal good will, rough and
uncultivated as he was, but confidence. Such were the two Mexican
commanders.

As we gazed down from Chapultepec’s heights, on that fragrant day of
1898, across the beautiful valley of Mexico, the war of fifty years
agone seemed but yesterday to him who on those fields had added a new
star of the first magnitude to the galaxy of American valor. Memories
of the glorious past rushed through his mind. Here Grant and Lee had
taken their first lessons in practical warfare on a considerable
scale. Here had been won not only Texas, but the vast domain away
to the Pacific. Since then what social, industrial, and political
revolutions had he not witnessed. From the Mississippi had spread out a
great republic, reaching from ocean to ocean. He had seen the Southern
Confederacy rise and fall, and colossal history, along the way from
Chapultepec to Manila, written in the blood of the nation’s strong
men. And Mexico has not been behind in the mighty changes that have
swept over the continent since her bitter humiliation in 1847. She has
advanced by heroic strides, especially under the wise leadership of
Diaz.

But after all it was not wholly the great events of half a century
that crowded upon General Longstreet’s memory at this interesting
juncture. Curiously enough, his mind persisted in fixing itself upon
minor incidents,--social and personal relations,--on the comrades who
had here and elsewhere laid down their lives in the service, on others
who had risen to distinction or dropped out of the running. The “boys”
of ’46 and ’47 again crowded upon him. It could hardly be otherwise,
for they were a band of brothers then. When General Taylor’s little
Army of Observation was collected in western Louisiana, the whole
regular establishment of the United States consisted of no more than
12,139 officers and men. The Army of Occupation which was concentrated
at Corpus Christi, Texas, in the fall of 1845, numbered only three
thousand men.

The days of Corpus Christi still formed a vivid picture in General
Longstreet’s mind. The oldest officers present--even General Taylor
himself--had never seen so large a body of the regular army together.
Adjoining the camp were extensive level prairies, admirably adapted to
military manœuvres. Many of the officers had not taken part in even
a battalion drill since leaving West Point, and with most of them
evolutions of the line had only been read in tactics. So widely had
the troops been scattered, and in such small detachments, to meet the
requirements of the country’s extensive frontiers, that there were
colonels who had never seen their entire regiments.

This concentration afforded opportunity for practical professional
instruction and discipline which was appreciated and availed of.
But with this preparatory work there were amusements, and lasting
friendships were formed; perhaps a few equally lasting enmities.
Game and fish abounded. There were no settlements; the country was
absolutely wild. Within a few hours’ ride of the camps were wild
turkeys in flocks of twenty to forty; deer and antelope were numerous,
and not far afield were vast droves of wild mustangs. Wolves and
coyotes were everywhere, and occasionally a Mexican lion (cougar) was
found. Many of the young officers became expert hunters. Muzzle-loading
shot-guns were used mainly; there were no breech-loaders in those
days. The camp tables fairly groaned with game dishes; wild turkey
and venison finally so palled upon many of the soldiers as actually
to become distasteful, and the old reliable beef and pork of the
commissariat was resorted to in preference.

Wild horses were lassoed and brought into camp by Mexicans and tame
Indians, and sold to the Americans for two or three dollars a head.
An extra good animal would sometimes bring twelve dollars, which was
the tip-top price. A good many were purchased by the quartermaster for
the use of the army, and proved very serviceable. These animals looked
something like the Norman breed; they had heavy manes and tails, and
were much more powerful than the plains ponies farther north of a later
date. They foraged for themselves and flourished where the American
horse would deteriorate and soon die.




CHAPTER III

UNPRETENTIOUS LIEUTENANT GRANT

  It was not until Grant came East during the Civil War that
  Longstreet began fully to appreciate his military ability.
  Grant’s successes at Donelson, Shiloh, and Vicksburg were but
  vaguely understood in the Army of Northern Virginia, where they
  were mainly ascribed to bad generalship on the Confederate side,
  and some blundering good luck on Grant’s part.


Lieutenant Grant, of the Fourth, had acquired great reputation at the
Military Academy as an expert horseman. He was always the show rider
upon great occasions. He greatly added to this reputation at Corpus
Christi. He was regimental quartermaster, and had much to do with these
horses. He bought several of the better class for his own use. While
riding one and leading the others to water one day, just before the
army moved to the Rio Grande, his colored servant lost the whole bunch,
or perhaps sold them for his own account. He claimed that, throwing him
off, they jerked loose and stampeded away. There was a joke among the
boys that, upon being told of the incident, General Taylor humorously
remarked, “Yes, I understand Mr. Grant lost five or six dollars’ worth
of horses recently,” satirically referring to their extraordinary
cheapness. Grant declined to buy more horses for his private use. Soon
after, the army advanced to the Rio Grande, and foot officers had no
use for horses.

The unpretentious Grant was soon famous throughout the army as a
“bronco buster,” in the sense the term is now familiarly used. He would
unhesitatingly mount and soon bring to terms the most vicious of wild
horses. On horseback he was a very centaur. In no other manner could an
animal unhorse Grant than by lying down and rolling over. A large group
of interested officers one day had opportunity to observe his success
in dealing with an unbroken horse. An Indian had brought to camp a
splendid specimen which had struck Grant’s fancy, and for which he paid
the record price of twelve dollars. It seemed to prance on springs
of steel; its beautiful head was carried on high, and the noble eyes
shot sparks of fire. While two grooms held it by lariats from either
side, Grant blindfolded the stallion. Then the regulation accoutrements
of Spanish saddle and heavy-bitted bridle were adjusted, and Grant
mounted, his heels armed with an enormous pair of Mexican spurs.

Thus blindfolded, the beautiful animal had stood stock still, trembling
like an aspen. The instant his eyes were uncovered he sprang forward
like a shot. Grant held his seat firmly. Then the horse began to
“buck,”--that is, to jump high into the air, at the same moment
suddenly crooking his back upward with intent to throw off his burden.
This was repeated time after time, of course without dislodging
Grant, who was up to that sort of thing. The proceeding was greeted
by the by-standers with shouts of laughter and yells of “Hang on,
Grant,” “Don’t let him down you, old boy,” etc. The animal presently
tired of this work, and at the proper juncture the cool-headed rider
vigorously applied the spurs, at the same time loosening the rein,
when the stallion plunged straight forward at a breakneck pace through
the chaparral and cacti of the plain. The soldiers watched them until
they disappeared, and the uninitiated wondered if they should ever see
Grant alive again. Two hours later they returned at a slow walk, both
exhausted, the horse’s head down and his sides wet with sweat and foam.
He was conquered, and was thereafter as docile as any well-trained
American horse.

When not on duty, Grant’s chief amusement at Corpus Christi was
horseback riding. He was no sportsman, and only occasionally played
“brag” for small stakes. Longstreet’s classmate, Lieutenant Benjamin,
of the Fourth Artillery, came in one day with a story about Grant’s
one attempt at gunning for turkeys. The two, on a short leave with
other officers, had made a journey on horseback to Austin late in
the fall of 1845, accompanying a train of supplies. Returning, the
party was reduced to three,--Benjamin, Grant, and Lieutenant Augur,
afterwards major-general in the Union army. Augur fell sick and was
left at Goliad, to be picked up by a train following. At Goliad Grant
and Benjamin went out to shoot turkeys. Benjamin was a good shot and
soon returned to camp with several fine birds. He found Grant already
in, but without any game. The latter said that a large flock of turkeys
had taken flight in twos and threes from branches of the pecan-trees
overhead, some of them calmly looking at him several moments before
taking wing. He had watched them with much interest until the last
turkey had disappeared. Then it suddenly occurred to him that he
had come out to shoot turkeys. “I concluded, Benjamin, from this
circumstance,” explained Grant, with much chagrin, “that I was not
cut out for a sportsman, so I returned to the house, confident you
would bring in plenty of birds.” This explanation was offered with the
utmost simplicity, and Benjamin repeated it with much unction. Poor
Benjamin did not live to see the heights of fame reached by the little
lieutenant who did not know enough to shoot wild turkeys in 1845. He
was killed at the storming of the city of Mexico, September 13, 1847.

These anecdotes of a distinguished man naturally find place in a
potpourri paper of this kind, but their special purpose is to show
Grant’s personal characteristics, and in some sort the estimate
placed upon him by his comrades of sixty years ago. But in those
days the young fellows of the army fooled away no time in estimating
upon the intellectual capacity of even the most promising associate.
Grant was just simply an unobtrusive, every-day second lieutenant,
without special promise or remarkable traits. It must be said that
no one looked upon him then as the coming great man of the greatest
war of civilized times. Rather quiet, seldom seeking crowds, Grant
nevertheless enjoyed his friends, and among them was both a voluble
and interesting talker. The alleged taciturnity of the later time was
assumed to shut off busybodies--it was only judicious reticence. He
was quickly known as a very brave and enterprising soldier in action,
and, in fact, distinguished himself under both Taylor and Scott. He
and Longstreet were intimate friends from 1839 through the seven years
ending with the Mexican War, and often met in friendliest relations
after the Civil War. Grant never forgot a friend in need.

It was not until Grant came East during the Civil War that Longstreet
began to fully appreciate his military ability. Grant’s successes at
Donelson, Shiloh, and Vicksburg were but vaguely understood in the
Army of Northern Virginia, where they were mainly ascribed to bad
generalship on the Confederate side, and some blundering good luck on
Grant’s part. But after the war was over and access was had to the
inside history of those events, Longstreet soon perceived that the
Vicksburg campaign was one of the greatest in military history, and
that Pemberton’s destruction was almost wholly due to Grant’s bold
conception of the military requirements to fulfil the expectations of
his government.

Longstreet had been near by when Grant attacked and defeated Bragg
at Chattanooga, and also thought that victory was largely due to
overwhelming numbers and Bragg’s incapacity to perceive the impending
storm. Longstreet wrote to General Lee from East Tennessee, some
time in the winter of 1863-64, that he need have no fear of Grant,
then presumptively booked for the Army of the Potomac; that he was
overestimated, largely from his prestige acquired against inferior
commanders, etc. But in the very beginning of the Wilderness campaign
in 1864 the commander of the First Corps of the Army of Northern
Virginia saw a power displayed in manœuvring the Army of the Potomac
which the Confederates had never met before. There is no doubt that
General Lee himself appreciated that he had a new and puzzling force to
deal with. At the Wilderness Lee assumed the offensive the moment Grant
crossed the Rapidan, essaying the same tactics that had been practised
upon Hooker at Chancellorsville, but he failed. The Confederates
withstood Grant in the Wilderness, but it was the last time General Lee
attempted a general offensive. This was somewhat due to his inferior
numbers and waning morale, but it was mainly because of Grant’s
presence. The year before, after what was practically a drawn battle at
Chancellorsville, Hooker, with double Lee’s force, withdrew across the
river. He had between twenty-five thousand and thirty thousand men who
had scarcely fired a gun in battle. Grant, with fewer men than Hooker,
fought a larger Confederate army at the Wilderness. It, too, was no
more than a drawn battle, yet Grant had no thought of recrossing the
river to recuperate. He moved forward and immediately put General Lee
on the defensive.

General Lee at last realized that the Confederacy’s only hope was
defensive battle, and his fame as a General will rest wholly on that
campaign. If he had persisted in the tactics employed against Hooker
and Pope and McClellan, his army would have been destroyed in ten days
after the Wilderness. Grant really had the Army of Northern Virginia
on the go on the morning of the 6th of May; it was saved from utter
rout only by the timely arrival of the First Corps, which rolled back
Hancock’s victorious lines upon the Brock road and beyond.




CHAPTER IV

PLEASANT INCIDENTS OF CAMP LIFE AT CORPUS CHRISTI

  The reunion at Corpus Christi made a deep impression upon the
  fledglings of the service. The long encampment there formed a
  green spot in the memory of the little army that bore our colors
  in triumph to the city of Mexico.


Among General Longstreet’s pleasant memories of camp life at Corpus
Christi was a rude theatre erected by a joint stock company of the
young officers, who acted in the plays produced on its boards, taking
both male and female parts. Many roaring comedies were billed, and
cheered the garrison from time to time. The enlisted men were of
course permitted to pay the entrance fee and see the best that was
going. General Worth was always a delighted auditor, General Taylor
occasionally honored the entertainments with his presence, and General
Twiggs rarely. After exhausting the field of comedy and having already
reimbursed themselves for all outlays, the officers concluded to enter
the more expensive and difficult field of tragedy. The first play
chosen was the Moor of Venice. Lieutenant Porter, brother of Admiral
Porter, was assigned the part of Othello, whilst Lieutenant Longstreet
was nominated for Desdemona; but upon inspection the manager protested
that six feet dignified in crinoline would not answer even for a tragic
heroine. So Longstreet was discarded and Grant substituted. Finally,
after a rehearsal or two, Grant, too, had to give way under protests
of Porter that male tragediennes could not give the proper sentiment
to the play. Then the officers “chipped in” and sent to New Orleans
for a real actress, and thereafter all went well. The play was pulled
off eventually with as much _éclat_ as followed General Taylor’s first
victory a few months later on the Rio Grande.

A volume could be filled with incidents of those sunny days on the
Mexican Gulf, the incipient stage of the first campaign in real war
for the young officers. They gave little heed of the morrow. Their pay
was small, but their requirements were on even a less scale. There
was a good deal of drilling, but otherwise their duties were far from
onerous. A large proportion of the cadets Longstreet had known at West
Point from 1838 to 1842 were there congregated, and old associations
were renewed. Of course, all these officers were not intimates, but
nearly all were personal acquaintances on the most friendly footing.
Every one brought his share to the common aggregate of interest and
pleasure.

Among the officers there collected who afterwards became prominent
in the Union and Confederate armies, in addition to those already
mentioned, were William J. Hardee, Thomas Jordan, John C. Pemberton,
Braxton Bragg, Earl Van Dorn, Samuel G. French, Richard H. Anderson,
Robert S. Garnett, Barnard E. Bee, Bushrod R. Johnson, Abram C. Myers,
Lafayette McLaws, and E. Kirby Smith, of the Confederate service;
and J. K. F. Mansfield, George G. Meade, Don Carlos Buell, George H.
Thomas, N. J. T. Dana, Charles F. Smith, Joseph J. Reynolds, John
F. Reynolds, Abner Doubleday, Alfred Pleasanton, Thomas J. Wood,
Seth Williams, and George Sykes, distinguished Union generals in the
Civil War. There were many others too numerous to mention. Longstreet
afterwards met many of these officers as mortal foes on the field of
battle. He served with others in the Confederate armies, and others
served under him. McLaws and Pickett were long fighting division
commanders in his corps.

Robert E. Lee, George B. McClellan, G. T. Beauregard, and Joseph E.
Johnston were not with Taylor, and they and others, notably E. R. S.
Canby, Isaac I. Stevens, and John G. Foster, did not join the army
until Scott’s campaign opened in 1847, though it appears that Lee was
with General Wool’s column in the movement towards Chihuahua. They
were among the great names of the subsequent Civil War. Jefferson
Davis, colonel of the Mississippi Rifles, joined Taylor after Scott had
withdrawn the regulars, but in time to turn the tide of battle at Buena
Vista. Altogether it was a brilliant roster. They were all graduates of
the Military Academy. Of all the officers collected at Corpus Christi,
it is doubtful if there is to-day a score of survivors. A large number
were killed in action. A far greater number died of disease in the
Mexican or Civil War campaigns.

Besides the long list of West Pointers, there were at Corpus Christi
many regulars appointed from civil life, meritorious officers who
afterwards made their mark. One of these was Lawrence P. Graham, a
Virginian, already a captain in the Second Dragoons. He was some six
years Longstreet’s senior. After Mexico Graham stuck to the old army,
rose to the colonelcy of the Fourth Cavalry in 1864, and was a Union
brigadier of volunteers. He had been in the army nearly ten years when
the Mexican War broke out. He still survives at the green old age of
eighty-eight, a retired colonel since 1870, thirty-three years. He has
been carried on the rolls of the United States army nearly sixty-seven
years. That is one of the rewards for having been lucky enough to
espouse the winning side in 1861. But self-interest had little to do
with the choice of sides; conscience pointed the way in that hour of
passion.

The reunion at Corpus Christi made a deep impression upon the
fledglings of the service. The long encampment there formed a green
spot in the memory of the little army that bore our colors in triumph
to the city of Mexico. Those who have left memoirs of their military
careers have to a man dwelt largely upon the various interesting,
though generally unimportant, incidents of this delightful episode.
March, 1846, brought the hour of their ending; on the 9th the bugles
of the line sounded the assembly, and in obedience to instructions
from Washington General Taylor put his army in motion by easy stages
for the line of the Rio Grande River. That movement immediately
produced a result which the government had long secretly desired,--war.
Negotiations for the amicable possession of Texas and the territory to
the Pacific had failed.

It is not the purpose of this paper to write the history of the Mexican
War, but a few of its salient features may be recounted perhaps with
profit.

Under the Texas treaty of annexation and the act admitting Texas into
the American Union the United States claimed all the territory down
to the Rio Grande and westward to the border of New Mexico. Mexico,
on her part, denied that Texas was a free agent, although President
Santa Anna, captured by the Texans the next day after the battle of
San Jacinto in 1836, while in durance had consented to a treaty which
acknowledged Texan independence. Texas had adopted a constitution
and set up an independent government. Mexico repudiated Santa Anna’s
agreement, but nevertheless had subsequently never been able to conquer
the lost territory. The entrance of the American troops into Texas was
therefore by Mexico considered a _casus belli_, and her troops, under
General Arista, crossed the river and began aggressive war upon the
United States detachments as soon as they reached the vicinity.

The Mexican General Torrejon captured a detachment of United States
dragoons April 25, including Captains Thornton and Hardee and
Lieutenant Kane, besides killing Lieutenant George J. Mason and sixteen
men. Mason was a classmate of Longstreet. Thornton, Hardee, and Kane
were well treated, and soon after exchanged. Small bands of Mexicans
committed other depredations. Shortly after the unfortunate incident
above recited, Lieutenant Theodoric Porter and a small party were fired
upon from an ambuscade in the chaparral, and Porter and one soldier
killed. Porter had been one of the theatrical stars at Corpus Christi.

The march to Point Isabel, the siege of Fort Brown by General Ampudia,
and the stirring affairs at Palo Alto and Resaca soon followed. The
spirit of _camaraderie_ and patriotic zeal which animated the Army
of Occupation was vividly illustrated when Captain Charles May was
ordered by Taylor, at Resaca de la Palma, to charge a Mexican battery.
As May drew up his own and Graham’s squadrons for the work, Lieutenant
Randolph Ridgely, of Ringgold’s artillery, called out, “Hold on,
Charlie, till I draw their fire,” and he “turned loose” with his six
guns upon the enemy. The return fire was prompt, but Ridgely’s wise
purpose was accomplished. Then the invincible heroism with which
May rushed forward at the head of a handful of the Second Dragoons
signalized the qualities which unerringly foreshadowed the result of
that war. The opposing battery was secured in the twinkling of an eye,
and the Mexican General La Vega captured amid his guns. May’s gallant
exploit was the theme of the army. May, Ridgely, and Longstreet were
close friends, of the trio Longstreet being youngest in years and
service. Ridgely was killed at Monterey that fall. May lived until
1864, having resigned in 1861. He took no part in the Civil War.
The first successes of the Mexican War were easy and decisive. The
real hardships began with the march over the sterile wastes towards
Monterey. Monterey was equally as decisive, but it was found to be a
much harder nut to crack, and here the American losses were very heavy.
The general effect of Taylor’s operations, in conjunction with Wolf’s
campaign and the overland march of General Kearny to California, was
demoralizing to the Mexicans.




CHAPTER V

INTO THE INTERIOR OF MEXICO

  In after-years Lee’s admirers claimed that much of Scott’s glory
  on the fields of Mexico was due to Lee’s military ability. Scott
  gave him great praise.


When it was learned that two divisions of Taylor’s army had been
ordered to the coast, there was much speculation at the front as to the
meaning of the movement. The younger contingent immediately jumped to
the conclusion that the war was over, and that Twiggs’s and Patterson’s
troops were ordered home. This proved not to be the case, but the army
was not much disappointed to learn that another campaign farther south
was projected. There was some friction between Taylor and Scott over
the withdrawal of the regulars. Some of Scott’s letters to Taylor
miscarried, and Scott, pressed for time, was compelled to order the
troops he wanted down to the coast without Taylor’s knowledge, the
latter at times being far in the interior. When Taylor learned that his
best troops had been ordered away without an hour’s previous notice,
the old general was naturally very much incensed. He was afterwards
somewhat mollified when he received Scott’s delayed correspondence, and
saw that his chief had endeavored to reach him in the proper spirit.
Scott was the senior, and of course it was for him to order; besides,
Scott himself had orders from the President to withdraw the troops.
Taylor, however, made, both to Scott and the Secretary of War, a sharp
protest against the manner of carrying out the design. Doubtless Taylor
felt sore upon learning that the administration intended leaving him
upon the defensive, without means to continue his victorious advance.
Buena Vista, a few weeks later, probably melted the old fellow’s rancor
into sardonic satisfaction.

Once started, the troops rapidly retrograded to the Rio Grande.
The weather was fairly cool, and the marches made from twenty to
twenty-eight miles per day. One rather warm day, while the troops were
on this move, a burnt district was passed over, and the heat and flying
smoke and ashes choked the tired men and officers. When the column
camped, it was upon a beautiful mountain stream, into which all rushed
for a bath. First Lieutenant Sydney Smith, of the Fourth, one of the
first to start for the water, while passing through the timber which
fringed the stream, was attacked by peccaries, a species of wild pig
common in Mexico. They are not very large, but travel in droves, and
are very fierce. They treed Smith upon a low-hanging limb barely out
of reach of his excited pursuers. The limb was very slender for his
weight, and as he swung to the ground, the maddened peccaries reared
upon their hind feet and snapped savagely at Smith’s pendent feet and
legs. The woods were now full of the officers and men going to the
stream, and a party soon relieved Smith from his precarious perch.
Smith was a brave fellow. He was the next year wounded at Molino del
Rey, and within a week after killed at the attack on Belen Gate.

There was a considerable delay at the mouth of the river, awaiting
transports. The point of assemblage of the troops from New Orleans,
Mobile, and Taylor’s army was Lobos Island, some three hundred miles
south of the Rio Grande’s mouth. The march began January 9, 1847, but
it was not until about February 12 that the first of the regulars
sailed from the Rio Grande to Lobos Island. Scott had expected the
concentration at Lobos to have been completed three weeks earlier. The
fault was in the transport service.

The fleet did not leave Lobos Island until March 2. A week later a
landing was effected near Vera Cruz, and on the 10th the first guns
of the new campaign were heard,--shots from the castle of San Juan de
Ulloa at Worth’s troops encamped upon the sand-hills. The investment of
the city was speedily completed and siege operations begun. The army
heard of Taylor’s remarkable victory at Buena Vista on the 15th of
March. It took away their breath to learn that Santa Anna had marched a
great army against Taylor after they had left, and had been defeated.
It explained why there had been so little opposition to the landing of
the American forces. Vera Cruz surrendered on the 29th.

Then the march into the interior of Mexico began, led by Twiggs’s
division. The first objective point was Jalapa. Scott’s design was to
get upon the mountain plateau before the yellow-fever season approached
on the coast. It was deadly in that region. The precision with which
Scott’s plans were carried forward, and their uniform success, made
a profound impression upon the army. His reputation was very high
before he had struck the first blow, but after Vera Cruz no one of that
army doubted that he would soon enter the Mexican capital. The army’s
morale was high from the outset; it was small, consequently but little
bothered with the impedimenta which make the movements of a large army
so slow and oftentimes tortuous. It marched rapidly, and Scott sent it
square at the mark every time occasion offered.

Nevertheless there was great delay in the advance to the valley of
Mexico. Operations were very energetic in the beginning. The battle
of Cerro Gordo occurred on the 18th of April, where a complete and
technically brilliant victory was won. It was here Santa Anna, already
returned from his ill-fated movement against Taylor, undertook to
defend the passage of the mountains against Scott’s advance. After
careful reconnoissances, the American general turned his position,
attacked his flank, and after a short fight broke up his army in utter
rout, very nearly cutting off and capturing the whole. As it was, the
Americans captured about four thousand prisoners, forty-three cannon,
and three thousand five hundred small-arms. All this was done with a
force of less than nine thousand Americans against some twelve thousand
Mexicans strongly fortified.

This extraordinary victory opened the road to the valley. Thus within
twenty days Scott had effected a landing, captured Vera Cruz, signally
defeated the enemy in pitched battle, and taken the road into the heart
of Mexico. Jalapa was entered on the 20th. At Jalapa seven regiments
of volunteers were discharged, and the American force was too greatly
reduced to attack the capital. The enforcements promised did not
arrive. The advance, however, was pushed on to Puebla, a city then
of some seventy thousand inhabitants, which was occupied by Worth on
the 15th of May; Lieutenant Longstreet was with the division occupying
Puebla. Here there was a long wait of weeks for the required forces
to attack the capital, now less than three marches away. From Jalapa
Scott set out for the front on May 23, arriving at Puebla on the 28th.
Many of the higher officers rode out to meet and give the General a
proper reception, and he entered the city in considerable state. “El
Generalissimo! El Generalissimo!” was shouted by the citizens as the
general-in-chief rode through the streets to his head-quarters. The
army welcomed him with enthusiasm.

It was at the siege of Vera Cruz and the operations at Cerro Gordo that
the engineer officers, R. E. Lee, G. B. McClellan, I. I. Stevens, G.
T. Beauregard, and others, began to attract the notice of the line.
Taylor had made little use of engineers in northern Mexico. He largely
depended upon his own practised military eye to determine positions,
either for the offensive or defensive. Scott’s methods were entirely
different. He depended more upon reconnoissances led by his staff
engineers, and their reports of situations, approaches, etc. He saw
largely through the eyes of these officers, and his fine strategy was
based on their information. Hence under Scott the engineer officers
soon began to fill a large space in the eyes of the army. They became
familiar figures.

Longstreet’s personal acquaintanceship with Lee began in this campaign.
He was graduated from the Academy, No. 2 of the class of 1829, nine
years before Longstreet entered it. Lee was already a captain of
engineers when Longstreet entered as a cadet in 1838. He was past
forty when the American forces landed before Vera Cruz. So in years
he was much older, as in rank and prestige he was away above the line
subalterns of that campaign, many of whom subsequently served under
him and against him in 1861-65. He evinced great admiration, even
reverence, for Scott’s generalship. In after-years his admirers claimed
that much of Scott’s glory was due to Lee’s military ability. Scott
gave him great praise. But while Lee was much respected in the army,
it is due to say that nobody then ascribed the victories of American
arms to him. Besides which, Colonel Joseph G. Totten was Scott’s
chief-engineer, and Lee had another superior present in the person of
Major J. L. Smith. The army thought General Scott entitled to the full
credit of leadership in the campaign of 1847.

About August 14 sufficient reinforcements had arrived to warrant
another forward movement. Scott had now about ten thousand men, with
more coming on from the coast. His army was composed of four divisions,
commanded by Generals Twiggs, Worth, Pillow, and Quitman, the two
latter volunteer major-generals. The army began its final advance on
the 8th of August, 1847. It had been idle nearly three months, awaiting
the action of the government. It was General Longstreet’s opinion
that with five thousand more men Scott could have followed Santa Anna
straight into Mexico from Cerro Gordo. Owing to dilatoriness in raising
troops at home, his active force at Puebla was at one time reduced to
five thousand men. The three months’ halt gave the demoralized enemy
time to recover courage and recruit their numbers.

The American advance from Puebla to the valley of Mexico was over
the Rio Frio Mountain. The pass is over eleven thousand feet above
the ocean. It was easily susceptible of successful defence, but the
experience of the Mexicans at Cerro Gordo probably led their generals
to conclude that Scott’s strategy was irresistible in a mountain
region. At any rate there was no resistance, and after a toilsome
climb of three days in the mountains, the Americans debouched into the
beautiful valley without firing a shot.

This valley is one of the most singular of natural features. It is
simply a basin in the mountains without any visible outlet. In seasons
of heavy rainfall and snowfall on the stupendous mountains which
surround it, the small lakes in this basin overflow, and sometimes
inundate the capital itself. It is only in recent years that a channel,
or tunnel, has been cut to drain off the superfluous water in time of
need. At some time in the past the basin was probably a lake. There
must have been some unknown subterranean outlet which originally
drained it down and afterwards prevented it refilling. Before the
artificial drain was made, however, there were indubitable signs that
the lakes were much smaller than in the beginning of the sixteenth
century when Cortés conquered the Aztec capital. The bed of this valley
is seven thousand feet above the sea level. There are five shallow
lakes in the basin. The capital is located on the west side of Lake
Tezcuco. It contained about two hundred thousand people in 1847.

The army entered the valley from the east, at first aiming to pass
between Lakes Chalco and Tezcuco, but the fortified hill of El
Penyon and other obstructions made that approach very difficult, if
not impossible, and after the engineers had examined the ground,
Scott concluded to pass around to the southward of Lake Chalco and
Xochimilco. The movement was inaugurated on the 15th of August,
four days after entering the valley. On the 17th, the border of
Lake Xochimilco was skirted, and that night Worth bivouacked in San
Augustin, the Tlalpan of Cortés, on the road approaching the capital
from the south and west of the lakes. It became for the time the depot
and base of the army. These preliminary movements consumed a week’s
time.




CHAPTER VI

FROM CONTRERAS TO CHAPULTEPEC

  While rushing up the heights of Chapultepec with the regimental
  flag in his hands, Longstreet was severely wounded by a
  musket-ball through the thigh. After Longstreet fell, George E.
  Pickett carried the old Eighth’s flag to the works on the hill
  and to the top of the castle.


On the 18th the brilliant action of Contreras was fought. Here Scott
outmanœuvred the enemy completely, employing again the Cerro Gordo
tactics, and striking him in flank and rear. The routed Mexicans fled
back to the fortified lines about Churubusco. Many prisoners were
captured at Contreras. The attack was pressed against the position
of Churubusco on the 19th and 20th, resulting in the severest battle
of the war, except perhaps Buena Vista. Longstreet’s regiment, the
Eighth Infantry, of which he was adjutant, here distinguished itself,
aiding in the capture of many prisoners and some guns. At one crucial
point Longstreet had the proud honor to carry forward the regimental
colors mentioned in Worth’s despatches. After the surrender some of the
prisoners attempted to escape by a rush, and many of them did get away.
Others were shot down and some were recaptured. A company of Americans
who had deserted the year before from Taylor’s army and joined the
Mexicans were here captured in a body. Their resistance had caused
severe loss to the American army. They were tried for desertion, found
guilty and a score or so of them shot to death.

Scott won Churubusco with less than nine thousand men. The routed enemy
fled into the city and to the fortified hill of Chapultepec, and were
followed pell mell by the American cavalry. It was in this charge that
Phil Kearny lost his arm. He was afterwards killed at Chantilly, in
Pope’s campaign of 1862, a Union major-general. The Americans could
certainly have entered the city that day on the heels of the flying
foe, but Scott thought it wisest to hold back and not disperse the
Mexican government, to give the American peace commissioner, Mr. Trist,
an opportunity to propose terms. An armistice followed, but the Mexican
government declined the basis of peace proposed.

The Americans were in possession of the whole country practically; at
least there was nothing left to successfully oppose their occupation of
its territory to the farthest limits. Yet after these victories, they
proposed to take only Texas, New Mexico, and California, and to pay for
them a large sum of money. Texas was counted our own before the war
began. The terms of our government were so liberal that the Mexicans
probably suspected that there was alarm for the result of future
operations. Perhaps they judged the terms would be no worse after
another trial of arms. And they were not.

Molino del Rey and Chapultepec followed on September 8 and 13
respectively. At the first affair the Americans lost seven hundred
and eighty-seven men in the two hours of severe fighting, but won a
complete victory, as usual. The fight was made by Worth’s division,
and Longstreet’s regiment was engaged, of course. Thus far he had got
through without a scratch.

Scott’s army, at the outset not over-large for the contract he had
undertaken, was now very much reduced, but its morale was still fine.
It was a critical question to determine the point of attack on the
city. On the 11th there was a council of nearly all the generals and
engineer officers at Piedad. Major Smith, Captain Lee, and Lieutenants
Tower and Stevens, of the engineers, reported in favor of attacking
the San Antonio or southern gate. Generals Quitman, Shields, Pierce,
and Cadwalader concurred. General Scott, on the contrary, favored the
Chapultepec route, and General Twiggs supported the general-in-chief.
Alone of the engineers, Lieutenant Beauregard favored the Chapultepec
route. After hearing Beauregard’s reasons, General Pierce changed his
opinion. At the conclusion of the conference General Scott said, “We
will attack Chapultepec and then the western gate.”

“The Hill of the Grasshopper,” Chapultepec, is an isolated mound rising
one hundred and fifty to two hundred feet above the valley. Nearly
precipitous in some parts, it slopes off gradually to the westward.
Heavy batteries frowned from its salient positions, sweeping the
approaches from all directions. To the southward the ground was marshy.
The position was regarded by both belligerents as the key to the
capital.

The American batteries opened fire upon Chapultepec on the 12th,
causing great destruction and killing and wounding many of its
defenders. The Mexican leader, Santa Anna, a very brave fellow with
only one leg, was under this heavy fire for a time, taking observations
of its effect. On the 13th this fire was resumed, followed by an
assault of infantry. The volunteers of Quitman and Pillow, led by
picked storming parties, made the assault on two fronts. The hill was
carried with a rush after Scott gave the signal of attack. Pillow
calling for reinforcements, Longstreet’s brigade was ordered forward by
General Worth, and he went into the enemy’s works on the hill with the
others.

Longstreet did not quite reach the works, for while rushing up the
hill with the regimental flag in his hands he was severely wounded by
a musket-ball through the thigh. The castle, all the enemy’s guns, and
many prisoners were captured. General Scott rode to the summit soon
after and surveyed the work of his gallant army. It was well done.
General Worth chased the fleeing enemy to the city’s gates. After
Longstreet fell George E. Pickett carried the flag to the works on the
hill, and to the top of the castle. The old Eighth’s flag was hoisted
from the staff which but a month before flaunted the Mexican banner.

This was the last action in the valley. There was some fighting at the
gates, and desultory firing from the houses as the American troops
pushed in, but the city fell without much loss after Chapultepec. The
Mexicans evacuated the capital that night, and General Scott entered
the next day. The Mexican War was practically over. In a few months a
treaty was made giving the United States about what was demanded by Mr.
Trist after Churubusco in August, the United States salving up Mexico’s
wounded pride with fifteen million dollars.




CHAPTER VII

LONGSTREET’S HONEYMOON

  After reaching home from Mexico, Longstreet soon regained his
  strength. He then wrote to Colonel John Garland, of Virginia, his
  old brigade commander, asking for his youngest daughter. Colonel
  Garland promptly replied, “Yes, with all my heart.”


With several wounded comrades Longstreet was assigned quarters with
the Escandons, a kind-hearted, refined Mexican family. They could
not conceal their deep chagrin at the defeat of their army, and were
doubtless mortified by the enforced presence of the wounded Americans.
Nevertheless they insisted that those officers confined to their beds
should be supplied from their own table. Delicacies without stint were
sent. The days of confinement were greatly brightened by their delicate
attentions. On the 1st of December the accomplished surgeons, Satterlee
and DeLeon, thought that Longstreet was strong enough to travel, and
announced that he was to be ordered out of the country on sick-leave.

With others he left Mexico on December 9. A few days later he sailed
from Vera Cruz with a large number of sick and wounded, among whom
was Brigadier-General Pierce, who was very popular in the army. After
reaching home Longstreet soon regained his strength. He then wrote to
Colonel John Garland, of Virginia, his late brigade commander, asking
for his youngest daughter. Colonel Garland promptly replied, “Yes,
with all my heart.” He had won fame in Mexico and returned home on
leave a month before Longstreet was well enough to travel, and was then
with his family. The young lady and her soldier sweetheart already
had a pretty good understanding on the subject, and her answer was
equally flattering. On the 8th of March, 1848, the marriage occurred at
Lynchburg. After a brief honeymoon orders were received from the War
Department detailing Longstreet for recruiting service, with station
at Poughkeepsie, New York. Before autumn of that year nearly all the
troops in Mexico were withdrawn, and the Eighth, Longstreet’s old
regiment, was ordered to Jefferson Barracks, St. Louis, where he had
been stationed before the war, then a brevet second lieutenant in the
Fourth.

After fifty years General Longstreet found that many of the physical
details of the battle terrain in the valley of Mexico differed quite
materially from the memory conveyed by his younger eyes in the heat
of action. There was no real change in fixed landmarks, but the
depressions were not so deep, nor the impregnable hills the Americans
attacked so high, as they appeared when the Mexicans were defending
them with sword, musket, and cannon. In instants of supreme danger it
is very difficult for the soldier or subordinate officer to see things
exactly as they are on a battle-field. His eye and mind are inevitably
and anxiously concentrated on the enemy or the battery that is dealing
death and destruction round about.




GREAT BATTLES BEFORE AND AFTER GETTYSBURG[G]




THE FIRST MANASSAS


The armies that prepared for the first grand conflict of the Civil
War were commanded by West Point graduates, both of the Class of
1838,--Beauregard and McDowell. The latter had been assigned to the
command of the Federal forces at Washington, south of the Potomac,
in the latter part of May, 1861. The former had assumed command of
the Confederates at Manassas Junction about the 1st of June. To him,
Brigadier-General Longstreet reported for duty.

McDowell marched on the afternoon of the 16th of July at the head
of an army of five divisions of infantry, supplemented by nine
batteries of the regular service, one of volunteers, besides two guns
operating separately, and seven companies of regular cavalry. In his
infantry columns were eight companies of regulars and a battalion of
marines,--an aggregate of thirty-five thousand men.

Beauregard stood behind Bull Run with seven brigades, including
Holmes, who joined on the 19th, twenty-nine guns, and fourteen hundred
cavalry,--an aggregate of twenty-one thousand nine hundred men, all
volunteers. To this should be added, for the battle of the 21st,
reinforcements aggregating eight thousand five hundred men, under
General Johnston, making the sum of the aggregate thirty thousand four
hundred men.

The line behind Bull Run was the best between Washington and the
Rapidan for strategy, tactics, and army supplies.

General Longstreet always believed that by vigorous and concentrated
work the Confederates, after the battle of the first Manassas, might
have followed McDowell’s fleeing columns into Washington, and held the
capital. But this is not a part of my story.

On the eve of the battle the Confederates had occasional glimpses
behind the lines about Washington, through parties who managed to evade
the eyes of guards and sentinels, which told of McDowell’s work since
May, and heard on the 10th of July that he was ready to march. Most of
the Confederates knew him and of his attainments, as well as those of
Beauregard, to the credit of the latter, and on that point they were
satisfied. But the backing of an organized government, and an army
led by the foremost American war-chief,--that consummate strategist,
tactician, and organizer, General Scott,--together with the splendid
equipment of the field batteries and the presence of the force of
regulars of infantry, gave serious apprehension.

A gentleman who was a boy in Washington during the Civil War, said not
long ago, in speaking of the first Manassas, that he would never forget
the impression made upon his youthful mind by McDowell’s army in moving
towards Manassas Junction. Their arms glistened in the sunshine; the
new uniforms added to the splendid bearing of the ranks; the horses
were garlanded with flowers; the silken folds of regimental flags,
lifted caressingly by the breezes of mid-summer, made an ocean of
color above the noble columns. It was an inspiring sight; every flag
in the capital was a beckoning call to arms in the nation’s defence.
McDowell’s army seemed setting out for some festal occasion, and gayly
moved to the sound of music and song. But oh, what a different sight
after Manassas, when his weary and routed columns straggled back to
Washington, before the victorious Confederates. Their gala day had been
of short duration.

On the 16th of July the Confederates learned that the advance of
McDowell’s army was under definite orders for next day. Longstreet’s
brigade was at once ordered into position at Blackburn’s Ford, and all
others were ordered on the alert.

At eight o’clock A.M. on the 18th McDowell’s army concentrated about
Centerville, his immediate objective being Manassas Junction. His
orders to General Tyler, commanding the advance division, were to look
well to the roads on the direct route to Manassas Junction and _via_
the Stone Bridge, to impress an advance upon the former, but to have
care not to bring on a general engagement.

Under the instructions, as General Tyler construed them, he followed
the Confederates to the heights of Centerville, overlooking the valley
of Bull Run, with a squadron of cavalry and two companies of infantry.
From the heights to the Run, a mile away, the field was open, and
partially disclosed the Confederate position on his right. On the left
the view was limited by a sparse growth of spreading pines.

The enemy was far beyond the range of Confederate guns, his position
commanding as well as his metal, so Longstreet ordered the guns
withdrawn to a place of safety, till a fair opportunity was offered
them. The guns were limbered and off before a shot reached them.
Artillery practice of thirty minutes was followed by an advance of
infantry. The march was quite up to the bluff overlooking the ford,
when both sides opened fire.

The first pouring-down volleys were most startling to the new troops.
Part of Longstreet’s line broke and started at a run. To stop the
alarm he rode with sabre in hand for the leading files, determined to
give them all that was in the sword and his horse’s heels, or stop the
break. They seemed to see as much danger in their rear as in front, and
soon turned and marched back to their places, to the evident surprise
of the enemy. Heavy firing was renewed in ten or fifteen minutes, when
the Federals retired. After about twenty minutes a second advance was
made to the top of the bluff, when another rousing fusilade followed,
and continued about as long as the first, with like result. Longstreet
reinforced the front line with part of his reserve, and, thinking to
follow up his next success, called for one of the regiments of the
reserve brigade.

The combat lasted about an hour, when the Federals withdrew to their
ground about Centerville, to the delight of the Confederates, who felt
themselves christened veterans; their artillery being particularly
proud of the combat against the famed batteries of the United States
regulars.

General McDowell’s order for the battle on the 21st of July was issued
on the afternoon of the 20th.

Beauregard’s order for battle, approved by General Johnston, was issued
at five A.M. on the 21st.

The orders for marching were only preliminary, coupled with the
condition that the troops were to be held ready to move, but to wait
for special order for action. The brigade at Blackburn’s Ford had been
reinforced by the Fifth North Carolina and Twenty-fourth Virginia
Regiments, under Lieutenant Jones and Colonel Kemper. Longstreet
crossed the Run under the five o’clock order, adjusted the regiments
to position for favorable action, and gave instructions for their
movements on the opening of the battle.

This first clash of arms tested the fighting qualities of the
Confederates; but the soil was Virginia, and for them it was to be
death or victory.

The close of the battle of the 21st found the Federals beaten and
fleeing towards the shelter of their capital. They had fought
stubbornly. McDowell made a gallant effort to recover his lost power,
riding with his troops and urging them to brave effort. Although his
renewed efforts were heroic, his men seemed to have given confidence
over to despair when fight was abandoned and flight ensued. Over the
contested field of the first battle of the war, Longstreet had borne
the victorious banners of the South.




WILLIAMSBURG

  “General Longstreet’s clear head and brave heart left no apology
  for interference at Williamsburg.”--JOSEPH E. JOHNSTON.


This battle was fairly fought and dearly won by the Confederacy, May
5, 1862. General Joseph E. Johnston was chief in command and General
Longstreet had the active direction of the battle.

In his official report upon the battle, General Johnston said,--

  “The action gradually increased in magnitude until about three
  o’clock, when General Longstreet, commanding the rear, requested
  that a part of Major-General Hill’s troops might be sent to his
  aid. Upon this I rode upon the field, but found myself compelled
  to be a spectator, for General Longstreet’s clear head and brave
  heart left no apology for interference.”

The battle was fought by Sickles’s Federal Third Corps, that heroically
contested every inch of the ground.

It was at the close of the battle that General Hancock distinguished
himself by holding his position in and about the forts with five
regiments and two batteries against the assault of the Fifth North
Carolina and Twenty-fourth Virginia Regiments, and it was on this field
that he won the title of “The Superb,” given to him by McClellan in his
report.

The object of the battle on the part of the Confederates was to gain
time to haul their trains to places of safety. The effect besides
was to call two of the Federal divisions from their flanking move to
support the battle, thereby greatly crippling their expedition.

General McClellan was at Yorktown during most of the day to see several
of the divisions of his army aboard the transports for his proposed
flanking and rear move up York River. Upon receiving advice that the
Williamsburg engagement was serious and unsatisfactory, he hastened to
the battle with the divisions of Sedgwick and Richardson, which he had
expected to send up the river.

There were about nine thousand Confederates and twelve thousand Union
troops engaged. The Confederate casualties were 1565; the Federal
casualties, 2288. Johnston had anticipated McClellan’s move up the York
River, and considered it very important to cripple or break it up.
Therein he used the divisions of Longstreet, Magruder, D. R. Jones,
McLaws, G. W. Smith, and D. H. Hill.

There was a tremendous downpour of rain the night before the battle,
flooding thoroughfares, by-ways, woodlands, and fields so that many of
the Confederate trains were unable next day to move out of the bogs
that were developed during the night.

General Hooker’s division of the Third Corps, on the Federal side, came
to the open on the Hampton road, and engaged by regiments,--the First
Massachusetts on the left, the Second New Hampshire on the right.
After the advance of his infantry in the slashes, General Hooker, with
the Eleventh Massachusetts and Twenty-sixth Pennsylvania, cleared the
way for communication with the troops on the Yorktown road and ordered
Webber’s six-gun battery into action. As it burst from the woods
through which it had come, the Confederate infantry and every gun in
reach opened upon it a fire so destructive that it was unmanned before
it came into practice. New Federal troops immediately came to the
rescue, and the guns reopened fire. Osborn’s and Bramhall’s batteries
joined in, and the two poured an unceasing fire into the Confederate
troops about the fort and redoubts. The Fifth New Jersey Regiment was
added to the battery guard, and the Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth were
deployed on the left in the woodland. The brigades of R. H. Anderson,
Wilcox, Pryor, A. P. Hill, and Pickett were taking care of the
Confederate side.

General Longstreet, hearing the swelling noise of battle, rode to the
front and ordered Colston’s brigade and the batteries of Deering and
Stribling to follow, as well as Stuart’s horse artillery under Pelham.

It soon became evident that the fight was for the day. D. H. Hill was
asked to return with the balance of his division. Hooker was bracing
the fight on his left. He directed Emory to reconnoitre on his extreme
left. Grover was called to reinforce the fighting in the edge of
the woods. Several New York regiments came into the action, but the
Confederates nevertheless continued to gain ground until they got
short of ammunition. While holding their line, some of the regiments
retired a little to fill their cartridge-boxes from those of the
fallen enemy and their fallen comrades. This move was misconstrued
into an order to withdraw, and the Confederate line fell back, but the
mistake was soon discovered and the lost ground regained. The Eleventh
Massachusetts, Twenty-sixth Pennsylvania, and Second New Hampshire
came into the action. On the Confederate side, Colston’s brigade, the
Florida regiment, and the Mississippi battalion came to the rescue,
and General Anderson, who was in immediate charge, grouped his forces,
made a concentrated move upon the Federal batteries, cleared them of
the gunners, and captured four of Webber’s guns and forty horses.
General Stuart rode up about this time, decided that the Federals were
in retreat, and insisted upon a charge and pursuit. He was, however,
convinced that Federal reinforcements were coming up and that the break
was only of their front line. About three o’clock Kearny’s division
came to the Federal aid.

Before the reinforcements arrived for Hooker’s relief, Anderson had
established his advanced line of skirmishers so as to cover with their
fire Webber’s guns that were abandoned. The Federal reinforcing column
drove back his advance lines; then he reinforced and recovered his
ground. Then he met General Peck, the leader of the last reinforcing
brigade, who put in his last regiment, the Ninety-eighth Pennsylvania;
but the night was approaching, both armies were exhausted, and little
further aggressive work was done.




FRAYSER’S FARM


Stonewall Jackson was in the Shenandoah Valley and the rest of the
Confederate troops were east and north of Richmond. In front General
McClellan’s army was encamped, a hundred thousand strong, about the
Chickahominy River preparing for a regular siege of the Confederate
capital. His army was unassailable from the front, and he had a small
force at Mechanicsville and a much larger force farther back at Beaver
Dam Creek.

A Confederate conference was called. Longstreet suggested that Jackson
be called down from the Valley to the rear of the Federal right, in
order to turn the position behind Beaver Dam, and that the rest of
the Confederate forces who were to engage in the attack cross the
Chickahominy and get ready for action. General Lee then sent General J.
E. B. Stuart on his famous ride around McClellan. He made a favorable
report of the situation. Upon further conference, the 26th was selected
as the day for moving upon the Federal position at Beaver Dam. There
was some spirited fighting between the two armies, but the advance of
Jackson, which had been some time delayed, made the Federals abandon
their position at Beaver Dam. They were closely followed, and were
again encountered at Gaines Mill, where battle followed.

Longstreet came up with reserve forces, and was preparing to support
Hill, when he was ordered by General Lee to make a demonstration
against the Federal left. He threw in three brigades, and for a time
the battle raged with great fierceness. General Jackson could not reach
the point of attack, and General Lee ordered Longstreet to throw in all
the force he could. The position in front of him was very strong. An
open field led to a difficult ravine beyond Powhite Creek. From there
the ground made a steep ascent, and was covered with trees, slashed
timber, and hastily made rifle-trenches. General Whiting came up with
two brigades of Jackson’s men. Longstreet’s column of attack then was
the brigades of R. H. Anderson and Pickett and the divisions of Law,
Hood, and Whiting. They attacked and defeated the Federals on their
left and captured many thousand stands of arms, fifty-two pieces of
artillery, a large quantity of supplies, and many prisoners, among them
General Reynolds, who afterwards fell at Gettysburg.

On the 29th General Lee ascertained that McClellan was marching towards
the James, and decided to intercept his forces in the neighborhood of
Charles City Cross-Roads. Longstreet was to march to a point below
Frayser’s Farm with General A. P. Hill. Holmes was to take up position
below on the New Market road; Jackson was to pursue the Federal rear;
Huger to attend to the Federal right flank. Thus the Federal rear was
to be enveloped and a part of McClellan’s army destroyed. Longstreet
found himself in due time in front of General McCall with a division
of ten thousand Federals near Frayser’s Farm. Finally artillery firing
was heard, which was taken for the expected signal for the beginning of
battle, and Longstreet’s batteries replied as the signal that he was
ready. While the order was going around to the batteries, President
Davis and General Lee, with their staff and followers, were with
Longstreet in a little open field near the firing lines, but not in
sight of the Federals.

The Federal batteries opened up spitefully. They did not know of the
distinguished Confederates near by, yet a battery had by chance their
exact range and distance, and poured a terrific fire in their midst.
The second or third shell killed two or three horses and wounded
several men. The little party speedily retired to safer quarters.
Longstreet sent Colonel Micah Jenkins to silence the Federal battery
with his long-range rifles. He charged the battery, and that brought on
a general fight between Longstreet’s division and the troops in front.
The Federal lines were broken and a number of batteries taken. At
points during the day McCall several times regained his lost position.
He was finally pushed back. At length McCall’s division was driven off
and fresh troops came to the Federal relief. Ten thousand men of A. P.
Hill’s division, held in reserve, were now brought into action.

About dark General McCall, while looking up a fragment of his
division, ran into Longstreet’s arms and was taken prisoner. General
Lee was there at the time. Longstreet had served with McCall in the
old Fourth Infantry, and offered his hand as McCall dismounted. The
Federal general did not regard this as an occasion for renewing old
friendships, and he was promptly offered an escort of Longstreet’s
staff to take him to Richmond.




MARCH AGAINST POPE AND THE SECOND MANASSAS


Even as early as 1862 the Union army had been using balloons to
examine the position of the Confederates, and even that early, the
scanty resources of the Confederates made the use of balloons a luxury
that could not be afforded. While gazing enviously upon the handsome
balloons of the Federals floating serenely at a distance that their
guns could not reach, a Confederate genius suggested that all the silk
dresses in the Confederacy be got together and made into balloons. This
was done, and soon a great patch-work ship of many and varied hues
was ready for use. There was no gas except in Richmond, and so the
silk-dress balloon had to be inflated there, tied to an engine, and
carried to where it was to be sent up. One day it was on a steamer down
the James River, when the tide went out and left the vessel and balloon
on a sand-bar. The Federals gathered it in, and with it the last silk
dress in the Confederacy. General Longstreet used to say, laughingly,
that this was the meanest trick of the war.

When General Pope came down into Virginia as Federal
commander-in-chief, with the double purpose of drawing McClellan away
from Westover and checking the advance of the new enemy approaching
from Washington, General Lee sent Stonewall Jackson to Gordonsville and
ordered General Longstreet to remain near Richmond to engage McClellan
if he should attempt an advance on that city. On the 9th of August,
1862, Jackson encountered the Federals near Cedar Mountain and repulsed
them at what is known as the battle of Cedar Run. About five o’clock
in the afternoon of this fight the Federals, by a well-executed move,
were pressing the Confederates back, when the opportune approach of two
brigades converted seeming defeat into victory. The Federals were more
numerous than the Confederates, and Jackson deemed it unwise to follow
in pursuit, so the Confederates retired behind the Rapidan to await the
arrival of General Lee with other forces.

General Lee then began preparations for a vigorous campaign against
General Pope. On the 13th of August Longstreet’s corps was ordered to
Gordonsville, and General Lee accompanied it there. General Jackson’s
troops were near by. The Rapidan River was to the north. Farther on
at Culpeper Court-House was the army of Pope, and the Rappahannock
River was beyond them. Clark’s Mountain, rising several hundred feet
above the surrounding hills, was a little in advance of Longstreet’s
position. The Federal situation was observed from the summit of this
mountain.

The flags of Pope’s army were in full view above the tops of the trees
around Culpeper Court-House. General Lee was very anxious to give
battle as soon as possible, but operations were in some way delayed
until General Pope captured a despatch from Lee to Stewart containing
information of the contemplated advance. Pope then withdrew to a
stronger position behind the Rappahannock River. Longstreet approached
the Rappahannock at Kelly’s Ford, and Jackson approached higher up at
Beverly Ford, near the Orange and Alexandria bridge. They found Pope in
an almost unassailable position, with heavy reinforcements summoned to
his aid.

The Confederate idea was to force a passage and make the attack before
reinforcements could reach Pope. Some sharp marching to this end was
done by Longstreet and Jackson. On the 23d Longstreet had a spirited
artillery combat at Beverly Ford with a Federal force. The Federals
had the superior position, the better guns; the Confederates had more
guns, and fought with accustomed persistence. Before night the Federals
withdrew. Incidentally, they set fire to a number of farm-houses in
the locality. Henry W. Grady, afterwards a distinguished Georgian, who
was a small boy during the war, frequently said that one of the worst
things about the Union forces was the carelessness with which they
handled fire.

Pope was meanwhile on the alert, and Lee found it impracticable to
attack him in his stronghold behind the Rappahannock. Lee then decided
to change his plan of operations by sending Jackson off on a long
march to the rear of the Federal army while keeping Longstreet with
thirty thousand men in front to receive any attack that might be
made. Jackson crossed the Rappahannock at Hinson’s Hill, four miles
above Waterloo Bridge, and that night encamped at Salem. The next
day he passed through Thoroughfare Gap, moved on by Gainesville, and
when the sun next set he was in the rear of Pope’s army and between
it and Washington. The sudden appearance of his army gave much
terror to the Federals in the vicinity; when he arrived at Bristoe
Station just before night the Federal guard at that point sought
safer quarters, and two trains of cars coming from towards Warrenton
were captured. Jackson sent a force forward seven miles and captured
Manassas Junction. He left a force at Bristoe Station and proceeded
himself to the Junction. During the afternoon the Federals attacked the
Confederates at Bristoe Station in such force as to make it appear that
Pope had discovered the situation and was moving upon Jackson with his
entire army. The Confederates then hastened away from Bristoe Station
and the Federals halted there. Jackson’s forces then moved over to a
position north of the turnpike leading from Warrenton to Alexandria,
and there awaited results.

On the evening of the 28th King’s division attacked Jackson, but was
repulsed. That same evening Longstreet arrived at Thoroughfare Gap.
During the time of Jackson’s march he had been engaging Pope’s army at
different points along the Rappahannock, to impress them with the idea
that he was attempting to force a passage in front and with the hope of
preventing his discovery of Jackson’s movement. Pope was not deceived,
however, but turned his army to meet Jackson’s daring and unexpected
move. Longstreet decided to follow at once. To force a passage of the
river, much swollen by recent rains, seemed impossible, and so he took
the route by which Jackson had gone. Finding that Thoroughfare Gap was
unoccupied, he went into bivouac on the west side of the mountain and
sent a brigade under Anderson to occupy the pass.

As the Confederates approached from one side, Ricketts’s division of
Federals approached from the other and took possession of the east
side. Thoroughfare Gap is a rough pass in the Bull Run Mountains, in
some places not more than a hundred yards wide. A swift stream rushes
through it, and the mountains rise on both sides several hundred feet
above. On the north the face of the Gap is almost perpendicular; the
south face is less precipitous, but is covered with tangled mountain
ivy and projecting boulders; the position, occupied by a small force,
was unassailable. The interposition of Ricketts’s division at this
mountain pass showed a disposition to hold Longstreet back while
overwhelming Jackson. This necessitated prompt and vigorous measures by
Longstreet. Three miles north was Hopewell Gap, and it was necessary
to get possession of this in advance of the Federals to provide for a
flank movement while forcing the way by foot-paths over the mountain
heights of Thoroughfare Gap. During the night Longstreet sent Wilcox
with three brigades to Hopewell Gap, while he sent Hood and his forces
by a trail over the mountain at Thoroughfare.

To the great delight of the Confederates, in the morning it was
discovered that Ricketts had given up the east side of the Gap and
was going towards Manassas Junction. Longstreet’s corps then went
along unimpeded. Hearing the artillery combat around Gainesville, they
quickened their steps. As the fire became more spirited their movements
became more rapid. Passing through Gainesville, they filed to the left
down the turnpike, and soon came in sight of the Federal troops held
at bay by Jackson. They were on the left and rear of the Federals; the
artillery was ordered up for action, but the advance was discovered,
and the Federals withdrew from attack and retired behind Groveton on
defensive ground. The battalion of Washington Artillery was thrown
forward to a favorable position on Jackson’s right, and Longstreet’s
general line was deployed so as to extend it to the right some distance
beyond the Manassas Gap Railroad.

The two great armies were now face to face, both in good positions,
each anxious to find a point for an entering wedge into the stronghold
of the adversary. What troubled the Confederates was the unknown
number of Federals at Manassas Junction. Each side watched the
movements of the other until the day was far spent. Orders were
given for a Confederate advance under the cover of night until the
main position of the enemy could be more carefully examined by the
earliest light of the next day. It so happened that a similar order
was issued at the same time by the Federals, and the result was a
spirited engagement, which was a surprise to both sides. Longstreet’s
corps was, however, successful, so far, at least, as to capture a
piece of artillery and make reconnoissance before midnight. The next
day Longstreet did not deem an attack wise, and the Confederate forces
were ordered back to their original positions. Then each side was
apprehensive that the other was going to get away.

Pope telegraphed to Washington that Longstreet was in full retreat and
he was preparing to follow; while Longstreet, thinking Pope was trying
to escape, was arranging to move to the left across Bull Run, so as
to get over on the Little River pike and between Pope and Washington.
Just before nine o’clock that day (the 30th) Pope’s artillery began to
play a little, and some of his infantry was seen in motion. Longstreet
construed this as a display to cover his movements to the rear. Later
a large division of Pope’s army began an attack on the left along
the whole of Jackson’s line. Pope evidently supposed that Longstreet
was gone, and intended to crush Jackson with a terrific onslaught.
Longstreet was meanwhile looking for a place to get in. Riding along
the front of his line, he could plainly see the Federals as they rushed
in heavy masses against Jackson’s obstinate ranks. It was a splendidly
organized attack.

[Illustration: DEFEAT OF THE FEDERAL TROOPS BY LONGSTREET’S CORPS,
SECOND MANASSAS.]

Longstreet received a request from Jackson for reinforcements, and
about the same time an order from General Lee to the same effect.
Longstreet quickly ordered out three batteries. Lieutenant Chapman’s
Dixie Battery of four guns was the first to report, and was placed in
position to rake the Federal ranks. In a moment a heavy fire of shot
and shell was poured into the thick columns of the Federals, and in ten
minutes their stubborn masses began to waver. For a moment there was
chaos; then there was order, and they reformed to renew the attack.
Meanwhile, Longstreet’s other eight pieces had begun deadly work. The
Federal ranks broke again and again, only to be reformed with dogged
determination.

A third time the Longstreet batteries tore the Federals to pieces, and
as they fell back under this terrible fire Longstreet’s troops leaped
forward with the famous rebel yell. They pressed onward until, at ten
o’clock at night, they had the field. Pope was across Bull Run and the
victorious Confederates lay down to sleep on the battle-ground, while
around them thousands of friend and foe slept the last sleep together.

The next morning the Federals were in a strong position at Centerville.
Longstreet sent a brigade across Bull Run under General Pryor to occupy
a point near Centerville. General Lee ordered Jackson to cross Bull
Run near Sudley’s and turn the position of the Federals occupying
Centerville. On the next day (September 1) Longstreet followed, but
the Federals discovered the move, abandoned Centerville, and started
towards Washington. On that evening a part of the Federal force at Ox
Hill encountered Jackson and gave him a sharp fight. Longstreet went to
Jackson’s rescue.

With the coming darkness it was difficult to distinguish between the
scattered ranks of the opposing armies. General Philip Kearny, a
magnificent Federal officer, rode hastily up looking for the broken
lines of his command. At first he did not know that he was in the
Confederate line, and the Confederates did not notice that he was a
Federal. He began quietly to inquire about some command, and was soon
recognized. He was called upon to surrender, but instead of doing so
he wheeled his horse, pressed spurs to his sides, lay flat on the
animal’s neck, and dashed away like the wind. A dozen shots rang out,
and in less time than it takes to tell the story the heroic Kearny fell
dead. He had been in the army all his life; the Confederate generals
who had formerly been in the Union army knew him; Longstreet loved him
well; General A. P. Hill, who was standing by, said, sorrowfully, “Poor
Kearny! he deserved a better death than this.” The next day his body
was sent over the lines with a flag of truce and a note from General
Lee referring tenderly to the manner in which he had met his death. The
Federal forces which had been fighting the Ox Hill battle proved to be
the rear guard covering the retreat of the Federals into Washington.




THE INVASION OF MARYLAND AND THE BATTLE OF ANTIETAM


General Longstreet always thought that the division of the Confederate
army after they moved into Maryland proved their downfall. This,
however, is not a part of my story.

At this time General Pope had been relieved and General McClellan
restored to the command of the Union army. With ninety thousand troops,
he marched towards Antietam to avenge the second Manassas.

General D. H. Hill was at South Mountain with five thousand men;
Longstreet’s First Corps was at Hagerstown, thirteen miles farther on;
General Lee was with him, and on the night of the 13th of September,
1862, information was received that McClellan was at the foot of South
Mountain with his great army. It was decided to withdraw the forces
of Longstreet and Hill from their respective positions and unite
at Sharpsburg, which afforded a strong defensive position. On the
afternoon of the 15th of September the commands of Longstreet and Hill
crossed the Antietam Creek and took position in front of Sharpsburg,
Longstreet on the right and Hill on the left. They soon found their
weak point was on the left at the famous Dunkard Church. Hood, with
two brigades, was put to guard that point. That night, after the fall
of Harper’s Ferry, General Lee ordered Stonewall Jackson to come to
Sharpsburg as quickly as possible.

On the forenoon of the 15th the blue uniforms of the Federals appeared
among the trees that crowned the heights on the eastern bank of the
Antietam. Their numbers increased in proportions distressing to their
opponents, who were shattered by repeated battles, tired by long
marches, and fed most meagrely. On the 16th Jackson arrived and took
position on Longstreet’s left. Before night the Federals attacked, but
were driven back. Hood was ordered to replenish his ammunition during
the night and resume his position on Longstreet’s right in the morning.
General Jackson’s forces were extended to the left, and reached well
back towards the Potomac, where most of the Confederate cavalry was.
General Robert Toombs was placed as guard on the bridge at Longstreet’s
right.

On the Federal side General Hooker, who had been driven back in the
afternoon, was reinforced by the corps of Sumner and Mansfield; Sykes’s
division was also drawn into position for battle; Burnside was over
against Longstreet’s right threatening the passage of the Antietam.
On the morning of the 17th the Federals were in good position and in
good condition. Back of McClellan’s line was a high ridge, upon which
he had a signal-station overlooking every point of the field. D. R.
Jones’s brigades of Longstreet’s command deployed on the right of the
Sharpsburg pike, while Hood’s brigades awaited orders; D. H. Hill was
on the left towards the Hagerstown-Sharpsburg pike; Jackson extended
out from Hill’s left towards the Potomac.

The battle opened heavily with attacks by Hooker, Mansfield, and Sumner
against Longstreet’s left centre, which consisted of Jackson’s right
and D. H. Hill’s left. So persistent were the attacks that Longstreet
sent Hood to support the Confederate centre. The Confederates were
forced back somewhat; McClellan’s forces continued the attacks; the
line swayed forward and back like a rope exposed to rushing currents;
a weak point would be driven back and then the Confederate fragments
would be collected and the lost ground recovered; the battle ebbed and
flowed with fearful slaughter on both sides. The Federals came forward
with wonderful courage, and the Confederates heroically held their
ground, while they were mown down like grass.

How Lee’s ragged army withstood McClellan’s troops no one will ever
be able to tell. Hood’s ammunition gave out; he retired for a fresh
supply; the Federals continued to come up in great masses. At one
point, under the crest of a hill occupying a position that from four
to six brigades should have held, there were only the stranded troops
of Cooke’s regiment of North Carolina Infantry, who were without a
cartridge. As Longstreet rode along the line of his staff, he saw
two pieces of Washington Artillery (Miller’s battery), but there
were not enough men to handle them. The gunners had all been killed
or wounded--and this was the Confederate centre. Longstreet held the
horses of his staff-officers, put them to man the guns, and calmly
surveyed the situation. He saw that if the Federals broke through
the line at that point the Confederate army would be cut in two and
probably destroyed. Cooke sent him word that his ammunition was
entirely out. Longstreet replied that he must hold his position as
long as he had a man left. Cooke responded that he would show his
colors as long as there was left a man alive to hold them up. The two
guns were rapidly loaded with canister by the staff-officers, and they
rattled leaden hail into the Federals as they came up over the crest
of the hill. That little battery, with superhuman energy, had to hold
thousands of Federals at bay, or the whole battle would be lost.

The Confederates sought to make the Federals believe that many
batteries were before them. As they came up, they would see the colors
of Cooke’s North Carolina regiment waving as placidly as if the whole
of Lee’s army were back of them, while a shower of canister came from
the two lonely guns. General Chilton, General Lee’s chief of staff,
made his way to Longstreet and asked, “Where are the troops you are
holding your line with?” Longstreet pointed to his two pieces and to
Cooke’s regiment, and replied, “There they are; but that regiment
hasn’t a cartridge.” Chilton, dumb with astonishment, rode back to tell
the story to General Lee. Then an enfilade fire from General D. H.
Hill’s line ploughed the ground across the Federal front and kept them
back; meanwhile, R. H. Anderson and General Hood came to the support
of this fearfully pushed Confederate centre. In a little while another
Federal assault was made against D. H. Hill and extending far to the
Confederate left, where McLaws and Walker were supporting Jackson.
In this fearful combat the lines swung back and forth, the Federals
attacking with invincible motion and the Confederates holding their
positions with irresistible force.

Meanwhile, General Lee was over towards the right, where Burnside was
making the attack. General Toombs, assigned as guard at that point,
had only four hundred weary and footsore soldiers to meet the Federal
Ninth Corps, which pressed the brave little band slowly back. The
delay that Toombs caused, however, saved that part of the battle, for
at the last moment A. P. Hill came in to reinforce him and D. H. Hill
discovered a place for a battery and lost no time in opening it. Thus
the Confederates drove the Federals back, and when night settled down
the army of Lee was still in possession of the field. But it was a
victory that was not a victory, for thousands of Confederates were
dead on the field and gallant commands had been torn into fragments.
Nearly one-fourth of the troops who went into the battle were killed or
wounded. This day has been well called the bloodiest day of the Civil
War.

General Longstreet was fond of telling how during the battle he
and General Lee were riding along his line and D. H. Hill’s when
they started up a hill to make a reconnoissance. Lee and Longstreet
dismounted, but Hill remained on his horse. General Longstreet said
to Hill, “If you insist on riding up there and drawing the fire, give
us time to get out of the line of the fire when they open up anew.”
While they were all standing there viewing with their glasses the
Federal movements, Longstreet noticed a puff of white smoke from a
Federal cannon. He called to Hill, “That shot is for you.” The gunner
was a mile away, but the cannon-shot took off the front legs of Hill’s
horse. The horse’s head was so low and his croup so high that Hill was
in a very ludicrous position. With one foot in the stirrup he made
several efforts to get the other leg over the croup, but failed. Lee
and Longstreet yelled at him to dismount from the other end of the
horse, and so he got down. He had a third horse shot under him before
the close of the battle. General Longstreet said that that shot at Hill
was the second best shot he ever saw. The best was at Yorktown, where a
Federal officer came out in front of the Confederate line, sat down to
a little platting table, and began to make a map. A Confederate officer
carefully sighted a cannon, touched it off, and dropped a shell into
the lap of the man at the little table a mile or more away.

After the battle closed, parties from both sides, by mutual consent,
went in search of fallen comrades.

After riding along the lines, giving instructions for the night and
morning, General Longstreet rode for general head-quarters to make
report, but was delayed somewhat, finding wounded men hidden away under
stone walls and in fence-corners, not yet looked after, and afterwards
in assisting a family whose home had been fired by a shell, so that all
the other officers had arrived, made their reports, and were lounging
about on the sod when General Longstreet rode up. General Lee walked up
as he dismounted, threw his hands upon his shoulders, and hailed him
with, “Here is my old war-horse at last!”




FREDERICKSBURG


When General Lee learned that General McClellan had been succeeded by
General Burnside, he expressed regret at having to part with McClellan,
because, he said, “We always understood each other so well. I fear they
may continue to make these changes till they find some one whom I don’t
understand.”

The Federal army was encamped around Warrenton, Virginia, and was
divided into three grand divisions, under Generals Sumner, Hooker, and
Franklin. Lee’s army was on the opposite side of the Rappahannock
River, divided into two corps, the First commanded by General
Longstreet and the Second by General Thomas J. (Stonewall) Jackson.
At that time the Confederate army extended from Culpeper Court-House,
where the First Corps was stationed, across the Blue Ridge, down the
Valley of Virginia, to Winchester, where Jackson was encamped with the
Second Corps. Information was received about the 19th of November that
Sumner with his grand division of more than thirty thousand men was
moving towards Fredericksburg. Two of General Longstreet’s divisions
were ordered down to meet him. After a forced march they arrived on the
hills around Fredericksburg about three o’clock on the afternoon of the
21st (November, 1862). Sumner had already arrived, and was encamped on
Stafford Heights overlooking the town from the Federal side.

About the 26th it became evident that Fredericksburg would be the scene
of a battle, and Longstreet advised the people who were still in town
to leave. A previous threat from the Federal forces that they might
have to shell the town had already forced many to leave. Distressed
women, little children, aged and helpless men, many of them destitute
and with nowhere to go, trudged away as best they could. Soon the
remainder of Longstreet’s corps came up from Culpeper Court-House, and
it was then known that all the Army of the Potomac was in motion for
the prospective scene of battle, when Jackson was drawn down from the
Blue Ridge. In a short time the Army of Northern Virginia was face to
face with the Army of the Potomac. On the Confederate side nearest
the Rappahannock was Taylor’s Hill, and South of it Marye’s Hill;
next, Telegraph Hill, the highest Confederate elevation, afterwards
known as Lee’s Hill, because General Lee was there during the battle.
Longstreet’s head-quarters in the field were there. Next was a
declination through which Deep Run Creek passed on to the Rappahannock,
and next was Hamilton’s Crossing, upon which Stonewall Jackson massed
thirty thousand men. Upon these hills the Confederates prepared to
receive Burnside whenever he might choose to cross the Rappahannock.

The Federals occupied the noted Stafford Heights beyond the river, and
here they carefully matured their plans of advance and attack. General
Hunt, chief of artillery, skilfully posted one hundred and forty-seven
guns to cover the bottoms upon which the infantry was to form for the
attack, and at the same time play upon the Confederate batteries.
Franklin and Hooker had joined Sumner, and the Federal army were
one hundred and sixteen thousand strong. The Federals had been seen
along the banks of the river investigating the best places to cross.
President Lincoln had been down with General Halleck, who had suggested
that a crossing be made at Hoop-Pole Ferry, about twenty-eight or
thirty miles below Fredericksburg. The Confederates discovered this
movement, and it was then abandoned. There were sixty-five thousand
Confederates well located upon the various hills on the other side
of the river. Anderson, McLaws, Ransom, Hood, A. P. and D. H. Hill,
Longstreet, Stonewall Jackson, and the great Robert E. Lee himself were
all there.

On the morning of the 11th of December, 1862, an hour or so before
daybreak, the slumbering Confederates were awakened by a cannon
thundering on the heights of Marye’s Hill. It was recognized as the
signal of the Washington Artillery, and it told that the Federal
troops were preparing to cross the Rappahannock and give battle. The
Federals came down to the river and began to build their bridges, when
Barksdale and his heroic Mississippians opened fire, which forced them
to retire. The Federals then turned their whole artillery force on
Fredericksburg, demolishing the houses with a cyclone of fire. The
only offence of the little town was that it was situated where the
battle raged. The little band of Mississippians kept up their work, and
like so many angry hornets stung the whole Army of the Potomac into
frenzy. Longstreet ordered Barksdale to withdraw, and the Federals
then constructed their pontoons without molestation, and the next
day Sumner’s grand division passed over into Fredericksburg; General
Franklin’s grand division passed over on pontoon bridges lower down
and massed on the level bottoms opposite Hamilton’s Crossing, in front
of Stonewall Jackson’s corps. Opposite Fredericksburg the formation
along the river bank was such that the Federals were concealed in their
approaches, and they thereby succeeded in getting over and concealing
the grand division of Sumner and a part of Hooker’s grand division in
Fredericksburg, and so disposing of Franklin in the open plain below
as to give out the impression that the great force was there to oppose
Jackson.

Before daylight of the eventful 13th Longstreet rode to the right
of his line, held by Hood’s division, which was in hearing of the
Federals who were marching their troops to the attack on Jackson.
Longstreet ordered Hood, in case Jackson’s line should be broken, to
wheel around to his right and strike in on the attacking bodies, while
he ordered Pickett with his division to join in the flank movement. He
told them at the same time that he himself would be attacked near his
left centre, that he would be personally at that point, and that his
position was so well defended that he would not need their troops. He
returned to Lee’s Hill soon after sunrise.

There was a thick fog that morning, and the preparations of the
Federals were concealed thereby. The Confederates grimly awaited the
onslaught. About ten o’clock the sun burst through the fog and revealed
the mighty panorama in the valley below. Franklin’s forty thousand
men, reinforced by two divisions of Hooker’s grand division, were in
front of Jackson’s thirty thousand. The flags of the Federals fluttered
gayly, their polished arms shone brightly, and the beautiful uniforms
of the buoyant troops gave a holiday air to the scene. A splendid
array it was. Awaiting their approach was Jackson’s ragged infantry,
and beyond was Stuart’s battered cavalry. The majority of the Federal
troops were in Fredericksburg almost in reach of the Confederate guns.
There was some lively firing between a part of Franklin’s command and
a part of Stuart’s Horse Artillery under Major John Pelham. Franklin
advanced rapidly towards Jackson; silently Jackson awaited his approach
until within good range, and then opened with a terrific fire, which
threw the Federals into some confusion. The Federals again massed and
advanced, and pressed through a gap in Jackson’s line. Then they came
upon Gregg’s brigade, and a severe encounter ensued in which Gregg was
mortally wounded. The concentration of the divisions of Taliaferro and
Early against this attack drove the Federals back.

On the Confederate side near the town was a stone wall, shoulder high.
Behind this stone wall Longstreet had placed General T. R. R. Cobb’s
brigade and a portion of the brigade of General Kershaw,--about two
thousand five hundred men in all. To reach Longstreet’s weakest point
the Federals had to pass directly over this wall.

Just before noon Longstreet sent orders to all his batteries to open
fire as a diversion in favor of Jackson. This fire began at once
to develop work for Longstreet. The Federal troops swarmed out of
Fredericksburg and came in double-quick towards Cobb’s wall. From the
moment of their appearance fearful carnage began. The Confederate
artillery from the front, right, and left tore through their ranks,
but the Federals pressed forward with almost invincible determination.
Thus they marched upon the stone fence behind which Cobb’s brigade
was quietly waiting. When the Federals came within its reach they
were swept from the field like chaff before the wind. A vast number
went pell-mell into an old railroad cut to escape fire from the right
and front. A battery on Lee’s Hill saw this, and turned its fire into
the entire length of the cut, and wrought frightful destruction.
Though thus repulsed and scattered in its first attempt to drive the
Confederates from Marye’s Hill, the determined Federal army quickly
formed again and filed out of Fredericksburg to another charge. Again
they were forced to retire before the well-directed guns of Cobb’s
brigade and the fire of the artillery on the heights.

[Illustration: THE BATTLE OF FREDERICKSBURG, FROM THE BATTERY ON LEE’S
HILL.]

Still again they formed and advanced, and again they were driven off.
By this time they had difficulty in walking over the dead bodies of
their comrades. So persistent were they in their continuing advances
that General Lee, who at the time was with Longstreet on Lee’s Hill,
became uneasy and said that he feared the Federals would break through
his line. To this Longstreet replied, “General, if you put every man
now on the other side of the Potomac on that field to approach me over
the same line, and give me plenty of ammunition, I will kill them
all before they reach my line. Look to your right; you are in some
danger there, but not on my line.” As a precaution, General Kershaw
was ordered with the remainder of his brigade down to the stone wall
to carry ammunition to Cobb and to reinforce him if necessary. Kershaw
arrived just in time to succeed Cobb, who was falling from a Federal
bullet, to die in a few minutes from loss of blood. A fifth time
the Federals formed, charged, and were repulsed, and likewise a
sixth time, when they were again driven back, and night came to end
the dreadful carnage. The Federals then withdrew, leaving the field
literally piled up with the bodies of their dead. The Confederate
musketry alone killed and wounded at least five thousand, while the
artillery brought the number of those killed and wounded at the foot of
Marye’s Hill to over seven thousand.

During the night a Federal strayed beyond his line, was taken up by
Longstreet’s troops, and on his person was found a memorandum of
General Burnside’s arrangements and an order for the renewal of the
battle next day. Upon receiving this information General Lee gave
immediate orders for a line of rifle-pits on the top of Marye’s Hill
for General Ransom, who had been held somewhat in reserve, and for
other guns to be placed on Taylor’s Hill. The Confederates were up
before daylight on the morrow, anxious to receive General Burnside
again. The Federal troops, however, had left the field. It was at first
thought that the memorandum was intended as a ruse of war, but it was
afterwards learned that General Burnside expected to resume attack, but
gave it up when he became fully aware of the fate of his soldiers at
the foot of Marye’s Hill.




CHICKAMAUGA


This battle marked the only great Confederate victory won in the
West, and was one of the bloodiest battles of the war. Indeed, the
contest for the bloodiest day in this great war is, I believe, between
Antietam and Chickamauga. Official reports show that on both sides the
casualties embrace the enormous proportion of thirty-three per cent. of
the troops actually engaged. On the Union side there were over a score
of regiments in which the losses in this single fight exceeded 49.4 per
cent. The “Charge of the Light Brigade at Balaklava,” immortalized by
Tennyson, did not suffer by ten per cent. as much as did thirty of the
Union regiments at Chickamauga; and a number of Confederate regiments
suffered even more than their Federal opponents.

Longstreet’s command in less than two hours lost nearly forty-four
per cent. of its strength. Of the troops that received their splendid
assaults, Steedman’s and Brannan’s commands lost respectively
forty-nine and thirty-eight per cent. in less than four hours. The loss
of single regiments showed a much heavier percentage. For instance, the
Tenth Tennessee Regiment lost sixty-eight per cent.; the Fifth Georgia,
61.1; the Second Tennessee, 60.2; the Sixteenth Alabama, 58.6; a great
number of them more than fifty per cent.

The total Confederate losses were about 18,000 men; the total
Federal losses, about 17,000. Viewed from the stand-point of both
sides, Chickamauga was the fifth greatest battle of the war, being
exceeded only by Gettysburg, Spottsylvania, the Wilderness, and
Chancellorsville. But each of these battles were of a much longer time.
The total Confederates engaged in the battle were 59,242; the total
Federals, 60,867. The battle was fought on the 20th of September, 1863.

[Illustration: BATTLE OF CHICKAMAUGA. CONFEDERATES FLANKING THE UNION
FORCES.]

The movements of both sides were too complex to be followed here.
During a very hot part of the battle, General Hood, on the Confederate
side, was fearfully wounded; General Benning, of his “Rock Brigade,”
lost his own horse, and thought that General Hood was killed and that
everything was gone to smash. He cut a horse loose from a captured
gun, grabbed a rope trace as a riding whip, mounted, and rode to meet
General Longstreet and report. He had lost his hat in the mêlée, and
everything was in terrible shape. He reported,--

  “General Hood killed, my horse killed, my brigade torn to pieces,
  and I haven’t a single man left.”

General Longstreet smiled, and quietly asked him if he did not think he
could find _one_ man. Quieted by the tone of the question, he began to
look for his men, found quite a number of them, and quickly joined the
fighting forces at the front, where he discovered that the Confederates
had carried the first line, that Johnson’s division was in the breach
and pushing on, with Hindman spreading battle to the enemy’s limits,
Stuart’s division holding bravely on, and the brigades of Kershaw and
Humphreys coming along to help restore the battle to good organization.

About one o’clock in the day lunch was ordered spread for a number of
the officers. General Longstreet meanwhile rode with General Buckner
and the staffs to view the changed conditions of the battle. He could
see but little of the enemy’s line, and only knew it by the occasional
exchange of fire between the skirmishers. Suddenly the party discovered
that they had passed the Confederate line and were within the fire of
the Federal sharp-shooters, who were concealed behind the trees and
under the brush. They came back in more than double-quick. General
Longstreet ordered General Buckner to establish a twelve-gun battery on
the right and enfilade the Federal works. Then he rode away to enjoy a
sumptuous spread of Nassau bacon and Georgia sweet potatoes. They were
not accustomed to potatoes of any kind in Virginia, and the Georgia
variety was a peculiar luxury. While the lunch was in its first stages
a fragment of shell came tearing through the woods, passed through
a book in the hands of a courier who sat his horse hard by reading,
and struck down the chief of ordnance, Colonel T. P. Manning. Friends
sprang forward to look for the wound and give relief. Manning had
just taken an unusually large bite of sweet potato, and was about
suffocating thereby. He was supposed to be gasping for his last breath
when General Longstreet suggested that he be relieved of the potato and
given a chance to breathe. This done, he soon revived, and was ready
to be taken to the hospital, and in a few days he was again ready for
either a Federal shell or a Georgia potato.

The vicissitudes of the battle were many and varied, but finally
the Federal forces quit the field and the different wings of the
Confederate army came together and greeted each other with loud huzzas.
The Army of the Tennessee was ready to celebrate its first grand
victory, in spite of the great losses sustained. The twilight dews
hung heavy over the trees, as if to hush the voice of victory in the
presence of death, but nevertheless, the two lines, which neared as
they advanced, united their shouts in increasing volume, not as the
cannon’s violent noise, but as one great burst of harmony that seemed
almost to lift from their rooted depths the great forest trees. Before
greetings and congratulations upon the success had passed it was night,
and the mild beams of the quartering moon were more suggestive of Venus
than of Mars, as Longstreet rested in the white light of the one great
triumph of Confederate arms in the West.




IN EAST TENNESSEE


About the 1st of November, 1863, it was determined at Confederate
head-quarters that Longstreet should be ordered into East Tennessee
against General Burnside’s army.

On the 22d of October General Grant joined the army, and it was known
that General Sherman was marching to join him.

On the 20th of October General Burnside reported by letter to General
Grant an army of twenty-two thousand three hundred men, with ninety-odd
guns, but his returns for November gave a force of twenty-five thousand
two hundred and ninety, and over one hundred guns. Eight thousand of
his men were on service north of Knoxville and about Cumberland Gap.

To march, capture, and disperse this formidable force, fortified at
points, Longstreet had about fifteen thousand men, after deducting
camp guards and foraging parties. Marching and fighting had been his
almost daily occupation from the middle of January, 1863, when he left
Fredericksburg to move down to Suffolk, Virginia, until the 16th of
December, when he found bleak winter again breaking upon him, away from
friends, and dependent upon his own efforts for food and clothing for
his ragged and hungry Confederates.

It is not in the purview of this paper to more than briefly refer to
Longstreet’s work in East Tennessee in the bitter winter of 1863-64. He
has said that Washington’s men at Valley Forge did not suffer more than
his command on the hard campaigns of that severe winter. Much of the
time half-clad and shoeless, the snow-covered ground bore the bloody
imprint of their naked feet. They were compelled to dig holes in the
frozen ground, which were thawed out by fires to furnish their usual
couch. They had nothing to eat but parched corn. But the brave fellows
never lost heart. They undertook to make a joke of their dire straits.
As General Longstreet rode out among them, they would call cheerily to
know if they might not have a little fodder to eat with their corn.

It is now generally conceded that no more valorous service was rendered
the Confederate cause during the four years’ fighting than Longstreet’s
work in East Tennessee, cut off from supplies, improperly supported by
his government, and sent with an inadequate force to attack Burnside in
his stronghold.

Mrs. Grant, a few years before her death, in discussing the events of
those campaigns, said to me that General Grant had come to Nashville
to spend Christmas with her. She had scarcely given him greeting when
a hurried message came from Knoxville,--“Longstreet is coming!” He
was much perturbed at having to forego his Christmas with his family
and return immediately to his works about Knoxville. In parting she
said to him, “Now, Ulysses, you know that you are not going to hurt
Longstreet.” Grant quickly replied, “I will if I can get him; he is in
bad company.”

[Illustration: THE ASSAULT ON FORT SANDERS, KNOXVILLE.]

To “get” Longstreet or to drive him out of Tennessee came to be the
chief concern of Grant and his government. General Halleck was much
concerned about the Confederate army in East Tennessee, the only
strategic field then held by Southern troops. It was inconveniently
near Kentucky and the Ohio River. President Lincoln and his War
Secretary added their anxiety to Halleck’s on account of its
politico-strategic bearing. General Halleck urged his views upon
General Grant, and despatched General Foster that it was of first
importance to “drive Longstreet out of Tennessee and keep him out.”
General Grant ordered: “Drive Longstreet to the farthest point east
that you can.” It was easier to issue that order than to execute it.
And Grant reported to the authorities:

“If Longstreet is not driven out of the valley entirely, and the road
destroyed east of Abingdon, I do not think it unlikely that the last
great battle of the war will be fought in East Tennessee. Reports
of deserters and citizens show the army of Bragg to be too much
demoralized and reduced by desertions to do anything this winter. I
will get everything in order here in a few days and go to Nashville
and Louisville, and, if there is still a chance of doing anything
against Longstreet, to the scene of operations there. I am deeply
interested in moving the enemy beyond Saltville this winter, so as to
be able to select my own campaign in the spring, instead of having the
enemy dictate it to me.”

About the middle of December orders were given the Confederate army,
which was on the west bank of the Holston River, to cross and march for
the railroad, only a few miles away.

The transfer of the army to the east bank of the river was executed
by diligent work and the use of such flatboats and other means of
crossing as could be collected and constructed. They were over by
the 20th, and before Christmas were in camps along the railroad near
Morristown. Blankets and clothes were scarce, shoes more so. But to
the hungry Confederates the beautiful country in which they found
themselves seemed a land of milk and honey. The French Broad River and
the Holston are confluent at Knoxville. The country between and beyond
them contains as fine farming-lands and has as delightful climate as
can be found. Stock and grain were on all farms. Wheat and oats had
been thoughtfully hidden away by the Federals, but the fields were
full of maize, still standing. The country around the French Broad had
hardly been touched by the foragers. The Confederate wagons immediately
on entering the fields were loaded to overflowing. Pumpkins were on the
ground in places like apples under a tree. Cattle, sheep, and swine,
poultry, vegetables, maple sugar, and honey were all abundant for
immediate wants of the troops.

When the Federals found that the Confederates had moved to the east
bank, their cavalry followed to that side. They were almost as much in
want of the beautiful foraging lands as the Confederates, but there
was little left for them. With the plenitude of provisions for the
time, and many things which seemed luxuries, the Confederates were
not altogether happy. Tattered garments, blankets, and shoes (the
latter going, many gone) opened ways, on all sides, for piercing
winter blasts. There were some hand-looms in the country, from which
there was occasionally picked up a piece of cloth, and here and there
other comforts were received, some from kind and some from unwilling
hands, which nevertheless could spare them. For shoes the men were
compelled to resort to the raw hides of beef cattle as temporary
protection from the frozen ground. Then soldiers were discovered who
could tan the hides of beeves, some who could make shoes, some who
could make shoe-pegs, some who could make shoe-lasts; so it came about,
through the varied industries of Longstreet’s men, that the hides
passed rapidly from the beeves to the feet of the soldiers. Thus the
soldier’s life was made, for a time, passably pleasant in the infantry
and artillery. Meanwhile, the Confederate cavalry were looking at
the Federals, and the Federals were looking at them, both frequently
burning powder between their lines.

General Sturgis had been assigned to the cavalry of the other side,
to relieve General Shackelford, and he seemed to think that the dead
of winter was the time for cavalry work; and the Confederate General
Martin’s orders were to have the enemy under his eye at all hours. Both
were vigilant, active, and persevering.

About December 20 a raid was made by General Averill from West Virginia
upon a supply depot of General Sam Jones’s department, at Salem, which
was partially successful, when General Grant, under the impression that
the stores were for East Tennessee, wired General Foster, “This will
give you great advantage.” And General Foster despatched General Parke,
commanding his troops in the field, December 26, “Longstreet will feel
a little timid now, and will bear a little pushing.”

General Grant made a visit to Knoxville about New Year’s, and remained
until the 7th. He found General Foster in the condition of the
Confederates,--not properly supplied with clothing, especially in want
of shoes. So he authorized a wait for clothing, then in transit and
looked for in a week; and that little delay was a great lift for the
Confederates.

Before leaving General Foster, General Grant ordered him, on receipt of
clothing, to advance and “drive Longstreet at least beyond Bull’s Gap
and Red Bridge.” And to prepare for that advance, he ordered the Ninth
and Twenty-third Corps to Mossy Creek, the Fourth Corps to Strawberry
Plains, and the cavalry to Dandridge.

The Union army--equipped--marched on the 14th and 15th of January. The
bitter freeze of two weeks had made the rough angles of mud as firm
and sharp as so many freshly quarried rocks, and the bare feet of the
Confederates on this march left bloody marks along the roads.

General Sturgis rode in advance of the army, and occupied Dandridge by
Elliott’s, Wolford’s, and Garrard’s divisions of cavalry and Mott’s
brigade of infantry. The Fourth and Twenty-ninth Corps followed the
cavalry, leaving the Ninth Corps to guard at Strawberry Plains.

General Martin gave prompt notice that the march was at Dandridge
and in full force. Dandridge is on the right bank of the French
Broad River, about thirty miles from Knoxville. Its topographical
features are bold and inviting of military work. Its other striking
characteristic was the interesting character of its citizens. The
Confederates--a unit in heart and spirit--were prepared to do their
share towards making an effective battle, and the plans were so laid.

At the time ordered for his advance General Foster was suffering from
an old wound, and General Parke became commander of the troops in the
field. The latter delayed at Strawberry Plains in arranging that part
of his command, and General Sheridan, marching with the advance, became
commander, until superseded by the corps commander, General Gordon
Granger.

The Confederate plans were laid before the army was all up. Their
skirmish line was made stronger, and relieved the cavalry of their
dismounted service. A narrow, unused road, practicable for artillery,
was found that opened a way for the Confederates to reach the enemy’s
rearward line of march. Sharp-shooters were organized and ordered
forward by it, to be followed by our infantry columns. It was thought
better to move the infantry alone, as the ringing of the iron axles of
the guns might give notice of the Confederate purpose; the artillery to
be called as the Confederate sharp-shooters approached the junction of
the roads. The head of the turning force encountered a picket-guard,
some of whom escaped without firing. General Granger decided to retire,
and was in time to leave the crossroads behind him, his rear guard
passing the point of intersection before the Confederate advance party
reached it about midnight.

The weather moderated before night, and after dark a mild, gentle rain
began to fall.

When Longstreet rode into Dandridge in the gray of the morning the
ground was thawing and hardly firm enough to bear the weight of his
horse. When the cavalry came at sunrise the last crust of ice had
melted, letting the animals down to their fetlocks in heavy limestone
soil. The mud and want of a bridge to cross the Holston made pursuit by
the heavy Confederate columns useless. The cavalry was ordered on, and
the troops at Morristown, on the Strawberry Plains road, were ordered
to try that route, but the latter proved to be too heavy for progress
with artillery.

While General Longstreet rode through the streets of Dandridge, giving
directions for such pursuit of the fleeing Federals as could be made, a
lady came out upon the sidewalk and invited him into her parlors. When
the orders for pursuit were completed, he dismounted, and with some
members of his staff walked in. After the compliments of the season
were passed, the Confederates were asked to be seated, and the lady
told, with evident great enjoyment, of General Granger during the night
before. She had never heard a person swear about another as General
Granger did about General Longstreet. Some of the officers proposed to
stop and make a battle, but General Granger swore, and said, “It’s no
use to stop and fight Longstreet. You can’t whip him. It don’t make any
difference whether he has one man or a hundred thousand.” Presently she
brought out a flask that General Granger had forgotten, and presented
it to General Longstreet. It had about two horizontal fingers left
in it. Though not left with compliments, it was accepted. Although
the weather had moderated, it was very wet and nasty, and as General
Longstreet had taken his coffee at three o’clock, it was resolved to
call it noon and divide the spoils. Colonel Fairfax, who knew how to
enjoy good things, thought the occasion called for a sentiment, and
offered, “General Granger--may his shadow never grow less.”

The cavalry found the road and its side-ways so cut up that the
pursuit was reduced to a labored walk. The previous hard service and
exposure had so reduced the animals that they were not in trim for real
effective cavalry service. They found some crippled battery forges and
a little of other plunder, but the enemy passed the Holston and broke
his bridges behind him, and Longstreet’s men returned to their huts and
winter homes.

To seek some of the fruits of his advantage at Dandridge, the roads
being a little firmer, General Longstreet ordered his leading division,
under General Jenkins, on the 21st, to proceed to march towards
Strawberry Plains, and the Richmond authorities were asked to send a
pontoon bridge, tools of construction, and to hurry forward such shoes
as they could send.

On the 24th, as the official records show, General Grant sent word to
General Halleck of Longstreet’s return towards Knoxville; that he had
ordered General Foster to give battle, if necessary, and that he would
send General Thomas with additional troops to insure that Longstreet
would be driven from the State. He also directed General Thomas to
go in person and take command, and said, “I want Longstreet routed
and pursued beyond the limits of Tennessee.” And he ordered General
Foster to put his cavalry on a raid from Cumberland Gap to cut in upon
Longstreet’s rear.

On the 6th of February General Grant reported from Nashville,--

    “MAJOR-GENERAL H. W. HALLECK,
      “General-in-Chief:

  “I am making every effort to get supplies from Knoxville for the
  support of a large force--large enough to drive Longstreet out.

            “U. S. GRANT,
              “_Major-General Commanding_.”

       *       *       *       *       *

    “MAJOR-GENERAL THOMAS:

  “Reports of scouts make it evident that Joe Johnston has removed
  most of his force from our front, two divisions going to
  Longstreet. Longstreet has been reinforced by troops from the
  east. This makes it evident the enemy intends to secure East
  Tennessee if they can, and I intend to drive them out or get
  whipped this month. For this purpose you will have to detach at
  least ten thousand men besides Stanley’s division (more will be
  better). I can partly relieve the vacuum at Chattanooga by troops
  from Logan’s command. It will not be necessary to take artillery
  or wagons to Knoxville, but all the serviceable artillery horses
  should be taken to use on artillery there. Six mules to each two
  hundred men should be taken, if you have them to spare. Let me
  know how soon you can start.

            “GRANT,
              _Major-General_.”

On the 9th Major-General J. M. Schofield arrived at Knoxville, and
assumed command of the Army of the Ohio.

General Grant reported on the 11th,--

    “MAJOR-GENERAL H. W. HALLECK,
      “General-in-Chief:

  “I expect to get off from Chattanooga by Monday next a force to
  drive Longstreet out of East Tennessee. It has been impossible
  heretofore to subsist the troops necessary for this work.

            “U. S. GRANT,
              “_Major-General_.”

       *       *       *       *       *

    “MAJOR-GENERAL J. M. SCHOFIELD,
      “Knoxville, Tennessee:

  “I deem it of the utmost importance to drive Longstreet out
  immediately, so as to furlough the balance of our veterans, and
  to prepare for a spring campaign of our own choosing, instead of
  permitting the enemy to dictate it for us. Thomas is ordered to
  start ten thousand men, besides the remainder of Granger’s corps,
  at once. He will take no artillery, but will take his artillery
  horses, and three mules to one hundred men. He will probably
  start next Monday.

            “U. S. GRANT,
              “_Major-General_.”

How General Grant abandoned the move against Longstreet, while
Longstreet kept Schofield bottled up all through that trying winter in
his works about Knoxville, is old history.

The Confederate government finally abandoned the plan of occupying
East Tennessee, and on the 7th of April Longstreet was ordered, with
the part of his command that had originally served with the Army of
Northern Virginia, to join General Lee on the Rapidan.

I have gone thus far into the East Tennessee campaigns for the pleasure
it gives me to reproduce the following resolutions passed by the
Confederate Congress during General Longstreet’s arduous work in the
winter of 1863-64:

  “No. 42. Joint Resolutions of Thanks to Lieutenant-General
  Longstreet and the officers and men of his command.

  “_Resolved by the Congress of the Confederate States of America_,
  That the thanks of the Congress are due, and hereby cordially
  tendered, to Lieutenant-General James Longstreet and the
  officers and men of his command, for their patriotic services
  and brilliant achievements in the present war, sharing as they
  have the arduous fatigues and privations of many campaigns in
  Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Tennessee, and
  participating in nearly every great battle fought in those
  States, the commanding general ever displaying great ability,
  skill, and prudence in command, and the officers and men the most
  heroic bravery, fortitude, and energy, in every duty they have
  been called upon to perform.

  “_Resolved_, That the President be requested to transmit a copy
  of the foregoing resolutions to Lieutenant-General Longstreet for
  publication to his command.

  “Approved February 17, 1864.”




THE WILDERNESS


The Wilderness is a forest land about fifteen miles square, lying
between and equidistant from Orange Court-House and Fredericksburg.
It is broken occasionally by small farms and abandoned clearings, and
two roads,--the Orange Plank Road and the turnpike, which are cut at
right angles by the Germania road,--in general course nearly parallel,
open ways through it between Fredericksburg and the Court-House. The
Germania Ford road joins the Brock road, the strategic line of the
military zone, and crosses the turnpike at Wilderness Tavern and the
plank road about two miles south of that point.

General Grant was making his head-quarters near the Army of the
Potomac, in Culpeper County, Virginia, commanded by Major-General
George G. Meade. The aggregate of the Federal command was about one
hundred and thirty thousand men.

The Army of Northern Virginia was on the west side of the Rapidan
River. Its total number at the beginning of the campaign was then put
by Colonel Taylor, chief of staff, at about sixty-four thousand.

However, the numerical strength of the armies did not decide the
merits of the campaign. The commanders on both sides had chosen their
ground after mature deliberation. They knew of each other’s numbers
and resources, and made their plans accordingly. A number of their
respective leaders had known each other personally for more than
twenty years. They had the undivided support and confidence of their
governments and their armies. General Lee was as always the trusted
leader of the Confederates; General Grant by his three years’ service
in the West had become known as an all-round soldier seldom if ever
surpassed. General Longstreet, who thought most highly of General
Grant from every stand-point, always said that the biggest part of him
was his heart.

In this case General Grant had no fixed plan of campaign except to
avoid the strong defensive line occupied by General Lee, and to draw
him out to open battle.

General Lee’s orders were against a general engagement until the
Federal forces should attack, but in the midst of varied manœuvrings
the battle was begun in half a dozen quarters before either commanding
general had expected it. Hancock advanced before sunrise ready
for battle, just as Longstreet’s command, which had come up from
Mechanicsville, reported to General Lee. Longstreet’s line was formed
along the right and left of the plank road, Kershaw on the right,
Field on the left. Hancock’s musketry was doing considerable damage to
the forces in front, and as Longstreet’s lines were forming the men
broke files to give free passage for their comrades to the rear. The
advancing fire was getting brisk, but not a shot was fired in return by
Longstreet’s troops until the divisions were ready. Three of Field’s
brigades were formed in the line of the left, and three of Kershaw’s on
the right. The advance of the six brigades was ordered, and Hancock’s
lines, thinned by their previous fighting and weaker than the fresh
men now coming against them, were checked and pushed back to their
intrenched lines. Then the fighting became steady and firm.

[Illustration: THE WOUNDING OF GENERAL LONGSTREET AT THE WILDERNESS,
MAY 6, 1864.]

Finally Hancock’s line began to break. As they retreated and the
Confederates advanced, a fire was started in the dry leaves and began
to spread. The Confederate forces, in spite of the fire, moved on.
As the battle waged, General Wadsworth, who was gallantly leading
a division of the Federal forces, fell mortally wounded, and there
was then a general break in the Union line. Jenkins’s brigade was
conspicuous among the Confederates in pursuit. Jenkins exclaimed to
those around him, “I am happy; I have felt despair of the cause for
some months, but am relieved, and feel assured that we will put the
enemy back across the Rapidan before night.” A few minutes later he
fell mortally wounded. In the general mêlée Longstreet was leading in
advance of his troops, and in the midst of close firing was shot by his
own men. This caused the Confederate lines to slow up in their advance.
Orders were given General Field by Longstreet to push on before the
enemy could have time to rally, but in the midst of the general
confusion, General Lee ordered the broken lines to be reformed, and the
advantage already gained was not followed up.

General Field, in his subsequent account of the day, said,--

  “I was at Longstreet’s side in a moment, and in answer to my
  anxious inquiry as to his condition, he replied that he would be
  looked after by others, and directed me to take command of the
  corps and push on. Though at this moment he could not have known
  the extent or character of his wounds (that they were severe was
  apparent), he seemed to forget himself in the absorbing interest
  of the movement he was making.

  “Had our advance not been suspended by this disaster, I have
  always believed that Grant would have been driven across the
  Rapidan before night; but General Lee was present, and ordered
  that our line, which was nearly a right angle, should first
  be straightened out. The difficulty of manœuvring through the
  brush made this a tedious operation, so that when we did advance
  with large reinforcements from Ewell’s Corps placed under my
  orders, the enemy was found awaiting us behind new breastworks,
  thoroughly prepared.”

In a letter touching this subject to General Longstreet, Colonel
Fairfax said,--

  “On reaching the line of troops you were taken off the horse and
  propped against a tree. You blew the bloody foam from your mouth
  and said, ‘Tell General Field to take command, and move forward
  with the whole force and gain the Brock road,’ but meantime hours
  were lost.”

A Northern historian[H] said, on the same point,--

  “It seemed indeed that irretrievable disaster was upon us; but in
  the very torrent and tempest of the attack it suddenly ceased and
  all was still. What could cause this surcease of effort at the
  very height of success was then wholly unknown to us.”

Some years after, General Hancock said to General Longstreet,--

  “You rolled me up like a wet blanket, and it was some hours
  before I could reorganize the battle.”




THE CURTAIN FALLS AT APPOMATTOX


In discussing the war, General Longstreet always dwelt with peculiar
tenderness on the last days that culminated with the surrender at
Appomattox. His mental belief for two years before the surrender was
that from the very nature of the situation the Union forces would in
all probability finally triumph, but his brave heart never knew how to
give up the fight, and the surrender was at last agreed upon while he
was still protesting against it.

The incident is well known of a number of the leading Confederate
generals, who, having decided that further resistance was useless, went
to General Lee and suggested surrender upon the best terms that could
be had as the wisest thing to do. General Longstreet declined to join
with them. General Pendleton was spokesman for the party. His account
of the conference is thus related by General A. L. Long in his Memoirs
of Lee:

  “General Lee was lying on the ground. No others heard the
  conversation between him and myself. He received my communication
  with the reply, ‘Oh, no; I trust that it has not come to that,’
  and added, ‘General, we have yet too many bold men to think of
  laying down our arms. The enemy do not fight with spirit, while
  our boys do. Besides, if I were to say a word to the Federal
  commander, he would regard it as such a confession of weakness as
  to make it the condition of demanding an unconditional surrender,
  a proposal to which I will never listen.... I have never believed
  we could, against the gigantic combination for our subjugation,
  make good, in the long run, our independence, unless some foreign
  power should, directly or indirectly, assist us.... But such
  considerations really make with me no difference. We had, I am
  satisfied, sacred principles to maintain, and rights to defend,
  for which we were in duty bound to do our best, even if we
  perished in the endeavor.’

  “Such were, as nearly as I can recall them, the exact words of
  General Lee on that most pitiful occasion. You see in them the
  soul of the man. Where his conscience dictated and his judgment
  decided, there his heart was.”

No words of eulogy show up so clearly the characters of Lee and
likewise of Grant as their own direct words and deeds. On the evening
of April 7, 1865, General Grant wrote General Lee as follows:

  “The results of the last week must convince you of the
  hopelessness of further resistance on the part of the Army of
  Northern Virginia in this struggle. I feel that it is so, and
  regard it as my duty to shift from myself the responsibility of
  any further effusion of blood by asking of you the surrender
  of that portion of the Confederate army known as the Army of
  Northern Virginia.”

General Longstreet was with General Lee when he received this note.
It was handed to General Longstreet without a word. After reading it
General Longstreet handed it back, saying, “Not yet.” General Lee
replied to General Grant that same evening:

  “I have received your note of this day. Though not entertaining
  the opinion you express on the hopelessness of further resistance
  on the part of the Army of Northern Virginia, I reciprocate your
  desire to avoid useless effusion of blood, and therefore, before
  considering your proposition, ask the terms you will offer on
  condition of its surrender.”

While this correspondence was pending, both armies, under the
respective directions of Grant and of Lee, continued their preparations
for battle as if there was no thought of cessation. The next day, April
8, General Grant wrote General Lee as follows:

  “Your note of last evening, in reply to mine of the same date
  asking the conditions on which I will accept surrender of the
  Army of Northern Virginia, is just received. In reply I would say
  that, peace being my great desire, there is but one condition I
  would insist upon,--namely, that the men and officers surrendered
  shall be disqualified for taking up arms again against the United
  States government until properly exchanged. I will meet you, or
  will designate officers to meet any officers you might name for
  the same purpose, at any point agreeable to you, for the purpose
  of arranging definitely the terms upon which the surrender of the
  Army of Northern Virginia will be received.”

To this General Lee replied, under the same date:

  “I received at a late hour your note of to-day. In mine of
  yesterday I did not intend to propose the surrender of the Army
  of Northern Virginia, but to ask the terms of your proposition.
  To be frank, I do not think the emergency has arisen to call for
  the surrender of this army, but as the restoration to peace
  should be the sole object of all, I desired to know whether your
  proposals would lead to that end. I cannot, therefore, meet you
  with a view to the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia;
  but as far as your proposal may affect the Confederate States
  forces under my command and tend to the restoration of peace,
  I should be pleased to meet you at ten A.M. to-morrow on the
  old stage road to Richmond, between the picket-lines of the two
  armies.”

That night General Lee spread his couch about a hundred feet from the
saddle and blanket that were General Longstreet’s pillow for the night,
and it is not probable that either had a more comfortable bed than
the other. Of the early hours of the next day, the last day of active
existence of the Army of Northern Virginia, Colonel Venable, of General
Lee’s staff, has written a touching account, which is published in
General Long’s “Memoirs of General Lee.” When further resistance seemed
useless, he quoted General Lee as saying,--

  “Then there is nothing left me but to go and see General Grant,
  and I would rather die a thousand deaths.”

Many were the wild words of passionate grief spoken by the officers
around him. Said one, “Oh, General, what would history say of the
surrender of the army in the field?” According to Colonel Venable,
General Lee replied, “Yes, I know they will say hard things of us; they
will not understand how we are overwhelmed with numbers. But that is
not the question; the question is, Is it right to surrender this army?
If it is right, then I will take all the responsibility.”

Presently General Lee called General Longstreet to ride forward with
him. He said that the advance columns stood against a very formidable
force which he could not break through, while General Meade was at
Longstreet’s rear ready to call for all the work that the rear
guard could do. He added that it did not seem possible for him to
make further successful resistance. General Longstreet asked if the
sacrifice of his army could benefit the cause in other quarters. He
thought not. Then, said Longstreet, “The situation speaks for itself.”
Several other leading generals were consulted, and all of them held the
same view.

Meanwhile, the Federal forces appeared plainly to be preparing for
attack. The Confederates continued work on their lines of defence.
General Longstreet ordered parts of the rear guard forward to support
the advance forces, and directed General E. P. Alexander to establish
them with part of his batteries in the best position for support or
rallying line in case the front lines were forced back.

Thus the last line of battle formed in the Army of Northern Virginia
was by the invincible First Corps, twice conqueror of empire!

[Illustration: GENERAL ALEXANDER ARRANGING THE LAST LINE OF BATTLE
FORMED IN THE ARMY OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA.]

In talking over the delicate situation, General Lee told General
Longstreet that he feared his refusal to meet General Grant’s
proposition might cause him to demand harsh terms. General Longstreet
assured him that he knew General Grant well enough to be certain that
the best terms possible would be given--even such terms as he himself
would be willing to give a gallant foe under similar circumstances. How
true this estimate proved all the world now knows.




APPENDIX


LONGSTREET

    He lies in state, while by his flag-draped bier
      Pass the long ranks of men who wore the gray--
    Men who heard shriek of shot and shell unmoved--
      Sobbing like children o’er the lifeless clay.
    Through the fair South the heroes whom he led
      Against the blue lines in the stricken field
    Muse on the days ere Appomattox wrenched
      The laurel wreath from Dixie’s shattered shield.
    The glories of Manassas, Chancellorsville,
      And all the triumphs those gray legions gained
    Seem gathered in a shadowy host beside
      That casket and those colors battle-stained!
    While in the frozen North the men who strove
      Against his squadrons, bartering blow for blow,
    Bow silvered heads, exclaiming lovingly,
      “May he rest well! He was a noble foe!”
    Genius and courage equally were his--
      He fought in cause his heart maintained as right,
    And when the sword clanked in the rusted sheath
      He murmured not against the losing fight,
    But made endeavor, with a loyal soul,
      To heal the wounds the years of strife had wrought--
    And in the fields of peace more glories won
      Than in the battles his gray warriors fought!

            --W. A. P., in Chicago Journal.




JAMES LONGSTREET


James Longstreet was born in Edgefield District, South Carolina,
January 8, 1821, son of James and Mary Ann (Dent) Longstreet, and a
descendant of the Longstreets and Randolphs of New Jersey and the Dents
and Marshalls of Maryland and Virginia. Richard Longstreet, progenitor
of the name in America, settled in Monmouth County, New Jersey.

James Longstreet, subject of this sketch, removed with his parents to
Alabama in 1831, from which State he received his appointment to West
Point, and was graduated from the United States Military Academy in
1842. He was promoted in the army as brevet second lieutenant of the
Fourth Infantry, July 1, 1842, and served in garrison at Jefferson
Barracks, Missouri, 1842-44; on frontier duty at Natchitoches,
Louisiana, 1844-45; was promoted second lieutenant of the Eighth
Infantry, March 4, 1845; was in military occupation of Texas, 1845-46,
and served in the war with Mexico, 1846-47. He participated in the
battle of Palo Alto; May 8, 1846; the battle of Resaca de la Palma,
May 9, 1846; was promoted first lieutenant Eighth Infantry, February
23, 1847, and participated in the siege of Vera Cruz, March 9-29,
1847; the battle of Cerro Gordo, April 17 and 18, 1847; the capture of
San Antonio and the battle of Churubusco, August 20, 1847; the battle
of Molino del Rey, September 8, 1847; the storming of Chepultepec,
September 13, 1847, where he was severely wounded in the assault on
the fortified convent. He was brevetted captain, August 20, 1847,
“for gallant and meritorious conduct in the battles of Churubusco and
Contreras,” and major, September 8, 1847, “for gallant and meritorious
conduct at the battle of Molino del Rey.” He served as adjutant of
the Eighth Infantry, 1847-49; was in garrison at Jefferson Barracks,
1848-49; and served on frontier duty in Texas in 1849. He was chief
of Commissariat of the Department of Texas, 1849-51, and served on
scouting duty in Texas, Kansas, and New Mexico, 1851-61. He was
promoted captain, December 7, 1852, and major of staff and paymaster
July 19, 1858. He resigned his commission in 1861 and was appointed
brigadier-general in the Confederate States army, and commanded a
brigade at Blackburn’s Ford, Virginia, from July 18 to and including
July 21, 1861. He was promoted major-general and commanded the rear
guard of Joseph E. Johnston’s army during the retreat from Yorktown,
Virginia. He commanded the Confederate forces in the field, composed of
his own and part of D. H. Hill’s division and Stuart’s cavalry brigade,
at the battle of Williamsburg, May 5, 1862; commanded the right wing
of Johnston’s army at Seven Pines, May 31 and June 1, 1862; his own
and A. P. Hill’s division, in the Seven Days’ Battle before Richmond;
and commanded the right wing of Lee’s army of Northern Virginia in the
second battle of Bull Run, August 29 and 30, 1862; and in the Maryland
campaign, September, 1862; the First Corps (Confederate left) at the
battle of Fredericksburg, December 13, 1862. He was on duty south of
the James River in April, 1863, and was ordered to rejoin General Lee
at Chancellorsville, Virginia, but Lee, without awaiting his return
made precipitate battle May 2 to 4, 1863. He commanded the right wing
of the Army of Northern Virginia at Gettysburg July 1 to 3, 1863. He
served under General Bragg in the Army of the Tennessee, and commanded
the left wing of that army, composed of Hindman’s division, Polk’s
corps, Buckner’s corps, and two divisions and artillery of Longstreet’s
corps, at the battle of Chickamauga, September 19 and 20, 1863. He was
sent with part of his corps and Wheeler’s cavalry against Burnside’s
army in East Tennessee, in November, with orders to recover possession
of that part of the State. He drove Burnside back into his works around
Knoxville, and held him there under siege from November 17 to December
4, 1863, when Sherman approached with twenty thousand of Grant’s army,
near Chattanooga, for relief of the besieged army. Bragg ordered
precipitate attack of the fortifications, but they were too strong
to be carried by assault. Just then orders came from President Davis
for Longstreet to return to Bragg’s army in distress at Chattanooga.
Longstreet held his army in possession of East Tennessee, keeping the
Federal forces close about their works, until January, 1864, when he
was ordered to withdraw towards General Lee’s army in Virginia, and
he participated in the battle of the Wilderness, May 5 and 6, 1864,
when he commanded the two divisions of the First Corps forming the
right of Lee’s army, and was severely wounded. After convalescing he
participated in all the engagements of the Army of Northern Virginia
in 1864. He commanded the First Corps of the Army of Northern Virginia
from the date of its organization until surrendered by General Lee at
Appomattox Court-House, Virginia, April 9, 1865. He was called the
hardest fighter in the Confederate army, and the fairest military
critics of the century have estimated his military genius as second to
no commander in the Confederate States service.

He removed to New Orleans and engaged in commerce immediately after
the surrender. He was Surveyor of Customs of the Port of New Orleans,
1869; Supervisor of Internal Revenue, 1878; Postmaster at Gainesville,
Georgia, 1879, and was appointed by President Hayes United States
Minister to Turkey, serving 1880. He was United States Marshal of the
Northern District of Georgia, in 1881, and was appointed United States
Commissioner of Railroads by President McKinley in October, 1897,
serving until the date of his death in 1904.

On the 8th day of March, 1848, at Lynchburg, Virginia, he was married
to Marie Louise Garland, daughter of General John Garland, U.S.A., of
a noted Virginia family, hero of two wars. Mrs. Longstreet died at
Gainesville, Georgia, December 29, 1889.

On the fiftieth anniversary of the battle of Molino del Rey, September
8, 1897, at the Executive Mansion in Atlanta, Georgia, he was married
to Helen Dortch, daughter of the late Colonel James S. Dortch, a
brilliant Georgia lawyer, of a distinguished North Carolina family.

General Longstreet died at Gainesville, Georgia, January 2, 1904, and
was buried at Alta Vista Cemetery, that place, with military honors,
January 6.




THE FUNERAL CEREMONIES


(_A. S. Hardy, in the Constitution, Atlanta, Georgia._)

            GAINESVILLE, GEORGIA, January 6, 1904.

The funeral of General James Longstreet, which was held at eleven
o’clock to-day at the county court-house, was the most impressive
ceremonial ever held in Gainesville. Several thousand people gathered
in and around the court-house, and when the guards threw open the doors
to the public just preceding the service, which occurred in the main
court-room instead of in the rotunda as originally intended, there was
a great crush, though every endeavor was made to handle the vast throng
with every possible ease. Only a few minutes were consumed in filling
every available seat, and outside there appeared to be absolutely no
diminution in the size of the crowd.

A few moments before twelve o’clock, the active pall-bearers bore the
casket up the stairway from the rotunda, where it had lain in state
from two o’clock yesterday, and placed it in position just in front of
the judge’s rostrum. It was banked in a profusion of exquisite floral
offerings, many of which came from out-of-town Confederate camps, other
organizations, and from personal friends. Across the head and foot were
thrown a Confederate and a United States flag, and standing near was
the handsome silk flag of the Candler Horse Guards.

If any should doubt that the people among whom the General lived
did not love him and revere his memory, this doubt would have been
dispelled to-day if they had seen the demonstration over his casket
as the last sad rites were being said. Not a business house in town
was open, everything in the city closing tight their doors from the
beginning of the funeral until after the body was placed to rest in
Alta Vista Cemetery. From every quarter the people came and upon every
lip there was praise of the immortal deeds of the great Confederate
commander.

As the body was being placed in position, Bishop Keiley, Father
Schadewell, of Albany, and Father Gunn, of Sacred Heart Church,
Atlanta, emerged from the judge’s private chambers on the left and
were escorted to a position in front of the casket. The burial service
of the Roman Catholic Church was conducted by the Right Rev. Bishop
Keiley, of Savannah; Father Schadewell, of Albany, and Dr. Gunn, of the
Sacred Heart Church, of Atlanta. Father Schadewell read the liturgical
Latin service, then gave the same in English. Some of the beautiful
prayers are given elsewhere.

After reading the service and the blessing of the remains the right
reverend bishop, who himself had served as a soldier from 1860 to 1864
in the Confederate army under Longstreet, spoke as follows:

“Had it pleased God that the cause which met defeat at Appomattox
eight and thirty years ago had been crowned with that success for
which both its justice and the singular devotedness of its defenders
had given us right and warrant to hope, a far different scene had been
witnessed here to-day. It might have been that Federal as well as State
authorities had met to pay a merited tribute to this dead hero, who
valiantly sustained on many a bloody field the imperishable principles
of the right of self-government.

“Had it pleased God to spare the precious lives of those of his
companions in arms who have passed over the river, then we had seen
the peerless Lee, the brave Johnston, and the dashing Hampton sharing
our grief and mingling their tears with ours over the remains of the
soldier whom Lee loved. Is there e’en a suggestion of irreverence in
the thought which would people this hall with the dauntless spirits of
our dead?

“Having met defeat in an unequal struggle and having loyally accepted
the results of that struggle; having devoted our time and scanty means
to the upbuilding of our loved land; having been blessed by a merciful
God beyond our dreams or deserts, we lay aside our tasks to-day for
awhile to recall the glories of our past and to tell of the valor of
one who fought and bled for us.

    “The foeman need not frown,
      They are all powerless now;
    We gather here and we lay them down,
    And tears and prayers are the only crown
      We bring to wreathe each brow.

“Having passed the span which Providence ordinarily allots as the term
of human life, General James Longstreet has answered the roll-call of
the great God.

“What a brilliant page in history is filled with his grand career. Born
more than eighty years ago in the neighboring State of South Carolina,
he entered West Point in his seventeenth year and graduated therefrom
in his twenty-first. He served with marked distinction in the Mexican
War and was more than once complimented for his gallant conduct and
merited and received promotion.

“When the Southern States withdrew from the Union by reason of attacks
on their reserved rights which were guaranteed by the Constitution, and
were forced into the war between the States, James Longstreet offered
his services and sword to the cause of self-government. No history of
the war may be written which does not bear emblazoned on every page the
story of his deeds. Why need I recount them here? Assuredly no one will
question the gross impropriety of discussing incidents of the career of
Longstreet during the war which have been the subject of criticism by
some.

“We who knew him forty-odd years ago; we who shared his convictions
and in humble ways bore a part in the good cause; we know what a tower
of strength Longstreet was to the noblest knight who has graced tented
field since the peerless Bayard passed from earth,--Robert E. Lee; we
feel and know to-day that neither boundless praise nor fullest words of
gratitude can exaggerate the worth of James Longstreet or pay him what
we owe.

“By what I deem is a peculiarly fortunate coincidence, we are
committing his remains to the tomb on a day when the Catholic Church
commemorates the manifestation of our Saviour to the Gentiles in the
persons of the wise men, who, led by a star, came from their distant
homes to Bethlehem. The Bible tells us that they found the Child and
Mary, His Mother. God has sent stars which have been beacon-lights
on our pathway through the world, though in their gleaming we have
foolishly failed at times to see the guiding hand of a merciful
Providence. Joy and sorrow, sickness, and even death have been stars
which should have led us nearer and nearer to God.

“It is my duty as a priest of God to call your attention to the
obvious lesson of this occasion,--the vanity of mere earthly greatness
and the certainty of death and the necessity of preparation for it.
James Longstreet was a brave soldier, a gallant gentleman, but better
still--a consistent Christian. After the war between the States he
became a member of the Catholic Church, and to his dying day remained
faithful to her teaching and loyal to her creed.

“Deep down in the heart and breast of every man when touched by
the correcting hand of God there is a longing for some means of
communicating with loved ones who have been taken from us by death. Oh
that we might reach them or tell them of our love or do something for
them!

“In that familiar profession of faith, which comes down to us even
from the days of the immediate followers of the Master, there is a
clause which brings comfort to the afflicted heart of the sorrowing
and answers the longings of the grief-stricken. It is that solemn
profession of our belief in the communion of saints.

“To the Catholic heart it tells of a golden chain of intercession
longer than the ladder of the patriarch and reaching from the cold
dead clods of earth even to the great throne of God; a golden chain
which links and binds together the children of God here and above; a
brilliant and mystic tie which binds and unites the blessed ones who
now see God in heaven to us who yet labor and wait in this vale of
tears. It tells us of their interest in our salvation and their prayers
in our behalf. But it brings yet more solace and comfort to aching
hearts when it soothes the grief of those who are in doubt as to the
dead who have had their garments soiled with the warfare of this world
and have left it not prepared to meet that God before whom scarce the
angels are pure; for it tells, too, that even we may aid by our prayers
those who are yet in the communion of saints.

“The last words of Mother Church have been said for James Longstreet.
Softly and tenderly they fall on every Christian ear, for the children
of the Church they have a deeper meaning.

“May his soul rest in peace. Amen.”

This concluded the funeral services and the body was borne from the
court-house to the hearse by the active pall-bearers. The procession
then formed in the following order: Queen City Band, Candler Horse
Guards, and Governor’s Horse Guards, honorary escort; hearse with
pall-bearers, family and relatives, Confederate Veterans, Daughters of
the Confederacy, mayor and council and county officers, Brenau College,
Children of the Confederacy, citizens and public generally. The
procession moved up North Bradford Street to Spring Street, out Spring
Street to Grove, down Grove to West Broad, thence Broad to Alta Vista
Cemetery.

Father Schadewell accompanied the remains to the cemetery, where a
short service was held, the crowd baring their heads when the following
prayer was read:

“Almighty and most merciful Father, who knowest the weakness of our
nature, bow down thine ear in pity unto Thy servants upon whom Thou
hast laid the heavy burden of sorrow. Take away out of their hearts the
spirit of rebellion and teach them to see Thy good and gracious purpose
working in all the trials which Thou dost send upon them. Grant that
they may not languish in fruitless and unavailing grief, nor sorrow
as those who have no hope, but meekly look up to Thee, the God of all
consolation, through Christ our Lord. Amen.

“Grant, O Lord, that whilst we lament the departure of our brother,
Thy servant, out of the life, we may bear in mind that we are most
certainly to follow him. Give us grace to make ready for that last
hour by a devout and holy life and protect us against a sudden and
unprovided death. Teach us how to watch and pray that when the summons
comes we may go forth to meet the bridegroom and enter with him into
life everlasting, through Christ our Lord. Amen. Eternal rest grant
unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him.”

A volley was then fired over the grave of the dead leader by the
Candler Horse Guards and a detachment from the Governor’s Horse Guards,
under command of Colonel A. J. West, and Captain W. N. Pillow, taps
were sounded, and the grave closed over one of the greatest warriors
the world has ever known.

       *       *       *       *       *

(From the Atlanta, Georgia, Constitution.)

(By Alan Rogers.)

Pathetic Scenes Marked the Interment of Lee’s “Old War-Horse.”

    With muffled drums and the flag that was furled
    With the cause that was lost, when the last smoke curled
    From the last old gun, at the last brave stand--
    His soul marched on with the old command;
    And the step was slow, as they bore away,
    To await the eternal muster day,
    Their old-time comrade, lost awhile,
    But loved long since for the brave old smile
    That cleared the way when he only knew
    His ways were Gray and their ways were Blue;
    And if for a time, he walked alone,
    He’s all right now, for “Longstreet’s home:”
    Back to his old command he’s gone,
    With Lee and Jackson looking on,
    And cheering him back to the ranks again
    With the Blue and the Gray all melted in.

            GAINESVILLE, GEORGIA, January 6, 1904.

Slowly the bells of Gainesville toll a requiem, the last taps have
sounded only to be lost again across the winter-browned fields of
Georgia, but the reveille of awakening still rings out clear and
true that to-day old comrades in arms, citizens, soldiers, admirers,
friends, women of the South, children of a rising generation, Georgia,
and all Dixieland may know that Lieutenant-General James Longstreet,
the “war-horse” of the Confederacy, has at last again joined his old
command.

And the thousands who marched to the little cemetery just as the sun
started on its sleeping journey in the west did not come to say a last
good-by; with uncovered heads they simply said good-night.

In the court-house which but a few months ago was a converted hospital
for the care of those maimed by a terrible cyclone, the body of General
Longstreet rests beneath the Stars and Bars of the Confederacy and the
Stars and Stripes of the Union. Old soldiers passed in a never-ending
procession with uncovered heads for one last look upon the face of
their commander. Look if you will behind that curtain of mist before
the eyes of that wearer of a gray uniform and you will see quite
another picture. It is that of his beloved “Old Pete,” as he was known
by his own command, hurrying on to the support of General Jackson at
Manassas. Or his indomitable courage on the retreat from Gettysburg
“leading on and on as strong in the adversity of defeat as in the
success that follows victory.” Or perhaps hurrying towards the front
at the Wilderness, the intrepid leader so far in the van that he was
wounded by his own men. Or at the last succumbing at Appomattox to
the inevitable and with Lee reaping the reward of honor that belonged
to a surrender that cost more bravery than all of the battles of that
blood-drained period of history.

The sentinels that guard the bier are withdrawn. The body is carried
by loving hands to the court-room above. Here in the presence of his
nearest relatives and friends that taxed not alone the capacity of the
building, but overflowed into an acre of mourning humanity outside.

Here in the closely crowded hall of justice converted into a sanctuary
by lighted candles and the priestly robes of the officiating clergy,
the services were held. There was no music save the stifled sob of
brave men whose hearts were awakened to the sacred ties of old-time
memories in a way beyond their control. Bishop Keiley, himself an old
soldier of General Longstreet, and Rev. Fathers Gunn, of Atlanta, and
Schadewell, of Albany, officiated. After the reading of the prayers
of the impressive service of the Roman Catholic Church, Bishop Keiley
in a beautiful eulogy revered again the memory of his old friend and
commander. His address appears in another column, but the choking
of his voice, the closed eyes shutting back the tears that would
come,--these things are lost in the reproduction of printer’s ink and
can only remain in the memories of those who were so privileged as to
be present.

The picture was most inspiring. Look, if you will, at the one-time
forest of battle-flags, hewn down and water-logged in the blood of many
victories to a tiny grove of priceless ribbons that rise and fall with
the wavering strength of the old soldiers who carry them. And in this
same sweetly sad procession march with faltering steps the men who wore
the gray and the sturdy step of those who, now belonging to a rising
generation, wear the blue of the reunited union.

But perhaps even more inspiring than the uniforms of gray were the
women of the South, Daughters of the Revolution, school-girls,
Daughters of the Confederacy, many of them wives or widows of old
comrades--the bravest army of home-defenders, valor-inspiring soldiers
that ever dared not only to die but to let die all that was highest and
dearest in one common cause. Impressive is the marching of men. But the
marching of women--it is different, wonderfully, beautifully different.

What was said may soon be forgotten, but what was seen by those who
gathered at the grave will live forever in the memory of all those who
saw. Above the opening of the last resting-place of General Longstreet
the two flags he loved so well were again crossed and stacked for the
bivouac that knows no waking. Just as the near relatives and dearest
friends were gathered about the grave, there stepped up an old veteran
and delivered the Stars and Bars as the last, loving message from
General Jenkins, of North Carolina. With this old flag and the Stars
and Stripes, the General was buried.

Then, just as the body was about to be lowered, another figure bent
with the ravages of time and trembling with the emotion that bespeaks
a tender heart and brave courage made his way to the circle about the
grave. His interruption of the services was beautiful beyond all hope
of describing.

“I want,” he said, and he hesitated not as one who has forgotten some
carefully prepared speech, but rather as one whose heart was getting
the better of his attempt at expression, “I want to bury this jacket,
my old gray jacket, with my General. I’ve got my papers, too, my
enlistment papers. They’re all here, and they’re all clean. I wasn’t
an officer, but I belonged to Longstreet’s command, and I’d rather be
a private in the old corps than, than---- Well, I’ve served my time,
and the General, he’s served his time, too. And I reckon I won’t need
my uniform and papers again. But I’d like to leave them with him for
always. They were enlisted under his command, and as I don’t ever want
to be mustered out again, I’d just like to leave them with him always,
if you don’t mind.”

And as no one minded unless it was in the most beautiful way possible,
the faded gray jacket and the enlistment papers were lowered with the
crossed flags of two republics and many floral offerings as a last
loving tribute to General Longstreet, who, with the final sounding of
taps, again passed for ever and ever to his waiting commander and his
old command.




TRIBUTES FROM THE PRESS


(_Washington, D. C., Post._)

  “His are as noble ashes as rest beneath the sod of any land.”

We think it safe to say that there is something in the suggestion that
these late attacks on General Longstreet’s action at the battle of
Gettysburg have for their inspiration a political bitterness of more
than thirty years’ standing. Certainly, it is true that up to the
close of the Civil War, and, indeed, for several years afterwards,
no one ever heard a question raised as to his military ability. On
the contrary, it was everywhere conceded, especially by his immediate
comrades and associates, that he stood almost at the top of the list of
Confederate warriors, not only in the matter of professional equipment,
but in that of personal integrity and character. With the exception
of Robert E. Lee, Longstreet was regarded as the very prince of the
fighters, strategists, and great commanders of that heroic episode. If
any one had hinted, even as late as 1869, that there was the smallest
flaw in his fame, either as a soldier or a gentleman, the author of the
intimation would have had enough quarrels on his hands to last him to
his dying day.

Along in the later sixties, however, Longstreet was a resident
of New Orleans. He had engaged in business there, having as his
partner Colonel Owen, another Southern soldier of high standing and
distinguished service. The shadow of reconstruction was then brooding
over the South, and thoughtful men, who had accepted the result of the
war in loyal faith, consulted together as to the best means of averting
its evils, which were at that time sufficiently defined. Finally, in
1870 or 1871, the so-called “Unification Movement” was launched. At
its head were numbers of the most prominent and influential men in
Louisiana, and conspicuous among them was Beauregard. The project
was discussed by the newspapers and generally approved in the more
substantial and responsible circles. At last a meeting was called for
the purpose of bringing together the best representatives of both
races and arranging, if possible, a course of action which would make
for peace and order and avert the turmoil that afterwards succeeded
to the irruption of the carpet-baggers and the consequent _régime_
of chaos. Before the appointed day, however, Longstreet’s coadjutors
experienced a change of heart. They abandoned the experiment which
they themselves had devised, and Longstreet was left almost without
countenance or sympathy. With characteristic determination, he adhered
to the policy his judgment and conscience had originally approved.
Of course, it came to nothing, and he, stung by what he regarded as
the desertion of the others, and still more deeply hurt by criticisms
showered on him, often from the ranks of his quondam associates,
went on as he had begun. Then began the breach which in time widened
to animosity, ostracism, and lifelong alienation. He may have been
mistaken. At least he was courageous and consistent. But we feel sure
it cannot be successfully denied that doubts as to his military genius
were cradled in that unhappy episode.

We have no idea of participating in any controversy over the details of
Gettysburg. That may be left to the survivors who were in a position
to form intelligent opinions. For our part, we think of Longstreet now
as all of his compatriots thought of him up to 1870--that he was one
of the finest figures on the stage of the Civil War; a spectacle of
perfect gallantry; an example of warlike force and splendor. We do not
believe he ever received an order from Lee which he did not execute
with instant energy. We do not believe he failed in anything, either
there or elsewhere, that became a valorous and brilliant soldier. He
is dead now, and cannot answer his accusers, but nearly forty years
have elapsed since he sheathed his stainless sword in 1865, and, in our
calm, dispassionate opinion, his are as noble ashes as rest beneath the
sod of any land.

       *       *       *       *       *

(_Jacksonville, Florida, Times-Union._)

  “Peace and honor to his storm-driven soul.”

Now that James Longstreet is no more, the South should forgive the
estrangement that followed long years of service. Perhaps he was wiser
than we--perhaps to-day we are not very far from the position he took
a generation ago. Perhaps his greatness as a soldier was largely due
to the same qualities which set his people in opposition to him in
civil life--he had utter confidence in his own judgment, and he went
straight for what he thought was right regardless of all prudential
considerations.

We have accepted the result of the war in good faith--let us accept
all that goes with it in our hearts and minds. Others advised while
Longstreet acted--once we hated him because he headed our foes to
make us keep order; were the riots against which Longstreet stood
in New Orleans to be repeated in Atlanta, we know Gordon or Wheeler
would head the regulars to restore peace and order if their counsels
were disregarded. The time makes a difference to the sufferers--but
not to the historian through whose glasses we can now afford to look.
Longstreet is dead--weave violets and amaranth in his wreath of
laurel--peace and honor to his storm-driven soul.

       *       *       *       *       *

(_Shelby, North Carolina, Aurora._)

  “Hero of two wars punished for his politics in days of peace.”

A camp of United Confederate Veterans at Wilmington, at a regular
meeting, declined to send resolutions of condolence and sympathy to the
family of General Longstreet on his death.

And yet General Longstreet was a

Hero of two wars.

He was the “War-Horse of the Confederacy.”

He was in the thickest of the fight from Manassas to Appomattox.

He was familiarly known throughout the army as “Old Pete,” and was
considered the hardest fighter in the Confederate service.

He had the unbounded confidence of his troops, and “the whole army
became imbued with new vigor in the presence of the foe when it became
known down the line that ‘Old Pete’ was up.”

Why, then, did not the Wilmington camp pass those resolutions?

Because General Longstreet was a Republican. For this reason he was

Hated,

Abused,

Slandered.

He was charged with disobeying General Lee’s most vital orders at
Gettysburg, causing the loss of the battle and the ultimate destruction
of the Confederacy.

       *       *       *       *       *

(_Biblical, North Carolina, Record._)

  “So long as Lee lived no one attacked Longstreet’s military
  honor.”

General Longstreet was a great general. He was an able strategist,
a hard fighter, and a faithful soldier. So long as Lee lived no one
charged Longstreet with failure to make the fanciful sunrise attack on
the second day at Gettysburg. But when Lee had died, this calumny was
started, and it was used in hounding him to the day of his death--on
that day certain misguided Daughters of the Confederacy refusing
to send flowers for his bier. Longstreet was the victim of a foul
persecution by a partisan press--the like of which we see nowadays at
ever-increasing intervals. They did not approve his ideas, and they
ruined him. He advised the South to accept the results of the war; his
business was taken from him, his friends were estranged, and his life
was made a burden.

His magnificent services deserved better reward. But history will give
him his place; intolerance even now is departing; and as for Longstreet
himself, he stands to-night before the Judge of all the world.

       *       *       *       *       *

(_St. Louis Globe-Democrat._)

  “Republicanism does not necessarily involve treason to the South.”

One aspect of General Longstreet’s career from Appomattox till his
death the other day brings out a very unlovely attribute which was
obtrusive in the South during these years. That was the ostracism
to which he was subject because he joined the Republican party and
accepted two or three offices from Republican Presidents. This
antagonism towards him by a large portion of the old Confederate
element gradually diminished as a new generation in the South appeared
on the scene. Some of the feeling, however, remained to the close of
his days, and evinced itself in the obituaries of many of the Southern
papers.

A few facts are sufficient to expose the absurdity of this Southern
antagonism to Confederates who cast their fortunes with the Republicans
after the Confederacy fell--this feeling that an adherent of the lost
cause must cling everlastingly to the Democratic party through evil and
good reports under the penalty of eternal proscription. In the score of
years from Longstreet’s graduation from West Point to his resignation,
shortly after Sumter’s fall, he was in the army, and a participant
in the wars in Mexico and along the frontier in which the army was
engaged. The probability is that until after Appomattox he never cast
a ballot in his life. Moreover, at the time of his graduation, many of
the South’s most prominent statesmen--Tyler, Brownlow, Toombs, Legare,
Bell, Clayton, Upshur, Henry T. Wise, Botts, Alexander H. Stephens, and
others--were Whigs. The Whig, Zachary Taylor, of Louisiana, carried
more Southern States than did his Democratic antagonist, Cass.

What warrant had the South for proscribing Longstreet, because he,
a soldier who never had any politics in the old days, joined the
Republican party just as soon as he became a civilian and got a
chance to exercise his privileges as a citizen? Mosby, Mahone, and
many other ex-Confederates who had been civilians before the war, and
who, presumably, had taken some part in politics, also joined the
Republican party, though they did not do this quite so promptly as did
Longstreet. When Foote, of Mississippi, and Orr, of South Carolina,
both of whom had been prominent in Democratic politics before the war,
the latter of whom had been Speaker of the House in part of Buchanan’s
days in the Presidency, and both of whom had been in the Confederate
service, became Republicans soon after the Confederacy collapsed, their
neighbors ought to have grasped the fact that there must have been
something in this party which appealed to intelligent public-spirited
men of all localities, and that membership in it by a South Carolinian,
a Georgian, or a Louisianian did not necessarily and inevitably involve
treason either to the South’s interests or to its traditions. Mixed
in with the many shining virtues of the people below Mason and Dixon’s
line, there was, as shown in their attitude for many years towards
Longstreet, one very unattractive trait.

       *       *       *       *       *

(_Vicksburg, Mississippi, Herald._)

  “There was no more magnificent display of heroism during the
  entire war than at Gettysburg.”

As truly as Warwick was the last of the barons of the feudal era, was
Longstreet the last of the great Confederate commanders. He rose to
prominence in the early engagements of the war--his was a household
name as one of the chief hopes of the cause, when those of all the
remaining survivors of like rank were colonels and brigadiers. At
the first Manassas, Williamsburg, Seven Pines, Seven Days’ fight,
the second Manassas, Sharpsburg, and Fredericksburg he was the chief
subordinate figure except where he divided the honors with Stonewall
Jackson. And after the death of that very Napoleon of war, until the
_ultimo suspiro_ at Appomattox, Longstreet was Lee’s right hand; or, as
our great commander fondly called him, “my old war-horse.” How highly
he was held at head-quarters and the war department was shown in his
being made the senior lieutenant-general, even over Jackson, after the
1862 test by fire.

At Gettysburg Longstreet was in charge of the fighting line, of placing
the divisions in action, on the second and third days of that Titanic
struggle. Whatever may be said of the result,--of the errors which
misinformation and sycophancy have attempted to make him the scapegoat
of,--there was no more magnificent display of heroism during the entire
war.

It has not been the Southern fashion of late years to praise, or even
practise justice towards, Longstreet. But now that the stout warrior
is dead and gone to eternal judgment, all should speak of his virtues,
his glorious deeds of arms, without thought or reference to that sad
error of judgment that, no smaller in its intent and inception than “a
man’s hand,” grew to a dark cloud between Longstreet and his people.
This will be appreciated by survivors of the old First Corps, no good
soldier of which has ever failed to repeat with pride, “I followed
Longstreet.” As one of that band the editor of the _Herald_ has always
left criticism of our old chief’s politics to others. If ever the
inclination came to us, there rose up two pictures of the past that
forbade,--the heroic and inspiring figure of Longstreet as he rode up
to Colonel Humphreys of the Twenty-first Mississippi, towards the close
of that grand “centre rush” of Barksdale’s brigade that swept Sickles
and his Third Corps off of the “Peach-Orchard Hill,” at Gettysburg, to
tell him that Barksdale was killed and to take command of the brigade;
and Longstreet as he was borne from the front at the Wilderness, all
faint and bloody from what seemed a death wound.

Longstreet is now no more. But there is a thrill in the name that
carries his surviving followers backward forty years--recalling the
roar of cannon, the charging column, the “rebel” yell, the groans of
wounded and dying comrades. For,

    “There where Death’s brief pang was quickest,
    And the battle’s wreck lay thickest--
    There be sure was Longstreet charging,
    There he ne’er shall charge again.”

       *       *       *       *       *

(_Bainbridge, Georgia, Searchlight._)

  “Robbed of the laurels won in peerless campaigns.”

The death of General Longstreet at his Gainesville home the other day
removes one of the few grand actors of the war drama of the sixties.
He was known as the “old war-horse of the Confederacy,” and perhaps
in point of military ability he ranked next to the great Lee himself.
His soldiers had the most remarkable confidence in him, and he it was
who could inspire them to deeds of valor unparalleled. At times since
there have been those who have attempted to cast aspersions on his
illustrious name, saying that he disobeyed Lee’s orders at Gettysburg.
A timely article has just been published, and curiously in the same
paper that conveyed the sad intelligence of his death, from the pen of
Mrs. Longstreet, presumably composed with the aid of the General in
his last feeble days, that answers completely and satisfactorily all
charges of stubbornness or disobedience at that famous battle. It is
a pity that so great a soldier and military genius should not have
been allowed to have worn the laurels of so many peerless campaigns
undisturbed and without envy. Now that he is dead his memory should be
enshrined in the hearts of a grateful people for whose cause he did
battle, and the remembrance of his illustrious deeds should be handed
down to future generations as those of the knights of the round table.

       *       *       *       *       *

(_Thompson, Georgia, Progress._)

  “Would have been court-martialed for disobeying orders at
  Gettysburg.”

It is passing strange that any one should make such a charge against
General Longstreet, in view of the fact that General Lee never made any
such charge; and any sane man knows that he would have made the charge
had it been true, and no doubt General Longstreet would have been
court-martialed for such an offence, especially as it is charged that
this probably lost the battle to the Confederates.

General Longstreet was one of the greatest and bravest of the
Confederate generals, and no man should endeavor to dim the lustre of
his brilliant military record or cast reflections upon his good name as
a citizen or doubt his loyalty to the South. No hero that wore the gray
deserves more honor and thanks than this gallant Southern hero, who,
like Lee, Jackson, Johnston, and a long list of other loyal Southern
sons resigned a position of prominence in the army of the United States
and cast his fortunes with his Southern brethren in defense of Southern
rights, homes, and firesides, and many of whom died for Southern honor.
Sleep on, noble and illustrious soldier and patriot! Thy good name and
record as a soldier is safe from the attacks of politicians, rivals,
and so-called Daughters of the Confederacy of Savannah!

       *       *       *       *       *

(_Houston, Texas, Chronicle._)

  “He was superior to human vanity or ambition.”

It should not be forgotten that when the war began General Longstreet,
like General Lee and many others of the South’s illustrious leaders,
was an officer in the army of the United States. Had he adhered to the
Union, high command awaited him; the siren voice of ambition whispered
to him of a splendid future of fame and honor and rich reward, while
he knew more doubtful was the issue if he heeded the call of duty
and offered his sword to the South. Yet he did not hesitate. To his
mother’s cry he responded like the faithful son and hero that he was,
and proved superior to human vanity or ambition.

This being true, it is but fair to presume that whatever step he took
afterwards was inspired by the high sense of duty, and that he took it
only after having taken counsel with his conscience and with due regard
for the requirements of patriotism and honor.

In every position in civil life, many and responsible as they were,
he bore himself with ability, dignity, efficiency, and with stainless
honor; there was never a spot upon his official record, but the
civilian, as was the soldier, was without reproach.

If any man or woman doubts or calls in question the record of James
Longstreet as a soldier, let him or her ask the veteran Southern
soldier who followed him (and there are a number in Houston) what
they think of him, and with one voice they will say, “He was Lee’s
‘war-horse.’ When we heard Longstreet was in the lead or in command, or
was coming, we knew that victory would follow the fighting; we trusted
him; Lee trusted him; the army trusted him.”

“Where beyond these voices there is peace,” the old hero is at rest.
Little it recks whether men praise or blame him now--“The peace of God
which passeth all understanding” is upon him, and history will write
him down as he was, a brave, able, faithful soldier, who so loved his
native land as to pour out his heroic blood in its defence. Than this
he asks no higher praise.

       *       *       *       *       *

(_Atlanta, Georgia, Constitution._)

  “Truth will take hold upon the pen of history.”

A great soldier, in the ripeness of years and yet enduring to the
latest breath the pangs of the wounds of four decades ago, has fallen
upon earth’s final sleep.

In the brave days of his earlier soldiership, and then in the strenuous
years of one of the world’s most tragic wars, wherein his genius
lifted him to the next highest rank of generalship, General James
Longstreet was a conspicuous figure and always a force to be reckoned
with. The finest and justest military critics of America and Europe
have pronounced him a commander in whom were combined those abilities
of initiative, strategy, and persistent daring that make the historic
general of any age or people.

While to others who were concerned in the great campaigns and battles
of which he was a distinguished factor there may have appeared in his
acts some incidents for criticism, yet to his immediate officers and
men he was ever the ideal soldier and the peerless commander. But in
the presence of his shrouded frame, in the revived memories of his
loyalty and his heroism, and in the knowledge that the seeming errors
of men in pivotal crises are often the misunderstood interferences of
the Supreme Ruler, judgments cease and reverence, gratitude, and honor
form the threnody at the tomb.

The war record of General Longstreet will always remain a theme of
laudation by the sons of Southerners. For the reward of it thousands
refused to sanction the rebukes his subsequent career sometimes
engendered among his compatriots. Who that witnessed it can forget the
embrace given Longstreet by ex-President Davis here in Atlanta and
the tremendous ovation that greeted the old hero in his veteran gray
uniform as he joined in the gala-day made in honor of his disfranchised
chief?

General Longstreet’s taking of office under President Grant has
been always a misunderstood transaction. It was not a surrender of
his Southern sentiments or an act of disloyalty to the Southern
people. At the time when General Grant, feeling the impulses of
former comradeship, tendered an office and its emoluments to General
Longstreet, whose fortunes were in sore straits, the old soldier
refused to consider acceptance of the offer until urged to it by
his later fellow-soldiers in New Orleans, including Generals Hood,
Beauregard, Harry Hayes, Ogden, and even Jefferson Davis himself. He
accepted it in the belief that it was his duty to take any occasion
for public service that otherwise would be held in the hands of alien
carpet-baggers and haters of the Southern people. But the occasion was
too soon--the passions of the people yet too inflamed. Without full
knowledge of the inwardness of his conduct the people whom he loved
heaped upon him a penetrating scorn and livid coals of indignation. He
was too brave to complain; too considerate to expose his advisers, and
his heroism was never more chivalrous than the long patience with which
until now he has endured the misjudgments of his Southern fellow-men.

But these things are naught now to the flown spirit. Hereafter truth
will take hold upon the pen of history and rewrite much that has been
miswritten of this great son of the South. His stainless integrity, his
devotion to the cause of his militant people, his incomparable bravery
in battle, his superb generalship on campaign, and his later chivalry
in the calm conduct of his citizenship and public service remain as
wholesome memories of a world-acclaimed Southern hero.

       *       *       *       *       *

(_St. Paul, Minnesota, Pioneer Press._)

  “Ostracised by men who did no fighting.”

The pestiferous pertinacity with which certain women of the South seize
every opportunity to fan the embers of a dying sectional animosity,
and to blazon their adherence to the principles of the “Lost Cause,”
is again illustrated in the refusal of the Savannah Daughters of the
Confederacy to send a wreath to be laid on General Longstreet’s grave.
Next to Robert E. Lee, Longstreet had the reputation of being the
ablest of the officers who fought on the Southern side in the Great
Rebellion. But at the close of the war, satisfied that the Lost Cause
was lost forever, and that it was useless to attempt to keep alive
a spirit of revenge,--heart-won, too, by the splendid generosity of
Grant in his dealings with the defeated army of Lee,--he “accepted the
situation;” accepted, too, from the Republican soldier-president the
office of surveyor of the port of New Orleans, and addressed all his
powers to the work of healing the wounds of war and of reuniting the
sections. For this he was ostracised by the ultra element of Southern
irreconcilables--an element made up principally of women and of men who
did no fighting, and which nurses its bitterness with the unsatisfied
spirit of the child who, not having finished his cry yesterday,
inquires to-day, “What was I crying about?” in order that he may
indulge in the luxury of tears once more. The men who fought under and
with Longstreet honor his later loyalty to the Union as much as they
do his steadfast courage and ability under the “Stars and Bars” in the
bloody sixties. The women who refuse his bier a tribute dishonor only
themselves.

       *       *       *       *       *

(_Atlanta, Georgia, Journal._)

  “One of the most gallant spirits of the century.”

With the death of General James Longstreet, who was the first ranking
general of the Confederate army, passes one of the most gallant spirits
of the nineteenth century.

Of all the men who fought with conspicuous valor and prowess for the
Confederate cause, there was none who possessed more leonine courage
or inspired in his men a greater degree of enthusiastic affection than
this chieftain whom Lee dubbed with the title of “My Old War-Horse”
on the battle-field. That remark of Lee’s was like the touch of an
accolade upon his shoulders, and no subsequent misunderstandings or
criticisms have ever been able to rob him of the place among the
chivalrous souls of the South to which he was elevated by their
irreproachable King Arthur, General Lee.

And, in view of the fact that the most choice and master military
spirits of his age esteemed him to possess tactical ability and
military judgment equal in degree to his undisputed qualities of
persistent bravery, such criticisms as there were are scarcely worthy
of mention and demand no refutation now in any backward glance at his
brilliant career. The South can point to his record with pride, as his
military associates have ever pointed to the man himself with a quick
and affectionate appreciation. No note of apology should mingle with
the praise and grief of those who look to-day with tear-blurred eyes
upon the soldier’s bier.

And the memory of his actions on the boisterous stage of battle and of
the single-hearted, loyal _rôle_ he played through all the shifting
scenes of that greatest war-drama of the century should in itself
constitute a rebuke to those who have sought to rebuke him for certain
generally misunderstood actions in his subsequent career. He became an
office-holder under General Grant, a very, very human thing to do. It
was a very, very natural thing that General Grant, who had married the
cousin of the “Old War-Horse,” and who was, besides, actuated by the
spirit of a remembered, youthful comradeship, should give his friend,
comrade, and relative an office when Longstreet was walking along
thorny financial paths. And his acceptance, urged as he was to accept
by his Confederate comrades, was, under the circumstances, very human
and very natural. He made a good public servant--where could Grant
have found a better in those reconstruction days, which were not noted
for the excellence of their public servants? Where could Longstreet
have better served his own people than by taking an office which might
otherwise have been given to men who were still so inflamed by partisan
prejudice as to hate those people? His motives were of the highest
in this acceptance, and his attitude of silently bearing the remarks
of those who criticised him under a misapprehension stamps his moral
courage with the golden seal of a serene nobility.

He was misjudged, but he happily lived to see most of those who
misjudged him silenced by an exposition of facts which he was too proud
to set forth himself.

The debtor years have rendered back to him the refined coin of a fixed
fame for his life labor. He is dead, and his place--a high one in the
world’s history--is enduring.

       *       *       *       *       *

(_Newport, Virginia, News._)

  “The bravest of the brave.”

The Savannah Daughters of the Confederacy, whose custom it is to send
a laurel wreath for the tomb of deceased Confederates, refused to send
one upon the death of General Longstreet a few days ago.

The Daughters at Savannah have, we suppose, satisfactorily to
themselves, settled the mooted question of the Gettysburg controversy,
but we do not believe their action will find applause generally
among the ex-Confederate soldiers. Whatever may have been the fact
at Gettysburg, it is beyond dispute that his actions there did not
estrange his loyal soldiers, nor impair the esteem in which he was held
by General Lee. The close of the war found him in command of the left
wing of the army, and he joined General Lee on the way to Appomattox.
In referring to his death the Richmond _Times-Dispatch_ says,--

  “We recall General Longstreet as one of the bravest of the
  brave, one who struck many blows for the Confederacy, and one on
  whom General Lee often leaned and whose name is identified with
  world-famous battles. These are things we cannot forget, nor do
  we wish to.”

Whatever may be said of the attitude of the South since the war
towards General Longstreet, the fact remains that his espousal of the
Republican cause in politics did most to invite criticism, and this he
always felt was unjust to him.

It seems strange that General John B. Gordon should have so bitterly
attacked General Longstreet, and it is charity to say that he did it
from political reasons, and not by way of challenging war records.

With his fresh grave denied its laurel wreath at the hands of the
Savannah Daughters, and his lifeless lips beyond reply to carping
critics, it is refreshing to see that the loyal wife, who walked with
him in the evening of life, brings her own wreath of the roses of
love, dewy with her tears, and places it upon the grave that holds his
valiant dust.

       *       *       *       *       *

(Birmingham, Alabama, Ledger.)

  “In the military annals of the Anglo-Saxon race there is nothing
  finer than his fighting record.”

The author of the article on Longstreet, which recently appeared in
the _Ledger_ and which we republish below, has been a close student of
military history, and was personally observant of great movements in
Virginia during the war:

  “Men of Southern blood who recall the days when the civilized
  world was thrilled with the renown of those great Confederate
  captains, ‘Lee, Longstreet, and Jackson,’ can scarcely realize
  that the grave has just closed over all that is mortal of the
  stoutest, the steadiest, the most practical, pushing, resolute,
  and stolidly unimaginative fighter of that goodly and immortal
  group. In the military annals of the Anglo-Saxon race there
  is nothing finer than the fighting record of this Old Lion of
  the South. It does not need the formal observances of official
  commemoration to perpetuate the memory of a man who led the
  stanch legions of the Confederacy in victorious fellowship with
  Jackson and Lee. Tradition alone will uplift and applaud his
  name long after monuments have crumbled and Camps and Chapters
  have ceased to exist. None knew better than the great Virginian
  leader that the neck of the ‘Old War-Horse’ was always clothed
  with thunder when the shock of battle came. Lee never dreamed
  that Longstreet was faithless.

  “Every American who is proud of our common race must deplore the
  openly manifest disposition of Southern veterans and sons of
  veterans to discredit for all time the great historic soldiers of
  the South. It needs not the perspicacity of a Verulam to inform
  us that the highest virtues are not visible to the common eye.
  The disposition to suspect and besmirch a glorious soldier--a man
  whose leadership immortalized the armies that he led--not only
  betokens a radical change in popular ideals, but apparently marks
  the decadence of that traditional sentiment of chivalry which is
  truly ‘the unbought grace of life,’ and that generous martial
  spirit which for generations has characterized the great Southern
  branch of the Anglo-American race.

  “The humblest citizen of this republic has an inalienable
  interest in the heroic memories of the South. Let the Dead Lion
  sleep in peace. Nothing is alien to the true American heart that
  in the least degree concerns the glory of the Old South or the
  interest of the New. It is precisely this sentiment that was
  expressed in the fine chivalry of Grant at Appomattox and won for
  that iron conqueror the lasting affection and respect of the men
  that he had fought. The heroic Longstreet needs no higher eulogy
  than the single phrase, He was the friend of Grant and Lee.”

       *       *       *       *       *

(_Macon, Georgia, Telegraph._)

  “No reproach can be cast upon his bravery and devotion.”

The Savannah Chapter of the Daughters of the Confederacy has made
itself ridiculous by throwing a brick at the dead lion at Gainesville!

It seems a pity that the enterprising news gatherers in the Forest City
should have given out to the public the silly action of these young
women. Their offence was a resolution “refusing” to send a wreath to
lay upon the grave of General Longstreet “because he disobeyed orders
at Gettysburg.”

The causes for the drawn battle at the critical point in the history of
the struggle of the ’60’s will be debated while time lasts. So will the
causes for the defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo. This debate has been and
will be participated in by the great commanders of the world. But no
reproach has been, can, or will be cast upon the bravery or devotion of
the famous old fighter whose courage knew no abatement in the hundreds
of engagements participated in during the trying experiences of three
wars. Alexander and Cæsar and Napoleon and Grant and Lee made their
mistakes. So did Longstreet. But how does it seem for a bevy of young
women to pounce upon the cold remains of this battle-scarred veteran
and hero lying in state and attempt to punish him for an alleged
mistake made forty years ago in the midst of the roar and clash of the
greatest battle in history! Their mothers knew better.

We are not surprised that veterans in Savannah feel aggrieved, as they
must feel everywhere that the action is known.

General Gordon believes that Longstreet made a mistake at Gettysburg,
but Lee said, “It is all my fault.” The great chieftain in command made
no charge against his great fighting arm. Touching this controversy,
Colonel McBride, writing to the Atlanta _Constitution_, says,
“Longstreet, although a prudent and cautious fighter, was not only
always ready to fight, but he was always anxious and wanted to fight.
On the second day he was not slow, but was simply putting himself
in shape to do the bloodiest fight of the war. At least two-thirds
of the casualties in America’s greatest battle happened in front of
Longstreet’s corps. Reports show this. The records also show that he
only obeyed Lee’s orders to the letter.”

Grant, however, that Longstreet made a costly mistake, there are times
other than those at the grave to discuss them; there are persons
other than young women unborn in those days to administer rebuke or
punishment.

If these young women who sit in judgment at the tomb could not lay a
flower on the new-made grave of an old war-horse of the Confederacy, it
seems as if they might have restrained their tongues while the muffled
drum passing by rolled its last tattoo.

       *       *       *       *       *

(_New York Journal._)

  “After a while Southern capitals will be adorned with statues of
  Longstreet; upon his grave ‘his foeman’s children will loose the
  rose.’”

At the age of eighty-three General Longstreet has passed away--a
noble character, a good soldier, one of the hardest fighters of the
Civil War. General Longstreet was pretty badly treated by the people
whose battles he fought with so great courage and capacity. He was
no politician--just a soldier, and at the close of the war committed
the error of “fraternizing” with all his countrymen. He “accepted
the situation,” not wisely, but too early. With a fine and generous
unwisdom he laid away the animosities of the war-time and put himself
at once where all stand now,--on the broad, high ground of American
citizenship. No part had he in the provincial conceit of the thing
that has the immodesty to call itself a “Southern gentleman.” It
probably never occurred to him that the qualities distinguishing
a gentleman from a pirate of the Spanish Main had so narrow a
geographical distribution as the term implies. He paid for his breadth
of mind--became a kind of social outlaw and political excommunicant
in “the land once proud of him.” Briefly, his shipmates marooned him.
Well, he has escaped--he has “beaten the game,” as, sooner or later, we
all conquer without exertion. After a while Southern capitals will be
adorned with statues of Longstreet and upon his grave posterity will
see “his foemen’s children loose the rose.”

       *       *       *       *       *

(_New York Tribune._)

  Lee and Longstreet.

The death of General James Longstreet, as was to be expected, has
revived to some extent the controversies which have raged over
certain memorable incidents in his military career. For the last
twenty-five years persistent efforts have been made to throw on General
Longstreet’s shoulders responsibility for Lee’s defeat at Gettysburg.
Not a few Southern writers have gone so far as to accuse him, if not
of insubordination, at least of culpable inattention to orders given
him by the Confederate commander-in-chief. General John B. Gordon,
in his recently published reminiscences, revived and amplified these
charges against Longstreet, stating explicitly--as his own conclusion
and as that of impartial military critics generally--that Longstreet’s
blunders had blasted Confederate hopes at Gettysburg, and that General
Lee “died believing he had lost by Longstreet’s disobedience.”
Strangely enough, General Longstreet’s wife had prepared an elaborate
refutation of General Gordon’s theories, and had arranged for its
publication on January 3--the day following General Longstreet’s death.

We do not think that history will sustain the contentions of General
Longstreet’s critics. They are interesting enough as post-mortem
demonstrations of what might have been. But they ignore actual
conditions. They picture a situation which could have existed only as a
military after-thought. General Longstreet cannot be made a scapegoat
for all the sins of hesitation or omission chargeable to Confederate
commanders at Gettysburg. General Gordon is himself disposed to censure
General Lee for not vigorously attacking the Federal forces in their
new position on the evening of July 1. He condemns utterly Longstreet’s
failure to assault the Federal left wing early in the morning of July
2. But he waves aside entirely the exhaustion of A. P. Hill’s corps at
the conclusion of the first day’s battle and the physical impediments
to forming and executing an attack on the Federal left wing before noon
of July 2. That Longstreet’s assault suffered in effectiveness from the
delays of July 2 is greatly to be doubted. The fighting done by his
corps far excelled in dash and brilliance anything done at Gettysburg
by Ewell’s corps or A. P. Hill’s. Longstreet bore the brunt of both the
second and third day’s struggle and emerged from the conflict with his
reputation as a corps commander unimpaired. There is no reason to think
that he could have fought more brilliantly or more successfully if he
had attempted the attack which General Gordon philosophizes about in
the early morning of the second day.

General Lee at the close of the battle justly and honorably assumed
entire responsibility for the Confederate defeat. Lee lost at
Gettysburg because on the offensive he seemed incapable of rising to
the full height of his military talent. His generalship in his two
brief invasions of Northern territory was commonplace.

In Lee’s own lifetime not a word of criticism was aimed at Longstreet.
It is needless to inquire what influences have conspired to foist
on him the blame for the Confederate failure at Gettysburg. Another
generation of Southern writers will do him more impartial justice. He
will certainly be classed hereafter by open-minded critics as one of
the ablest and most intelligent of the commanders who fought under the
South’s flag in the Civil War.

       *       *       *       *       *

“No Southern man suffered more or deserved it less.”

The death of General Longstreet removes from the world’s stage of
action one who in time of war had his name and his deeds sounded by the
trumpet of fame throughout the civilized world. He was a conspicuous
figure in the eyes of the world, and his name was at one time familiar
to and honored in every Confederate household. He was Lee’s Rock of
Gibraltar that never failed to stem the tides of assault, and when he
led, in his turn, the attack, he was a thunder-bolt of war that never
failed to strike with terrible effect. In council he was calm and
calculated well and closely all the chances of conflict, in scales well
balanced, and, as a rule, with almost unerring exactness.

He was essentially a soldier, whose education, training, and services
for a generation in years made his enforced change to civil life
practically the adoption of a new life at total variance to that
in which he has always been a conspicuous and a noted figure. His
was a lovable nature, loyal to principle and to truth, and when his
confidence was secured his trust was sure to follow.

That trait in his character was the cause of the ban under which he
suffered for such a long period from the Southern people, and, as many
an old Confederate veteran will now say, with such injustice.

At the time the storm of ostracism first burst in fury over his head I
was an official of the State of Mississippi and resided at Jackson, the
State capital, and I was then, as I am now, familiar with the cause of
the outbreak of public sentiment against him. Let me explain that there
had been on the part of the Southern people a practical nullification
of the Federal laws regarding the negro and his rights so recently
conferred, and it was hard for Southern people to swallow the doctrine
of equality in anything where the negro was concerned.

The entire South was in a tempestuous turmoil that threatened the
very foundations of society, by rising like the storm-tossed waves of
tempestuous seas and sweeping away the barriers that had been erected
against the domination of the Southern whites. At this juncture
prominent and influential leaders of public thought, who saw the coming
storm, at a conference held in New Orleans explained the situation
to certain popular and influential ex-Confederate generals then
residents of that city, and represented to them that an appeal by them
to their old soldiers to accept the situation, obey the Federal laws,
and maintain peace and order would result in great good and assist in
allaying the suppressed, indeed often open, excitement of the people.
They were appealed to as patriots to come to the rescue of their people
and lead them in peace as they had in war.

The text of a letter to be written by each was then outlined, and at
a second conference each submitted his letter. The substance of all
the letters was identical, each with the others. They were published
in the New Orleans papers simultaneously to insure the object in view,
the influencing of public opinion. Their publication aroused a storm of
reproach and denunciation that was without measure.

Instead of acting like oil on the troubled waters, they provoked the
fury of the tempest, and the authors of the letters were overwhelmed
with letters of protest and reproach.

Explanation after explanation by the authors (save General Longstreet)
that amounted to public retraction, followed. Longstreet, firm as the
rock of Gibraltar, bared his breast to the storm and proudly declared
that he had nothing to retract. He explained the circumstances under
which he had written the letter, cited its approval by leaders of
public thought, and declared that the sentiment of the letter but
expressed his honest convictions, and he stood by it. Every old veteran
of Longstreet’s corps who reads this will say, “That’s just like old
Pete.” He could have saved his popularity had he sacrificed principle.
But like the noble Roman that he was, he could, in weighing one against
the other, defiantly proclaim

    “These walls, these columns fly
    From their firm base as soon as I.”

I was among the few who saw nothing then in any of the letters to merit
the disapproval of the Southern people; and looking through “the vista
of time” back to those days, I can say in all candor and sincerity
that had the seed of Longstreet’s advice fallen in ground ripe for
it, reconstruction would have been shorn of many of the evils that
accompanied it and blighted the land. Some time after these occurrences
General Longstreet made a trip through territory in Mississippi from
which his mercantile firm derived much business. One day Governor
Humphreys said to me, “General Longstreet is coming this way. If he
comes here, what would you do?” Instantly I replied, “I would not wait
for him to come, but I would insist on his coming, and tell him that he
would be welcomed at the governor’s mansion.” He directed me to write
the invitation, saying, “I had made up my mind to so act, for nothing
could make me turn my back on ‘old Pete.’ I served under him too long
to do that.” He accepted the invitation and was the guest of the
governor. In honoring him the governor set an example that the whole
town followed, and the period of his stay was almost a constant levee.
On me was placed the special and agreeable duty of attendance upon him.
I was with him much of the time and participated in conversations in
which the letter that brought to him only woe was discussed. Never did
a bitter word pass his lips in denunciation of those who led him to the
slaughter and themselves stepped aside and raised no hand to help him.
He declared that the letter expressed his true sentiments, and that it
was written after deliberate thought. It proved to be unfortunate, and
though he was then reaping only thorns from it, time would vindicate
him and his course. He bore his fate like an ancient Stoic. I count
my association with him at this time as among the most pleasant of a
checkered life. I never saw him again.

General Joseph E. Johnston, of whose staff I was a member, told me
with his own lips that the plan by which the army of Stonewall Jackson
was withdrawn from the valley and hurled on the flank of McClellan
was first suggested to him by Longstreet. He said that the idea had
occurred to him, but at a time when it was not feasible. But just
previous to the battle of Seven Pines, Longstreet submitted a plan that
he had matured, that met his favor and determined him to adopt it.
At the battle that almost immediately occurred he was incapacitated
by wounds and General Lee assumed command. Shortly after, Jackson’s
force was transferred from the valley and hurled on the Federal flank.
We know with what result. The plan was communicated to General Lee
shortly after his accession to command. The plan which General Lee
adopted may have been his own, but the idea first originated in the
soldierly brain of Longstreet. Again, at the second Manassas, when
Longstreet, to the rescue of Jackson, debouched through “Thoroughfare
Gap,” a glance at the field showed him Jackson’s peril, and his
masterful, soldierly ability needed no general in command to direct
him as to the placing of his battalions. Like a thunder-bolt of war
his command struck the Federal army. Jackson was saved and the victory
was won. Space forbids further prolixity, while the theme invites it.
Let me say that no Southern man suffered more at the hands of the
Southern people and deserved it less. I uncover my head in honor to his
memory and bid him “all hail and farewell!” Little cares he now for the
plaudits of the world or the censure of his critics. When a chapter
of the Daughters of the Confederacy refused a wreath to his remains,
Jeff Davis, Lee, Stonewall Jackson, the two Johnstons, and a host of
others gone before, were giving him brotherly welcome in the city of
the living God, and his old corps who have crossed the river joined in
shouts of welcome to his knightly soul. Let us all feel that

    “After life’s fitful fever he sleeps well.”

            JAS. M. KENNARD,

  _Ex-Colonel and Chief Ordnance Officer, Army of Tennessee, C. S. A._

       *       *       *       *       *

(_New Orleans Picayune, Special._)

  “The Confederates had no better fighter than Longstreet.”

NEW YORK, January 4.--“Longstreet fought hard enough to suit me--he
gave me all I wanted. I was perfectly satisfied when the second day’s
fight was over.” This was General Sickles’s comment to-day at the city
hall with reference to criticism by General John B. Gordon, who seems
to think that the defeat of the Confederates at Gettysburg was due to
General Longstreet.

“Gordon is a gallant gentleman, and he was a gallant soldier,”
continued General Sickles, “but he commanded a brigade, while
Longstreet commanded a corps. Lee told Longstreet afterwards that he
had done as well as he could. He had no criticism to make. Gordon was
in no position to judge the merits of the case. Longstreet was on my
front. I led the Third Corps on the second day. The fighting was on
Hancock’s front on the third day. He was in the centre. I guess every
one who was there knew that Longstreet fought brilliantly. Longstreet
was practically in command of the Confederate fighting on both the
second and third days. If Lee had been dissatisfied on the second day,
he would not have let Longstreet command on the third day. As a matter
of fact the Confederates had no better fighter than Longstreet.”

       *       *       *       *       *

(_Macon, Georgia, Telegraph._)

  “His record needs no defence.”

To THE EDITOR OF THE TELEGRAPH:

The able editorial in your issue of several days ago touching the
Savannah incident in which the Daughters of the Confederacy refused to
send flowers to the funeral of General Longstreet, assigning as the
reason “that General Longstreet refused to obey the order of General
Lee at Gettysburg,” met a responsive chord in the hearts of many old
veterans of the Confederate army.

Longstreet’s war record, like that of Stonewall Jackson’s, needs no
defence. History is replete with his grand deeds of chivalry, and
places his name high in the ranks of the great commanders of the
Civil War. The rank and file who fought under this great and intrepid
commander know that he was incapable of such conduct, and the only
tongue that could convince them otherwise was forever stilled when our
peerless Lee passed over the river.

In the first battle of Manassas, at Seven Pines, when he lead the main
attack, at Gaines Mill, Frazier’s Farm, Malvern Hill, and at second
Manassas, when the illustrious Stonewall Jackson was being sorely
pressed by the entire army of General Pope, he hurried to Jackson’s
relief, and together gained one of the greatest victories of the
war. He commanded the right wing of our army on the bloody field of
Sharpsburg, and was in the thickest of the fight during the entire
battle. At the battle of Fredericksburg he commanded the left wing of
the army, where the assault proved most fatal to the enemy. In all
of these battles, and others I do not now recall, General Longstreet
participated, winning fresh laurels in each fight.

At Gettysburg during the second and third days of the battle he
commanded the right wing of the army, and I never saw an officer more
conspicuous and daring upon the battle-field. One of the most lasting
pictures made upon my mind during the war, and which still lingers
in my memory, was in connection with this officer. While in line of
battle during the terrible cannon duel between the two armies, when
at a signal our cannons ceased firing, I saw General Longstreet as he
motioned his staff back, sitting superbly in his saddle, gallop far out
in our front in full view and range of more than one hundred of the
enemy’s cannon, stop his horse, and, standing up in his stirrups, place
his field glasses to his eyes and deliberately and for some time view
the enemy’s line of battle, while shells were bursting above and around
him so thick that at intervals he was hidden from sight by the smoke
from exploding shells. His object having been accomplished, he turned
his horse and slowly galloped back to his line of battle. No officer
upon the battle-field of Gettysburg displayed greater courage than
Longstreet, and his presence upon the battle-field, like that of Lee
and Jackson, was always worth a thousand men.

General Lee trusted Longstreet implicitly, and every act of his from
the time he assumed command of the Army of Northern Virginia to
Appomattox Court-House sustains this assertion. When President Davis
requested General Lee to send to the relief of General Bragg, who was
hard pressed by Sherman, he sent his old “war-horse,” and, true to
his mission, Longstreet reached Chickamauga in time to turn the tide
of battle in favor of the South. Afterwards he was ordered to drive
the Federal army under General Burnside from East Tennessee, which he
ably accomplished, driving him behind his entrenchment at Knoxville,
Tennessee.

When General Grant attacked General Lee at the Wilderness--the second
battle in magnitude of the war--and by overwhelming numbers was driving
our army back, Longstreet by forced marches reached the field in time
to snatch from Grant a victory almost won. Here he received a wound
which nearly cost him his life, and which, perhaps, saved Grant’s army
from being driven into the Rappahannock.

At Appomattox Court-House, “where ceased forever the Southern soldiers’
hope,” General Lee asked his old war-horse, if the necessity should
arise, to lead the remnant of the army out, and he was ready to do so,
and would have done so had not General Grant granted honorable terms of
surrender. Would General Lee have trusted General Longstreet after the
battle of Gettysburg had he been in the least disloyal to his commands?
Impartial history will ever link the names of Lee, Jackson, and
Longstreet upon the brightest page of the history of the incomparable
Army of Northern Virginia. One word more about Gettysburg. I happened
to be there (but at the time would have liked to have been elsewhere),
and I decided then and am still of the opinion that the Yankees are to
blame for our defeat.

            Respectfully,
              J. W. MATTHEWS.

       *       *       *       *       *

(_Raleigh, North Carolina, Post._)

  “The idol of the Army of Northern Virginia.”

If the conduct of some of our people towards General Longstreet, the
great soldier, just dead, was not pitiful, it would be brutal.

He, the stubborn fighter of all our armies, the trusted arm of General
Lee, the idol of the Army of Northern Virginia, dead, forty years after
his many battles and the establishment of his undying fame, is refused
by some of the daughters and granddaughters of the men who fought and
fell under his banners, a wreath of flowers for his grave--a grave
that makes hallowed the land that holds it; is refused a resolution of
praise, by the sons and grandsons of the men who cheered his plume,
as it waved them to victory. Why is this? A silly story attributed
to General Lee, published after Lee’s death, by General Gordon upon
the authority of Fitz. Lee. The story contained the charge that the
faithful “Old War-Horse,” as General Lee affectionately dubbed him,
failed, wilfully, or from other cause, to obey orders at Gettysburg.

Can this story be true? That depends upon two contingencies, neither
of which the wildest of General Longstreet’s defamers have dared to
formulate: first, that General Lee was lacking in candor, or, secondly,
he did not know his best soldiers. Can either of these propositions be
true? A thousand times no.

We all, or at least those of us who had the honor of serving in the
Army of Northern Virginia, recall that in September, 1863, it became
necessary to detach a portion of that army to send west to relieve
Bragg, then being driven south by Rosecrans from Chattanooga; we
also remember that, with all of his general officers to select from,
including Gordon and Fitz. Lee, General Lee selected General Longstreet
to lead his immortal battalion, and the fame of how well he performed
that proud duty is still ringing in the ears of all who love honor and
glory.

Would General Lee have selected General Longstreet, miscalled by malice
and envy “the slow,” “the disobeyer of orders,” “the loser of the
battle of Gettysburg,” and so of the Southern cause, if he could have
found in all his army one general braver or more competent? Surely not.
This fact established, and established it is (and it also establishes
General Lee’s unshaken confidence in his “Old War-Horse”), what becomes
of the improbable story of Fitz. Lee? It is a matter of common history
that the fighting soldiers of 1861-65 have been silent since. This at
least is true of the Southern soldiers, and pity ’tis true, because our
own General R. F. Hoke, fighting then, silent since, could add rich
chapters to the history of those Titanic days, if he would only speak.

With this conclusive evidence of General Lee’s faith in General
Longstreet, how pitiful is the unearned slander that has made the
reputation of so many babblers. Longstreet a traitor or imbecile! Out
upon it!

One other equally conclusive refutation of this miserable story is:
In 1866 General Lee, it seems, determined to write the story of his
campaigns,--“his object to disseminate the truth” (would his example
had been contagious),--at the close of an affectionate letter to
General Longstreet uses these words--words which General Longstreet
might have claimed as a charter of nobility, had he not already had
his glorious war record to ennoble him:

  “I had while in Richmond a great many inquiries after you, and
  learned you intended commencing business in New Orleans. If
  you make as good a merchant as you were a soldier, I shall be
  content. No one will excel you, and no one can wish you more
  success or more happiness than I. My interest and affection for
  you will never cease, and my prayers are always offered for your
  prosperity.

            “I am most truly yours,
              “R. E. LEE.”

Does any sane man, or silly woman either, believe the noble heart that
inspired these words could have asked its tongue to utter the things
of General Longstreet that have been falsely attributed to it. Can
argument be more cogent or conclusion more conclusive?

General Gordon is, I hope, with General Longstreet. Both are at rest,
and I know the “Old War-Horse” of the Army of Northern Virginia, in
the presence of his grand old chief, has forgiven his comrade the
wrongs done him here. Peace to the ashes of both, the wronged and the
wrong-doer.

            W. H. DAY,
              _Formerly of First N. C. Infantry_.

       *       *       *       *       *

(_Washington, D. C., Star._)

  “Longstreet came out of the war with a record for courage and
  loyalty second to none.”

General Thomas L. Rosser, of Virginia, who commanded a regiment at
Gettysburg, and who was with the Army of Northern Virginia from the
first battle to the surrender, bitterly resents the criticism of
General Longstreet’s course at Gettysburg. General Rosser was appointed
an officer in the Spanish War by President McKinley, and in recent
years has been acting with the Republican party. Reviewing the work
of some of the great Confederate generals, General Rosser said to a
reporter for the _Star_:

“With the death of General Longstreet passes the last of the great
soldiers of the Army of Northern Virginia. He fought alone the battle
of the 18th of July, 1861, and won the first victory of that splendid
army. He shared in the glory of the great battles that army fought.

“Longstreet and Lee, as soldiers, were similar in many respects. Both
were great defensive generals, but neither can be classed among the
successful offensive generals of history.

“Take Jackson, for instance. His campaign from Kernstown to Port
Republic, in the Valley of Virginia, in 1862, was as brilliant as
the first Italian campaign of the great Napoleon. He drew McDowell
from Fredericksburg. He left Shields, Fremont, and Banks confused as
to his whereabouts, dashed across the mountains, joined Lee on the
26th of June, striking McClellan the surprise blow, forced him to
the James, and raised the siege of Richmond. With the despatch of
lightning he wheeled around, met Pope at Cedar Mountain, stopped his
advance upon Lee’s rear and flank, held him until Lee could arrive with
reinforcements, passed to his rear, and fought the battle of the 28th
of September at Groveton Heights; opened the way for Lee to press on
with his army, and crowned the campaign with the successful battle of
the second Bull Run. He crossed the Potomac with Lee, was detached,
sent back, captured Harper’s Ferry, and joined Lee at Sharpsburg in
time to stop McClellan and save Lee’s army. In May, 1863, when Lee was
hesitating in the Wilderness, believing that Hooker’s movement below
Fredericksburg was a serious one, with the foresight of genius Jackson
pronounced it a feint, urged Lee to allow him to move around Hooker’s
right, which, in audacity, boldness, and brilliancy seemed to paralyze
Lee, and while on this wonderful march Sickles got between him and Lee
with an army nearly equal his own. Jackson pressed on, turned Hooker’s
right, as he contemplated, dissipated the Eleventh Corps and all its
support, and was within a half-mile of his goal, the Bullock house,
had he gained possession of which Hooker’s retreat would have been
impossible and he would have been at the mercy of the Confederate army,
when he was shot and mortally wounded by his own men.

“Lee, then in command of an army that knew no defeat, and not realizing
that his great offensive general had been taken from the army,
committed the fatal blunder of attempting an invasion of the North.
At no time during that campaign did he move with celerity, manœuvre
to the surprise of the enemy, or do anything of a brilliant character
marking him with the genius of war. The battle of Gettysburg was lost
the first day, although the Confederates claimed a victory, and it
might have been turned into a victory had Lee been a master of the art
of aggressive warfare. But he followed up the first day with a stubborn
attack of the enemy in an intrenched position, and, failing to dislodge
him, seemed to hesitate and his plans seemed to be confused. Finally he
committed a great error in attacking a superior enemy in an intrenched
position at the strongest point.

“In the history of battles very few generals have ever made an attack
of the centre of the enemy’s position, and history gives only one
example of where such an attack has been successful. That was the
battle of Wagram, where the great Napoleon deceived the Archduke
Charles by so threatening his flank as to cause him to weaken his
centre, when, quick as a flash, Napoleon struck the centre of the enemy
with MacDonald and his reserves. But then the world has only given us
one Napoleon, and the Western hemisphere has given us only one Jackson.

“When Lee’s army was beaten from the fatal attack which he ordered
on the 3d of July, he rode among his fleeing soldiers, begging them
to rally and reform on Seminary Ridge, telling them that it was his
fault that they had failed and not their own. No criticism was made of
Longstreet at that time. Longstreet was retained in the most important
corps of Lee’s army and served honorably and faithfully under Lee to
the end.

“At Appomattox Longstreet, with Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia,
at the close of a most glorious achievement, honestly surrendered. The
Southern Confederacy was eliminated from the map of the world, its flag
was forever furled, and all soldiers who surrendered there had either
to return to the Union and become loyal to the flag of their country
or remain hypocrites and traitors, which they could not do if they had
honestly surrendered and accepted the terms that Grant had given them.

“Longstreet came out of the war with a record for courage, devotion to
the cause he had espoused, and loyalty to the Stars and Bars second to
none. Disabled by wounds, his right arm hanging lifeless and helpless
at his side, his profession, that of a soldier, gone, he turned his
attention to civil pursuits, and was struggling for a living when his
old friend Grant, the President of the United States, offered him
service in the government. Lee was dead. Southern politicians had
expected Longstreet to keep the fires of Southern antipathy to the
North alive, and as they were seeking to inflame the passions of the
people as a basis upon which to unite the South and to fuse with the
copperhead party in the North, as a means for repossessing themselves
of a government they had lost by the results of the war, this action
of Longstreet in accepting the offer of Grant tended to break their
influence with the old soldiers of the South.

“To counteract that they brought up the charge of disloyalty and
disobedience to Lee at Gettysburg, never having thought of it before,
and never, in fact, having had a foundation for it. This, in a measure,
served their purpose, because the old soldiers and their sons in the
South are always ready to resent anything said or done unfavorable to
Lee. Now, I am mortified to see that even the ladies have taken this
matter up, and the Daughters of the Confederacy at Savannah refused to
lay a wreath of laurels on the tomb of the great hero. I was surprised
that Fitzhugh Lee should have charged Longstreet with disobedience,
for I don’t believe that General Lee ever made such a charge himself.
After the war I went to Lexington and studied law and saw Lee every
day and every night. Our comrades and enemies were often discussed,
but I never heard him speak of Longstreet but in the most affectionate
manner. Colonel Venable was professor of mathematics when I moved back
to Charlottesville eighteen years ago, and my relations with him up to
his death were close and intimate. I never heard him suggest the idea
that Longstreet disobeyed orders or failed to do his duty at Gettysburg
or anywhere else. General Lee relieved General Ewell, one of his corps
commanders at Gettysburg, from duty with his army. He criticised A. P.
Hill severely for his failure and mismanagement at Bristow station, but
no man ever heard him say one word against Longstreet.

“Now that Longstreet is laid away to rest, all old and true soldiers of
the Southern Confederacy will kneel around his tomb and pray that they
may stand at the great reveille with Lee, Jackson, and Longstreet.”

       *       *       *       *       *

(_Macon, Georgia, Telegraph._)

  “On the historic page is blazoned his glory.”

From the lips of Lee no word of censure ever fell upon the military
renown of his great corps commander, the intrepid and immovable
Longstreet. However men may differ as to that last fateful day at
Gettysburg, on the historic page there is blazoned the military glory
of James Longstreet. No earthly power can blot it out. Longstreet’s
corps is as inseparable from the glory of the veterans of Lee as the
Old Guard from the army of Napoleon. And when a week ago with the last
expiring sigh of its aged commander the blood of his fearless heart
broke from the wound which laid him prone on the first day at the
Wilderness, at the moment when he had restored the shattered lines and
saved the Army of Northern Virginia, each ruddy drop, a protest against
the censure of his comrades, was like the blood of Cæsar,--

    “As rushing out of doors to be resolved,
    If Brutus so unkindly knocked or no.”

    JUDGE EMORY SPEER.

       *       *       *       *       *

(_McRae, Georgia, Enterprise._)

  “Only necessary to refer his critics to the official reports.”

It is rather significant in the life of General Longstreet that
under the storm of anathemas which have been hurled upon him, both
by private tongue and public pen, he always observed that silence
commensurate with his dignity of character and magnanimity of soul.
It is furthermore significant, that whenever an attack was made upon
his official conduct at any time, it was only necessary that he point
to the official report of the matter as made of it at the time. In
every case where unfair criticism was indulged in, where there was no
foundation for such, and, of course, no official data to which recourse
could be had, the kind offices of some distinguished friend was
invariably volunteered.

It is also rather a singular fact, that although he took a prominent
part in numberless engagements, among which could be mentioned some of
the most sanguinary of the ’60’s, he never suffered serious defeat,
and almost invariably bore off the laurels. This statement applies to
Longstreet more truthfully than to any other general of either side.
It was characteristic of him, and at the same time evincing his great
military skill and genius, that he very often manipulated his forces as
emergencies suggested in the absence of orders from his superior. In
no instance where this was done does it appear that he ever received a
reprimand, but the approval, rather, of the commanding officer.

After the war, his course seems to have met with some disapprobation on
the part of some of his admirers South. This is a matter which seems
rather best decided by an appeal from the arena of individual judgment
to the forum of justice and right.--OLD VETERAN.

       *       *       *       *       *

(_Chattanooga Times, Special._)

  _“Punished for his Americanism.”_

HUNTSVILLE, ALABAMA, January 8.--General Samuel H. Moore, a brave
ex-Confederate soldier of this city, claims to know inside history
concerning the career of General Longstreet after the close of the
Civil War, and in a communication written for the public he calls upon
General Joseph Wheeler and Colonel W. W. Garth to tell what they know
in justice to the departed chieftain. General Moore writes:

“It is due General Lee’s old war-horse, who was familiarly known to the
Army of Northern Virginia as ‘Old Pete’ Longstreet, that a statement
should be made which will vindicate his actions soon after the
surrender and reinstate him in the hearts of those who always felt safe
in battle when he was at their head, and who would have been proud to
shed their last drop of blood to shield his fair name if they had only
been cognizant of the facts which impelled him to pursue the course he
did--as he believed for the benefit of his Southern people.

“In 1866, when reconstruction hung over the South like a sword of
Damocles, five lieutenant-generals of the Confederate army held a
meeting in New Orleans, in General Hood’s room, to discuss the
situation and publish to the South the easiest way to bear the yoke sad
fate had placed upon their necks.

“After discussing all the pros and cons, they unanimously decided to
accept the situation as it was, return to the Union like good and loyal
citizens, and be the recipients of the offices of trust which were
being given to carpet-baggers because the government could not find in
the Southern States men willing to accept the offices that would have
gladly been given them.

“In this caucus of generals, Longstreet was selected to write and
publish a letter. He did it. There was a howl of protest from the
ill-informed people. The men who advised Longstreet to do this did
not face this opposition, avoided this martyr, let him bear the odium
alone. I ask General Joseph Wheeler to say what he personally knows
of this. I call upon Colonel W. W. Garth to say what he knows and the
source of his information.

“Let the South beg pardon for the wrong it has done our greater
soldier, General James Longstreet.”

       *       *       *       *       *

  “Did he do his duty as a soldier? Let Williamsburg, Sharpsburg,
  Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, Chickamauga, and the Wilderness make
  reply.”

We are here to-day to pay our tribute to James Longstreet, the soldier
who faithfully and ably served, the fighter who fiercely fought, the
leader who bravely led, the sleepless, watchful, persistent, valorous
captain of a glorious host, whom his great chief implicitly trusted in
every hour of supreme and dangerous service, and who on many a bloody
field hurled his bold and devoted followers like an avalanche on the
serried ranks of his country’s foes, and who, when valor could avail no
more, bore with him from the field of strife the passionate love of the
legions he had led, and the unstinted praise and tearful benediction of
his great commander, who knew him best, and had trusted him in many an
“imminent and deadly breach.”

Every man capable by reason of environment, character, or ability of
exerting an influence upon affairs in any important field of human
endeavor, is called upon at some time to act under such circumstances
that his decision must infallibly indicate the character of the man and
forever fix his place in the estimation of his contemporaries and of
posterity.

That time came to James Longstreet in 1861. He was then an officer in
the army of the greatest and most powerful republic on all the earth,
and had won high and deserved honor in battle beneath its flag.

High commission in that army awaited him if he but adhered to that
flag, and the future held in store for him exalted rank which his
reputation and ability easily assured him.

On the other hand was a young nation, scarcely emerged from its
chrysalis stage and without moral or physical support among the
nations of the earth. His training and education as a soldier, and his
knowledge of the power and resources of that great government in whose
service he had been so long enlisted, enabled him to appreciate and
realize the odds in its favor in the rapidly approaching struggle.

The conditions which confronted him required the exertion of all the
virtues of courage, honor, consistency, and fidelity to conviction.
He was called upon to illustrate the loftiest qualities of human
character, and immolate self on the shrine of duty, or give heed to the
siren voice of ambition, and, lured by the selfish hope of high reward,
turn his sword against the land of his birth in the hour of her sorest
need.

As Daniel, Virginia’s great orator, has so fitly said of Robert E. Lee:
“Since the Son of Man stood upon the Mount and saw ‘all the kingdoms of
the earth and the glory thereof’ stretched before him and turned away
from them to the agony and bloody sweat of Gethsemane, and to the Cross
of Calvary beyond, no follower of the meek and lowly Saviour can have
undergone a more trying ordeal or met it in a higher spirit of heroic
sacrifice.”

In that hour of supreme test, trial, and temptation, James Longstreet
did not hesitate. He dallied not with dishonor. He was deaf to every
call save that of duty. Obedient to the conviction that his first,
highest, and holiest obligation was to the land of his birth, he
responded to her call, and for four long years “feasted glory till pity
cried no more.” His gleaming sword flashed in the forefront of the
fighting, till when stricken and scarred with many a wound and with
honor unstained he bowed to the stern arbitrament of battle.

When he made his choice and upon bended knee offered his sword as a
loving and loyal son to his native South, he thereby avouched himself
unto all the ages as one who in every hour of trial and in every sphere
of duty would keep his “robes and his integrity stainless unto heaven.”

He then and there gave to the world perpetual and irrefutable proof
that his every act since that day, whether as soldier or civilian, was
prompted by an exalted sense of duty, performed in obedience to the
convictions of an intelligent and deliberate judgment, and approved by
a clear conscience, and standing on that high vantage ground he courted
truth and defied malice.

No man who rises superior to temptation, and offers his life as
an offering upon the altar of duty, and freely sheds his blood in
testimony to the sincerity of his convictions, is called upon to
explain his conduct “in any sphere of life in which it may please God
to place him.”

The exercises of this occasion take color and purpose from that tragic
era in which James Longstreet was so conspicuous and honorable a
figure; and his record as a soldier is absolutely beyond impeachment.
Did he do his duty as a soldier brave and true? Did he bear himself as
became a man in the hour of battle? Let history unroll her proud annals
and say! Let Williamsburg, Sharpsburg, Gettysburg, Chickamauga, and the
Wilderness make reply.

Ask those who met him and his dauntless legion on many a bloody field,
and they will tell how often he swept down upon them like an avenging
whirlwind. Ask his “boys,” who for four years followed him with
unquestioning devotion and with ever-increasing love and admiration,
and they will with one accord and with voices tremulous with emotion
answer that he never lagged, failed, or faltered.

Hear the testimony of Robert E. Lee, his great commander, who, though
dead, yet speaketh: “General Longstreet (at Gaines Mill) perceived that
to render the diversion effectual the feint must be converted into an
attack. He resolved with characteristic promptness to carry the heights
by assault.” After Chickamauga, he says, “My whole heart and soul have
been with you and your brave corps in your late battle. Finish your
work, my dear General, and return to me. I want you badly, and you
cannot get back too soon.”

Let Joseph E. Johnston bear witness to the world of his great
subordinate at Williamsburg: “I was compelled to be a mere spectator,
for General Longstreet’s clear head and brave heart left no apology for
interference. The skill, vigor, and decision of General Longstreet (at
Seven Pines) was worthy of the highest praise.”

We have yet further testimony, which in pathos and convincing power
excels all speech or written language. It is an historic truth that
when the end had come at Appomattox, and those who had so long
shared the hardships of the camp and the peril and the glory of the
battle-field were about to separate, General Longstreet and his staff
proceeded to where General Lee and his staff had gathered for the last
time before their final parting, and General Lee grasped the hand and
spoke a few kindly words to each member of the group until he reached
General Longstreet, when each threw his arms about the other, and
as they thus stood clasped together both sobbed like children. When
General Lee had recovered his composure, turning to a member of the
party who is now in this presence, he said, “Captain, into your care I
commend my old war-horse.”

Robert E. Lee, standing on the fateful and historic field of
Appomattox, amid the gathering gloom of that awful hour of defeat and
disaster, with his arms about James Longstreet, while his majestic
frame shook with uncontrollable grief, was a scene worthy to have been
limned by genius on immortal canvas.

The tears of Robert E. Lee falling upon the symbol and insignia of
Longstreet’s rank converted it then and there into a badge of honor,
grander than the guerdon of a king.

It is known to countless thousands that only a few years before he
passed away Jefferson Davis moved out from the midst of a mighty
throng, which was acclaiming him with every manifestation of earthly
honor, to greet with open arms General Longstreet. Turning aside for a
time from the thousands who pressed about him in a very frenzy of love
and enthusiasm, he advanced and folded the great soldier to his bosom,
thus testifying before God and a multitude of witnesses to his faith in
the fidelity to conviction and to duty of the old hero.

Davis! Lee! Johnston! Immortal triumvirate of heroes! Glorious sons
of a glorious land! Fortunate indeed is that man who by such as they
is avouched unto posterity. When Lee and Davis laid their hands in
blessing and benediction upon James Longstreet, he was then and there
given passport unto immortality.

The brevity of the time properly allotted me wherein to perform my
part in the exercises of this occasion makes impossible any discussion
or analysis of the campaigns of General Longstreet, even if such
discussion were necessary, which it is not. His fame is securely fixed,
and the faithful historian of the future will assign him to his due
and fitting place in the annals of his age. The history of that great
struggle, in which he was so majestic and forceful a figure, which does
not bear tribute to his fidelity, skill, and valor will be manifestly
and unjustly incomplete; and if any page thereof be not lighted with
the lines of glory reflected by his heroic deeds, it will be because
the truth has not been thereon written.

In the galaxy of the glorious and the great, James Longstreet will
stand through all the ages enshrined with his great companions in arms
in the pantheon of the immortals.

Over such a life as his, bravely, nobly lived on lofty levels, death
has no dominion. More than fourscore years were upon him, and his
kingly form was somewhat bowed, but the dauntless and indomitable
spirit which had never quailed before danger, however imminent or dire,
shrank not before the coming of that conqueror to whom the lofty and
the lowly alike must yield, but, soothed and sustained by the holy
faith of the mother church, he passed to his eternal rest--

  “While Christ, his Lord, wide open held the door.”

To those who loved and honored him the thought is comforting that after
all the battles and trials and hardships of his arduous and eventful
life he has found that rest reserved for the faithful in the realm of
eternal reunion.

We can believe that when, clothed with the added dignity and majesty
of immortality, he drew near to that eternal bivouac where are pitched
the tents of the comrades who preceded him to rest eternal, two,
conspicuous for kingly grace, even in that immortal throng, advanced
to meet him and clasp him once again to their bosoms, and that as he
stood in their arms enfolded there fell upon his ears the voice of the
Master saying,--

“Well done, thou good and faithful servant; enter into the joy of thy
Lord.”--JUDGE NORMAN G. KITTRELL, Houston, Texas.

       *       *       *       *       *

  “No soldier of Longstreet’s corps ever doubted his loyalty.”

No soldier of Longstreet’s corps during the war, whether he was one
of the boys in the trenches, or wore the stars upon his collar, ever
doubted either the courage, or the capacity, or the loyalty of James
Longstreet. No man ever heard an insinuation of that kind. No, he
was entitled to the splendid name the immortal Lee gave him of “old
war-horse,” and he held in the very highest degree the implicit
confidence of the men he commanded and who loved him.

I love to think of Lee and Jackson and Longstreet and Hill as the “Big
Four” of the Army of Northern Virginia.

Many years have passed since that bloody conflict; we are now one
people, with one common flag and one country and one destiny. But
we ought not to forget, how can we forget! the glorious names which
became as familiar as household words to us during that trying time.
Among all the other great names, that of James Longstreet, the ranking
lieutenant-general of the Confederate army, who earned that title in
the field and worthily wore it to the end, must shine forever in that
noble galaxy.--CAPTAIN JOHN H. LEATHEN, _Second Regiment Virginia
Infantry, Stonewall Brigade_.

       *       *       *       *       *

(_Gainesville, Georgia, Eagle.)_

  “Always a plumed knight without reproach.”

Nothing but sickness and a cold drive of twenty-five miles could have
prevented me from attending the funeral obsequies of my old friend and
great military chieftain and placing my humble tribute of flowers upon
his grave.

And now, in the quiet of a sick-chamber, I undertake to weave a little
garland to his memory. I know that nothing I may write will add any
lustre or greatness to a name that has become immortal in the annals
of a people who more than a third of a century ago, and for four long
years, performed deeds of heroic valor that would have shed glory upon
the military renown of any country or people that have ever lived or
had a place in history.

I have never permitted any criticism or detraction that has been
written or uttered against General Longstreet, no matter by whom or
for what purpose the same may have been written or uttered, to have
a feather’s weight in varying my love and veneration for this almost
incomparable commander.

I watched him in his course from Bull Run to Appomattox, and to me he
was always a plumed knight, without reproach. I have seen him on the
field of battle, and I have seen him at his quiet tent. The very first
order I heard given to “fire,” was delivered by Longstreet at Bull Run
on the 18th day of July, 1861. It was the prelude to the great victory
on the bloody field of Manassas, three days after.

Bull Run may have been the beginning of battles in Northern
Virginia--introductory to greater performances, but it was nevertheless
a finished battle. A flag of truce came in and asked for a suspension
of hostilities, and that the Federal dead be buried. The Union forces
had fallen back to Centreville, three miles. Detachments from Bonham’s
South Carolinians and Early’s Louisianians were called for to bury
the dead. Longstreet’s brigade had done the principal fighting, and
Longstreet’s brigade rested.

The dead were buried by those who had been fighting them only a few
hours before. The day’s battle was over, and the sun went down with the
victors in possession of the field and its dead.

The battle of Bull Run (18th of July, 1861) will always remain in my
memory a separate picture, and, like a diamond, however small it may
be when compared with greater jewels, will retain its own halo and its
own setting of gems. Longstreet was the hero of that historic field.
Beauregard was higher in command, but Longstreet began and ended the
fight.

I hope to be pardoned for this reference to an almost forgotten
engagement, wherein nearly four thousand South Carolinians and an
almost equal number of Virginians and Louisianians received their
“first baptism of fire.”

I will relate an incident that occurred after the war, to illustrate
the inward character of General Longstreet, and how this great man
desired to be on friendly terms with every one, especially old friends
whom the accidents of war had estranged. It had come to my knowledge
that in some way or other during the war General Longstreet and
General Lafayette McLaws, lifelong friends and fellow-officers in the
old United States army, had become separated in their friendships.
Seventeen years and more had passed, and yet no healing balm had
been poured upon these two proud hearts. General Longstreet was a
patron of the N. G. A. College. He had two sons, Lee and James, at
this military institution. General McLaws was contemplating sending a
son to the school. Knowing that there was estrangement between these
great military heroes, I induced Governor A. H. Colquitt to place
these two men on the Board of Visitors to the College in the hope that
they might meet each other in the quietude of my mountain home and
become reconciled. They both came, and I arranged that they might be
my guests, with others, and in some way I hoped to bring them close
together. Their meeting was quite formal, and I thought they were very
cold to each other. But after the supper was over, and getting my
other guests to seats on the piazza, where they might smoke and talk,
I gently asked the two to walk into the parlor with me, and seated
them within easy distance of each other. I then began the conversation
by alluding to some affair of the war with which they were familiar,
for both of them had commanded Kershaw’s brigade, to which I belonged.
It was not long before the clouds began to roll away, as these old
warriors passed from one scene to another, and their voices became
friendlier. I then thought I could be excused and passed from the room,
and kept others from disturbing them, and when they came out together,
shook hands, and bade each other “good-night,” I thought then that
they were friends again. That night I called at General Longstreet’s
room and knocked, but heard no response. I pushed the door gently and
peered in, and discovered that the General was kneeling and praying.
I went away as softly as I could, and the next day General Longstreet
thanked me for the quiet way in which I had brought them together.
“For,” said he, “we are friends again.” If I ever knew, I have long
since forgotten the cause of the estrangement. It might have occurred
at Gettysburg.

It was my pleasure to have witnessed the meeting between General
Longstreet and President Davis, so often alluded to as occurring at
the unveiling of the Ben Hill statue in Atlanta. I had been given
by Colonel Lowndes Calhoun on that occasion the command of several
hundred one-armed and one-legged Confederate veterans. When these
two great heroes met and embraced, my command “went wild,” and they
never got into line any more. Longstreet was almost a giant in stature
and always attracted attention and produced enthusiasm. Whatever his
political views were after the war was over, he honestly and fearlessly
entertained them, but he never offensively presented them to any one,
and it remains yet to be seen whether he was not right in many matters
concerning which he was perhaps too harshly judged by some people.

In 1896 General Longstreet’s name was on the McKinley electoral ticket.
He came to Dahlonega to address the people on the political issues of
the day. Although not a member of his political party, I had the honor
of introducing him to the people of my native county in the following
words, as published in the _Eagle_, October 29, 1896:

“FELLOW-COUNTRYMEN AND LADIES,--A few of the survivors of that gallant
band who rushed to arms in defence of the Sunny South more than a third
of a century ago, without regard to past or present affiliation with
political parties, have with only a few moments’ notice met to pay an
humble tribute to one who, with dauntless and conspicuous bravery,
led the Southern cohorts through many bloody battle-fields. Like the
plumed knight, Henry of Navarre, his sword always flashed fiercest
where the fighting was the hottest. His was the first voice of command
to ‘fire’ when the Army of Northern Virginia was receiving its ‘baptism
of fire’ at Bull Run on the 18th of July, 1861. And from the following
Sunday, the memorable battle of Manassas, to Appomattox our comrades
followed him. From Gettysburg to Chickamauga with unfaltering step
they went wherever he led them, and from Chickamauga to the Wilderness
they unswervingly obeyed his commands. His fame has become the common
heritage of us all. No longer the sole cynosure of Southern hearts and
eyes, he is the beloved citizen of a restored country and a reunited
Union. His patriotism, his history, his name, are the common property
of all the people, both North and South. He is with us to-day for only
a few hours. Possibly our eyes may never look into his again, nor our
hands clasp his on earth, nor ever hear that voice once so potent to
thousands of his countrymen. That voice is feeble, but he raises it
now only for the purpose of guiding his friends into what he deems to
be the paths of peace and prosperity. Listen to him with patience. I
now have the honor of introducing to you, my fellow-countrymen, that
distinguished soldier and statesman, General James Longstreet.”--W. P.
PRICE.

       *       *       *       *       *

(_Washington, D. C., Star._)

  “Would have won battle. Never disloyal to his commander.”

Major J. H. Stine, historian of the Army of the Potomac, has this to
say of General Longstreet:

“It would be unjust in me to keep silent after enjoying General
Longstreet’s confidence, especially in regard to that great battle in
which the blue and the gray met at Gettysburg. A quarter of a century
after that great battle I had Longstreet invited here as the guest
of the First Corps of the Army of the Potomac. He came to Washington
some two days in advance, and was a member of my household during that
time. We occupied a room together at Gettysburg and went over the
whole field, when he gave me a full description of the Confederates’
movements.

“He was never disloyal to Lee, but he feared the Pickett charge would
not be as successful as MacDonald’s at Wagram. Longstreet attempted to
persuade Lee not to order it, but rather a retreat at night and take up
a position on the south bank of Pipe Creek, where Meade wanted to fight
the battle.

“He says, in his history: ‘I was following the Third Corps as fast as
possible, and as soon as I got possession of the road went rapidly
forward to join General Lee. I found him on the summit of Seminary
Ridge, watching the enemy concentrate on the opposite hill. He pointed
out their position to me. I took my glasses and made as careful a
survey as I could from that point. After five or ten minutes I turned
to General Lee and said,--

“‘“If we could have chosen a point to meet our plans of operation, I do
not think we could have found a better one than that upon which they
are now concentrating. All we have to do is to throw our army around
by their left, and we shall interpose between the Federal army and
Washington.”’

“‘“No,” said General Lee, “the enemy is there, and I am going to attack
him there.”’

“Lee was a great military student. He had before him Napoleon’s great
victory at Wagram, when he ordered MacDonald, with sixteen thousand
men, to charge the enemy’s centre. But few of that number were alive
when success crowned that daring military movement. If Pickett’s charge
had been successful, it would have crowned the Southern Confederacy as
one of the nations of the world, for it would not only have had foreign
recognition, but valuable assistance. Upon every field except one Lee
had been successful, and that was a drawn battle.

“He had great confidence in himself, and thought that it was impossible
to defeat him with his Southern legions under his command. Longstreet
differed from him on that charge, and I am truly glad, for the sake of
my country, that Lee did not listen to him. They are both gone forever,
but it seems strange to me that any military mind cannot recognize the
foresight of Longstreet at Gettysburg.”

       *       *       *       *       *

(_Lost Cause._)

  “Pendleton’s charge a discharge of hot air.”

The recent death of the gallant old war-horse of the Army of Northern
Virginia, General James Longstreet, has again revived some of the
slanderous and unfounded reports of his lack of duty, unfaithfulness,
and disobedience of orders at the battle of Gettysburg. I want to offer
some thoughts in regard to this matter, and the first thing I want to
say is that General Longstreet retained the love and confidence of
the soldiers of Lee’s army up to the surrender at Appomattox, on the
9th of April, 1865. His soldiers never for one moment questioned his
loyalty, his courage, or his patriotism. If these late reports of his
default of duty at Gettysburg be true, is it not passing strange that
he retained the love and confidence of General Lee until the close
of the war? If Longstreet had disobeyed Lee’s orders at Gettysburg,
thereby causing the battle to fail of success to Southern arms, does
any one pretend to believe that General Lee would have continued to
place faith and confidence in him (his first lieutenant) until the
close of the war? No man who has a proper conception of the character
of Robert E. Lee as a soldier and as a great military commander will
believe it. Another remarkable circumstance in connection with these
grave charges against General Longstreet is, that the men composing the
Army of Northern Virginia never heard a word of them until long after
the death of General Lee, who could and would have refuted or confirmed
them. The fame and character of General Lee as a great military
chieftain does not need that the fame and reputation of another great
and gallant soldier of the Confederate army shall be besmirched.
Another remarkable fact is, these charges came from men that were only
brigadier-generals at the battle of Gettysburg. Brigadier-General
Pendleton, it seems, first made this charge against General Longstreet
in a public speech at Lexington, Virginia, in 1873, in which he said
that General Lee told him that he had ordered Longstreet to attack at
sunrise on the 2d of July. Longstreet emphatically denied that General
Lee ever gave him any such orders, and Colonel W. H. Taylor, Colonel
C. S. Venable, Colonel Charles Marshall, and General A. L. Long, all
of General Lee’s staff, testified, after this charge was made by
Pendleton, that they never heard of any such orders. Colonel Venable,
replying to General Longstreet, said, “I did not know of any order for
an attack on the enemy at sunrise on the 2d of July, nor can I believe
any such order was issued by General Lee. About sunrise on the 2d I
was sent by General Lee to General Ewell to ask him what he thought of
the advantages of an attack on the enemy from his position. I do not
think that the errand on which I was sent by the commanding General is
consistent with the idea of an attack at sunrise by any portion of the
army.”

It seems clearly by the testimony of these eminent officers and
soldiers who were at that time members of General Lee’s official
family and were active participants in that supreme struggle of
Gettysburg, that this charge by General Pendleton was only a discharge
of hot air. I think the general view taken by the best authority
upon the history of the fighting at Gettysburg on July the 2d, which
was the second day of these battles, that up to 11 A.M. General Lee
was undecided as to whether he would attack on the right or left. No
matter in what eloquent words we may clothe our admiration for him as a
soldier, the soldiers of the Army of Northern Virginia would regard all
these eloquent words of praise as inadequate to express the admiration
we feel for the brave deeds in war, and the unselfish and gallant
service rendered the Confederate army by this grand old hero, General
James Longstreet. General Lee told General Pickett and the Army of
Northern Virginia that the lack of their success at Gettysburg was his
fault. This man of glorious and immortal fame, as the greatest military
leader of modern times, realized that he himself had overrated the
ability of his army, and underrated the army of his enemy, who had the
advantage of numbers and of far better position. General Lee realized
then, as the world has since, that he made a mistake in attacking
the Union army at Gettysburg after General Meade had secured and to
some extent had fortified an almost impregnable position. Grant made
the same mistake when Lee caught him on the fly in the Wilderness,
at Spottsylvania, and at Cold Harbor, with this difference, Grant
was depending upon his superior numbers and equipment, while Lee was
depending upon the morale and fighting qualities of his army. And while
the morale and fighting qualities of Lee’s army were never equalled
in the history of modern warfare, even they could not accomplish the
impossible. And the traducers of General Longstreet’s fidelity are
strangely oblivious of the fact that General Longstreet at the battle
of the Wilderness made a forced march that taxed his soldiers to their
utmost capacity to get there in time, and when he arrived on the field
he found the Southern line was being driven back by superior numbers,
and throwing his troops into line and with his accustomed impetuosity
drove the Federal line rapidly back and saved the day and gave the
Southern army the victory at the Wilderness. In this fight he was
severely wounded, and the gallant Jenkins of South Carolina at the
same time was killed. Pendleton said that General Lee died believing
that but for the disobedience of Longstreet at Gettysburg that battle
would have been a victory for the Southern army. How did he know that
Lee died with that belief? Did General Lee ever tell any one so? If so,
whom? It is one thing to make an assertion, but quite a different thing
to prove it. I have seen men in my day look pretty cheap in court when
called on to prove some things they had said on the streets.

In conclusion, I want to say that while we all regretted and were
grieved when General Longstreet joined the Republican party, that fact
ought not to have created prejudice sufficient to have caused us to
ignore, and belittle, and cast any reproach upon his character, or
unjust reflection upon his long and brilliant career as a soldier. He
was a soldier by profession, and, according to his own testimony, he
never cast a ballot in civil life prior to the Confederate war. He and
General Grant were warm personal friends. They were school-mates at
West Point, comrades in the Mexican and some Indian wars. General Grant
clasped his hand and called him Jim at the surrender at Appomattox.
Grant at Appomattox was a Democrat and a slave-holder, and he went over
to the Republican party and was elected President of the United States.
What influence General Grant brought to bear upon General Longstreet
may have been very great, for all the outside world knows. Be that as
it may, we do know that up to the close of the war he had taken no
active part in politics in any party. We also have every reason to
believe that if General Longstreet had espoused the Democratic party,
and become a strong partisan in that party, we never would have heard a
word of this imaginary default at Gettysburg.

The soldiers of Longstreet’s corps do not believe he disobeyed General
Lee’s orders at Gettysburg, or at any other time. We don’t believe it
now; we never did believe it, and we never will believe it.--W. H.
EDWARDS.




RESOLUTIONS BY CAMPS AND CHAPTERS


(_Sterling Price Camp._)

  “His chivalry is as lasting as the hills of the Old Dominion.”

Tribute to the memory of General James Longstreet, adopted by Sterling
Price Camp, No. 31, Dallas, Texas.

Comrade A. W. Nowlin, in submitting the report of the committee, said
in part:

  “Comrades, we have assembled here as a camp to pay tribute to
  the memory of the late Lieutenant-General Longstreet. One of the
  great soldiers of the age has fallen. He has answered the last
  roll-call. Taps has been sounded ‘Lights out.’ The ‘War-Horse of
  the Confederacy’ is dead. This great, brave, and fearless officer
  is gone. The hard fighter of the Army of Northern Virginia has
  surrendered to the arch-enemy death. General Longstreet possessed
  the esteem and confidence of his troops in a marked degree.
  They were devoted to him, and when and where he led they were
  invincible.

  “His name and his deeds of daring and chivalry are coupled and
  interwoven with that of the Army of Northern Virginia, and
  are as lasting as the hills of the ‘Old Dominion.’ The heroic
  battle-fields of Virginia will ever attest and pay tribute to
  the military genius of this great leader. History will hand down
  to posterity the name of James Longstreet as one of the great
  generals of the nineteenth century.”

The following was adopted as Camp Sterling Price’s tribute to
Lieutenant-General James Longstreet:

WHEREAS, Lieutenant-General James Longstreet recently passed away at
his home in Gainesville, Georgia, and was buried, amid the tears and
regrets of thousands of those who loved him and had assembled from
every part of this country to pay this last honor to him; be it

_Resolved_, That the comrades of Camp Sterling Price have heard with
profound sorrow of the death of this great Southern soldier and comrade.

_Resolved_, That, educated in the profession of arms, he gave many
years of his young manhood to the service of his country in the war
with Mexico and in conflicts and campaigns with the savages of the
West, and everywhere distinguished himself for courage and ability so
as to win promotion and the gratitude and applause of his countrymen.

_Resolved_, That when wrongs and passion disrupted the nation, and his
native State withdrew from the Union and united with the Confederate
States of America, he felt that his allegiance no longer belonged
to the other States of the Union, but to the one of which he was a
citizen, and he resigned his office in the United States army and
offered his services to the government of the Confederacy. He received
the rank of brigadier-general, and, being always in the front when
campaigns were most important and the enemy the most powerful and
battles were furious, he was promoted for distinguished bravery,
conduct, and generalship to be major-general, lieutenant-general, and
second in command of the great Army of Northern Virginia, under the
great commander Lee.

As brigadier-general at Manassas he held the left wing of the enemy,
by his boldness, so that it could not give assistance to the defeated
right wing. As major-general he covered General Johnston’s retreat
in the Peninsula before the advance of McClellan, and fought the
victorious battle of Williamsburg. As major-general he commanded the
right wing in the bloody battle of Seven Pines, and with D. H. Hill
drove the enemy from the field. In the Seven Days’ battle around
Richmond no general gained greater renown, and soon thereafter, when
Congress directed the President to appoint seven corps commanders with
the rank of lieutenant-general, Major-General Longstreet was made the
ranking lieutenant-general and second in command of the army under Lee,
which position he held through the great battles and campaigns of that
army for three years, until with Lee and the remnant of his heroes he
surrendered at Appomattox.

At the second battle of Manassas he commanded the right wing of the
army, and with Jackson on the left drove Pope into the fortification of
Washington. At South Mountain he held McClellan with a death grip until
Jackson could storm Harper’s Ferry, and commanded the right wing at
Sharpsburg and fought more than double his number under McClellan from
early dawn until darkness spread her sombre shadows over the bloodiest
scene in American history. It was here that Lee knighted him as his
“War-Horse” as the last guns were sending their hoarse echoes among the
mountains. Next, at Fredericksburg he commanded the left wing, and at
nightfall on the 13th of December, 1862, eight thousand of the enemy
were stretched out dead or bleeding in front of his corps.

At Gettysburg, riding by the side of Lee, without expecting nor
desiring at that time to join battle with the enemy, they heard the
thunder of Hill’s and Ewell’s guns, and hastened to their assistance.
The first day’s battle was fought and won before Lee or Longstreet
could take an active part. On the second day Longstreet commanded the
right wing and fought one of the bloodiest battles of the war, driving
almost the entire army of Meade before him, and leaving more than ten
thousand of the enemy slain or wounded on the field. The third day of
this great battle he exhibited the loftiest courage.

Next, he and his corps were sent from Virginia to Georgia and joined
Bragg in the terrible battle of Chickamauga, where he commanded the
left wing and routed the right wing of Rosecrans’s army. When Grant and
Meade, with their forty thousand veteran soldiers, were advancing upon
Lee in the Wilderness of Virginia, the great commander of the Army of
Northern Virginia called Longstreet with his men back from Tennessee,
and with panting breath and quick step and double ranks he headed the
Texas brigade and rushed upon the cheering and triumphant enemy on the
second day in the Wilderness, and drove them over their works amid the
blazing woods, and a great victory was in the grasp of Lee, when a
bullet from our own men, by mistake, crashed through his body and he
was carried from the field desperately wounded. The guiding hand of
the great general and fighter was gone, and victory fled as the fatal
opportunity was lost.

In the long siege and through the many battles around Richmond and
Petersburg, lasting nearly twelve months, Longstreet commanded the
left wing on the north side of the James, and stood like an immovable
mountain between the enemy and the Confederate capital.

When the sad day of Five Forks came, and Lee’s lines were broken about
Petersburg, Longstreet was called from Richmond with his men to the
assistance of his great commander, and covered the retreat and gave
blow for blow to the charging enemy, and when the sun rose on the
day of the 9th of April, and Grant was about to offer terms for the
surrender of the Southern army, Longstreet told General Lee that if
the terms were not honorable they would fight again and die fighting.
Thus he fought and stood by his chief to the bitter end, retaining the
confidence of his commander and his President to the last; and if they
who knew him best and trusted him most, and were with him day and night
and knew his thoughts and opinions, and witnessed his deeds and actions
throughout all the vicissitudes and trials of those days that measured
the souls of men,--if they believed in him, trusted him, leaned on him,
and kept him second to Lee, who shall have the temerity to criticise,
to condemn, and to throw stones at this imperial soldier?

Those of us who have heard the thunder of his guns; those of us who
have seen him leading his warriors in battle; those of us who have seen
him stand like a Gibraltar against the charging thousands of a fierce
foe, will honor him as a great soldier who has added to the fame of
Southern manhood, and who is worthy to stand through the ages with
Lee and Johnston and Jackson and Stewart, and all the brave men who
laid their bare breasts to the storm of war in the name of freedom and
independence. We honor ourselves by honoring such a man.

_Resolved_, That these resolutions be spread upon the minutes of this
Camp and a copy be sent to Mrs. James Longstreet by the adjutant.

            A. W. NOWLIN.
            J. R. COLE.
            J. W. TAYLOR.
            T. C. BAILEY.
            MILTON PARK.

       *       *       *       *       *

(_Camp 435._)

  “A Solomon in council, a Samson on the field.”

The following resolution in memory of Lieutenant-General James
Longstreet, introduced by Captain Wm. Dunbar, was adopted by Camp 435,
U. C. V., Augusta, Georgia, by a unanimous and rising vote:

_Resolved_, That we deplore the death of Lieutenant-General James
Longstreet. We recall how, in the opening of the campaign of 1862,
his stubborn gallantry saved the Army of Northern Virginia for its
long career of glory; how, later in the same campaign, his superb
strategy rescued Stonewall Jackson from the swarming thousands about
to overwhelm him; how, in 1863, he flew to the aid of the heroic Army
of Tennessee, and with it won the resplendent victory of Chickamauga.
In short, we know him by the proud title of the War-Horse of the
Confederacy, a title worthily bestowed by General Robert E. Lee
himself. He was a grand soldier, a Solomon in council, and a Samson in
the field.

_Resolved_, That these resolutions be inscribed on a special page of
our minutes, and that a copy thereof be transmitted by our adjutant to
the family of the valiant dead.

       *       *       *       *       *

(_Longstreet Chapter._)

  “His fame is imperishable.”

Verily, though dead, yet in history he will continue to live; be it
therefore

_Resolved_, That while we, the Daughters of the Confederacy, deplore
the loss of our beloved Confederate General James Longstreet, who
was the first ranking general of the Confederate army, passes one of
the most gallant spirits of the nineteenth century. In the war drama
of his life he played a most important part. At the beginning of the
scene of the Civil War he took up the Southland’s cause and began as
brigadier-general a career of courageous fighting which won for him the
admiration of the world. He was a comrade of Jackson and a companion
of Lee. In personal appearance General Longstreet was well adapted
to play this important part. So distinguished in appearance, he was
indeed a veritable “war-horse.” His career in the Confederate army was
a magnificent display of this loyal adherence to his views of truth and
right. His fame as a soldier is imperishably inscribed on the scroll of
history.

Worn by recurring paroxysms of exquisite pain, the great warrior was
weary as the evening shadows fell, and patiently asked his devoted wife
to rearrange his couch. “I shall rest better on the other side,” he
said, gently. Then the spirit took its flight.

    Let us cherish in our hearts the golden story,
    How the chieftain bravely lived and calmly died--
    Living for his Southland’s never fading glory--
    “Resting better now upon the other side.”

Perish the hand and strike down the pen that would rob him of a
people’s gratitude to a brave and loyal son.

_Resolved_, His death caused universal sorrow among those who honor the
chivalry, gallantry, and bravery which lent to the Confederate cause
the lustre that can never dim, and left a laurelled history that will
never die.

“For he who best knows how to endure shall possess the greater peace.”

_Resolved_, That we extend our heartfelt sympathy to his bereaved
family in this hour of unspeakable sorrow, and pray that the hand
of our Heavenly Father may be laid in gracious healing upon their
broken hearts. That the Holy One may abide with them in comforting
influence, and that the sunshine of His wonderful presence may brighten
the present sad separation by the sure promise of reunion with their
beloved in the land where suffering and death are unknown.

_Resolved_, That a copy of these resolutions be sent to the city
papers, and to the bereaved family, and that they be inscribed in our
minutes.

            MRS. R. H. SMITH.
            MRS. ERNEST HAM.
            MRS. J. C. DORSEY.
            MRS. C. C. SANDERS.

       *       *       *       *       *

(_John A. Green Camp._)

  “The battle-fields of Virginia will ever pay tribute to
  Longstreet’s genius.”

            HEAD-QUARTERS COLONEL JOHN A. GREEN CAMP,
              NO. 1461, U. C. V., DICKENS, TEXAS.

We have assembled here to pay tribute to the memory of the “War-Horse”
of the Army of Northern Virginia, General James Longstreet, who died
recently at his home in or near Gainesville, Georgia, at the ripe
old age of eighty-three years. General Longstreet earned his first
laurels at the first battle of Manassas, and fought his way up to
lieutenant-general. Being the ranking lieutenant-general in Lee’s
grand army, he served with conspicuous gallantry in nearly all the
battles in which that army was engaged,--Manassas, Williamsburg,
Seven Pines, under Johnston, the Seven Days’ battles around Richmond,
Cedar Mountain, Second Manassas, Sharpsburg (it was here that General
Lee knighted him as his “War-Horse”), Fredericksburg, Gettysburg,
Chickamauga, the Wilderness, around Richmond and Petersburg, and in
almost all the great battles in which Lee’s army was engaged. However
we may have differed with him in the political path which he chose,
when the army which he led with such conspicuous ability laid down
their arms and returned to peaceful pursuits, we recognize in him a
great general, and the battle-fields of Virginia will ever attest and
pay tribute to his military genius. History will hand down his name to
posterity as one of the great generals of the South, one who was true
and faithful to the Star-Spangled Banner under which he fought, and in
whom our great commander, General R. E. Lee, placed his confidence and
trust. General Longstreet possessed the esteem and confidence of his
troops in a marked degree in camp and field, and in advance or retreat
his deeds of daring are coupled with that of the army of General Lee,
and are as lasting as the hills of Virginia. We extend our sympathy to
the family of this grand old general who has passed over the River.

            JNO. A. GREEN, U. C. V.,
            THOS. L. WOODS, U. C. V.,
            B. D. GLASGOW, S. U. C. V.,
            R. L. COLLIER, S. U. C. V.,
                _Committee_.

    W. C. BALLARD,
      _Commander_.

       *       *       *       *       *

(_James Longstreet Camp._)

  “A patriot who commanded the admiration of the age in which he
  lived. One of the world’s great generals.”

To the memory of General Longstreet, passed by Camp James Longstreet,
U. C. V., at their regular meeting in Ennis, Texas, January 17, 1904:

WHEREAS, The Commander-in-Chief has been pleased to call the late
Lieutenant-General James Longstreet across the river, to rest in the
shade on the other shore with his former commanding general, R. E. Lee,
and his associates, Hood, Jackson, and others, who had preceded him; and

WHEREAS, In the removal of this great soldier from the walks of life
to his future reward the military world has lost one of the most
distinguished military characters known to the history of civil
warfare; America has lost a loyal patriot, whose inflexible devotion
to duty, as he saw it from a view-point of patriotic loyalty to his
country, commanded the admiration of the age in which he lived; the
South has lost a son, whose distinguished services as a gallant soldier
and whose superior ability as a general in the Army of Northern
Virginia easily classed him with the greatest of the world’s great
generals, one whose brilliant record sheds an honorable lustre on
the Southern soldier of which the American people feel justly proud;
therefore be it

_Resolved_, That while we deplore with sadness the death of General
Longstreet, who enjoyed the full confidence of his commanding general
and of the officers and men of his command as a gallant and prudent
officer, we cherish his record as a general in the Army of Virginia
as a spotless sheen of soldierly merit and worth, faultless in every
respect.

_Resolved_, That a page in the record-book of Camp James Longstreet be
set apart, and that these resolutions in memory of our departed general
be recorded thereon.

          Fraternally,
            L. A. DAFFAN.
            T. G. MAY.
            J. C. LOGGINS.

       *       *       *       *       *

(_Hattiesburg Camp._)

  “He was the chosen leader and central figure in every great
  conflict from the first battle of Manassas to the fateful day at
  Appomattox.”

Longstreet was the chosen leader and central figure in every great
conflict from the first battle of Manassas to the fateful day at
Appomattox.

Sparta never had a worthier son than the South had in General
Longstreet. From the firing of the first gun his ardor never ceased,
his courage never failed. Often in the midst of the greatest battle
did he stand with his men when they fell around him like forests in a
storm. His presence was inspiring, and his word talismanic. No soldier
was ever more loved or confided in than he. Who shall say that his
name shall not emblazon the brightest page of our history? Who will
deny him that great praise, so justly his own by reason of his great
services and terrible suffering? History will be incomplete without
according him her brightest page; and as long as we live to recount
deeds of valor and heroism on the battle-field, will live the names of
Lee, Longstreet, and “Stonewall” Jackson. Who that was at Gettysburg,
Spottsylvania, and the Wilderness, when the earth rocked with the tramp
of armed men and the roar of battle resounded almost to heaven, would
deny him this mead of praise?

In all these was General Longstreet a prime warrior, a conspicuous
actor. He rarely, if ever, was defeated. He planned his marches,
battles, and retreats with a strategy little less than transcendent;
and when he made a stand he placed his back to the rock and bid
defiance to his enemies.

He was to Lee what Ney was to Napoleon, a guide, a friend, and a
confidant.

I cannot pass this occasion without recalling an incident at the
Wilderness. On the 5th day of May, 1864, General Grant had devastated
the entire country from the Rapidan River to Fredericksburg. His
soldiers were as numerous as the Assyrian hosts. Hancock’s corps
had advanced to the west side of the plank road that ran through
that dismal swamp, and had driven both Pendor and Heath out of their
breastworks, thus breaking through the centre of our line of battle.
It was an awful hour--fear and despair could be seen in every face. In
vain did Heath and Pendor try to repossess their works.

Just at that moment Longstreet arrived on the ground. Hood’s Texans
were in front. Lee came in a gallop to meet them. With tears in his
eyes and his long hair flying in the wind, he asked, “What troops are
these?” “Hood’s Texans,” was the reply. “Follow me!” he said. When he
started to lead them, a Texan belonging to the First Texas Regiment,
commanded by Colonel J. R. Harding, now of Jackson, Mississippi,
caught the bridle of General Lee’s horse and turned him back. Away
went the Texans followed by the Mississippi, Arkansas, Alabama, and
Louisiana brigades, and drove the enemy back and saved the day. This
was but one of the glorious acts of General Longstreet.

Cold Harbor, Seven Pines, Gaines Mill, Sharpsburg, Fredericksburg are
not less glorious than others named, and all made so by the energy
and courage of Longstreet and his faithful soldiers. At the battle of
Sharpsburg for a long time our army was threatened with defeat; our
lines began to waver before the terrible fire of the superior numbers
with which we were contending, when General Longstreet, just from a
hot contest on our left, was brought around to the centre, and for six
long hours he repelled the assailants of this numerous host and “kept
the executives at bay and drove back the Mamalukes of power.” Forget
him? No! The names of Lee and Longstreet will live as those of Cæsar
and Napoleon, and when this physical world shall have perished, and the
heavens rolled together as a scroll, the names of these men will be
remembered.

_Resolved_, That in the death of General Longstreet the South has lost
one of her most brilliant soldiers.

_Resolved_, That in battles his name was a synonym of success, and his
presence an inspiration to his men, a terror to his enemies.

_Resolved_, That the Camp wear the usual badge for thirty days and a
copy of this paper be sent to his family at Gainesville, Georgia.

            T. B. JOHNSON,
              _For Committee_.

Adopted by Hattiesburg, Mississippi, Camp, No. 21, U. C. V., February
6, 1904.

       *       *       *       *       *

(_John M. Stephen’s Camp._)

  “Where his flag waved his lines stood as immovable as Gibraltar.”

COMRADES,--At his home at Gainesville, Georgia, at 5 P.M., Saturday,
January 2, 1904, in his eighty-third year, Lieutenant-General
Longstreet answered his last roll-call. If Alabama had done nothing
save to give us Longstreet and Pelham, she would have done much for
herself, the Southland, and for fame. If with Alexander, Hannibal,
and Napoleon, Robert E. Lee takes first rank among the world’s great
generals, surely General Longstreet may stand with those who occupy
second rank among the world’s great military men.

If Jackson was Lee’s right hand, Longstreet was his left from Manassas
to Appomattox.

Longstreet was a very thunder-bolt of war. When Jackson at the second
battle of Manassas was hard pressed by Pope’s whole army, Longstreet
rushed to his aid and, striking Pope’s flank, crushed it as an
egg-shell in the hand of a strong man. Thus always and everywhere that
Longstreet led, his men hurried to death as joyously as the bridegroom
to greet the bride; where his flag waved his lines stood as immovable
as Gibraltar to the storms of the ocean, and when he moved forward,
there the enemy were beaten or death and carnage reigned supreme. If
after Appomattox, Longstreet made mistakes, or we imagined he did,
the mantle of death covers them all. Remembering there has only One
lived without fault, they are forgotten, and standing by his grave we
remember only his virtues and the heroism and skill which made him
great in times and places where great men were thick as fallen leaves
in Vallombrosa; therefore be it

_Resolved_, That we mourn the death of our great leader, and tender to
his bereaved family our sincere sympathy.

_Resolved_, That these resolutions be spread upon the minutes of this
Camp, and that copies be furnished our town papers for publication and
a copy be sent to General Longstreet’s widow.

            SILAS C. BUCK,
            McD. REIL,
                _Committee_.

       *       *       *       *       *

(_Jeff Falkner Camp._)

  “His officers and men have never doubted his courage and loyalty.”

Commander John Purifoy spoke of the death of General Longstreet and
introduced the subjoined resolutions which were unanimously adopted.

“In the death of Lieutenant-General James Longstreet a great soldier
has ‘passed over the river’ to his final rest. No more will he wake
to behold the splendor and fame of his men. He has fought his last
battle. In the school of war he had learned courage, promptness, and
determination. Its stern lessons had taught him fortitude in suffering,
coolness in danger, and cheerfulness under reverses. Every Southerner
should feel proud of his record as a soldier.

“While some of those who were associated with him in the many great
battles in which he was a conspicuous figure, have permitted themselves
to engage in some adverse criticism of his conduct on one occasion
only, the officers and men under his immediate command never for a
moment doubted his courage, his skill, his integrity, his sincerity,
or his loyalty to the cause for which he unsheathed his sword. Nor did
the great Lee, whose confidence he retained to his death, ever intimate
that Longstreet was not faithful, brave, and prompt in the discharge of
every duty as a soldier.

“As surviving comrades we will cherish his memory; as Alabamans, we are
proud of his record. His integrity, his honesty, and his heroic conduct
are worthy of emulation.

“_Resolved_, That our sincere condolence is hereby tendered his
bereaved widow and other members of his family.

“_Resolved_, That this memorial and resolutions be spread upon our
minutes, and that they be given to the press for publication.

“_Resolved_, That a copy of the same be mailed to his widow at
Gainesville, Georgia.”

       *       *       *       *       *

(_George B. Eastin Camp._)

  “His fame will endure as long as the story of the great struggle
  shall be told.”

WHEREAS, We, the members of the George B. Eastin Camp of United
Confederate Veterans, Louisville, Kentucky, have heard with profound
regret of the death of our distinguished comrade, Lieutenant-General
James Longstreet, and feel that we should pay tribute to the memory of
one who was so conspicuously associated with the cause for which we
fought; therefore be it

_Resolved_, That we recognize and testify to the valor and devotion
which he exhibited on so many fields made memorable by Confederate
effort, and caused him to be worthily ranked among the best and bravest
soldiers of the Army of Northern Virginia.

With the history and the glory of that army his name will ever be
signally and inseparably connected. His fame as a skilful, resolute,
and sagacious commander, the honor due him as a dauntless defender
of his native soil, his record for faithful performance of duty and
unflinching courage from “Manassas to Appomattox,” will endure so long
as the story of the great struggle shall be told.

Forgetting in the presence of his death and grave all later
differences, we remember and acknowledge his services and his heroism
in the hour of need and trial.

_Resolved_, That these resolutions be spread on the minutes of this
Camp, and the daily papers of this city be requested to publish same;
also, that a copy be sent to the bereaved widow of our distinguished
comrade.

          Respectfully submitted,
            D. THORNTON.
            JAS. S. CARPENTER.
            J. S. S. CASLER.

       *       *       *       *       *

(_Pat Cleburne Camp, No. 88._)

  “He was as true as the needle to the pole in every position in
  which he was placed, whether in civic or military life.”

            January 17, 1904.

Two weeks ago to-day the wires flashed the news over the country that
General James Longstreet, the soldier, statesman, and diplomat, died
Saturday night at his home in Gainesville, Georgia. He was born in
Edgefield District, South Carolina, January 8, 1821, hence lacked
only a few days of being eighty-three years of age. He graduated from
West Point in 1842, was in the war with Mexico and brevetted for
meritorious service at Churubusco and Molino del Rey. He was wounded
September 8, 1847, at the storming of Chapultepec. He was commissioned
brigadier-general in the Confederate army at the first battle of
Bull Run, in 1861, where he commanded a brigade on the right of the
Confederate army and held in check a strong force of the enemy in a
vain effort to turn General Johnston’s flank; and from then until the
dark day at Appomattox, when the sun of the Confederacy went down in
gloom to rise no more, the flag of “Old Pete,” as he was familiarly
called by his old comrades, was everywhere in the thick of the fight;
and he was one of Lee’s most trusted lieutenants, and every true
Confederate soldier will drop a tear to his memory. He has crossed
the dark river and is now resting with Lee, Jackson, and thousands of
others who have answered the last roll-call, heard the last tattoo, and
will hear the roll of the drum and the call to arms no more forever.
Peace to his ashes and sympathy to his living comrades is our sincere
wish; therefore be it

_Resolved_, That the death of General Longstreet takes from our earthly
ranks another of the brave and true, one who was ever ready to obey the
call of duty, as the writers of this resolution can testify, having
followed him through many bloody engagements where he was indeed a
leader whom any might feel honored to follow. He was as true as the
needle to the pole in every position in which he was placed, whether in
civic or military life.

_Resolved_, That a copy of these resolutions be spread upon our
minutes, a copy forwarded to the widow of our deceased comrade, and
that we tender her our sincere sympathy in this the darkest hour of her
life.

            J. M. MALLETT,
              _Captain Commanding_.
            M. S. KAHLE,
              _Adjutant_.

       *       *       *       *       *

(_Joseph E. Johnston Camp._)

  “His sword was one of the most trenchant ever drawn in the
  South’s defence.”

At a regular meeting of Joseph E. Johnston Camp, U. C. V., No.
119, held at Gainesville, Texas, on the 9th day of January, 1904,
the Committee on Resolutions as to the death of General Longstreet
presented, and the Camp unanimously adopted, the following resolutions:

_Resolved_, That we have heard, with deep sorrow, of the death of
Lieutenant-General James Longstreet, late of the Confederate army.

_Resolved_, That in the death of General Longstreet the world has lost
one of her greatest military chieftains, the United States one of her
most illustrious citizens, and the South one who in the darkest hours
of peril boasted him among her noblest and best; his sword was one of
the most trenchant ever drawn in her defence, and to her is left the
proud heritage of his brilliant career.

_Resolved_, That as this sad news is flashed around the world, it is
fitting that every ex-Confederate soldier should bow his head in deep
sadness as his bier passes us to the silent city of the dead.

_Resolved_, That as our great comrade has obeyed his last tattoo,
and after a long and useful life has gone to peaceful rest, where
war’s dread alarm is heard no longer, that we pray the reveille of
resurrection morning will wake him to receive a crown of glory brighter
far than heroes ever won in the battle-field.

_Resolved_, That we, his comrades in arms, tender his noble wife and
family our genuine sympathy in their sad bereavement, assuring them
that a grateful people will lovingly cherish the proud military record
of this wonderful soldier.

_Resolved_, That a copy of these resolutions be mailed to Mrs. James
Longstreet, and copies be delivered to the press.

            E. F. COMEGYS,
            F. A. TYLER,
            H. INGLE,
                _Committee._

    ROBT. BEAN,
      _Commander pro tem._
    W. W. HOWETH,
      _Adjutant pro tem._

       *       *       *       *       *

(_Merrill E. Pratt Chapter._)

  “Years will only add lustre to his crown.”

The Merrill E. Pratt Chapter of the United Daughters of the
Confederacy, of Prattville, Alabama, paid a tribute of respect to
the memory of General James Longstreet, by adopting the following
resolutions:

WHEREAS, Fully cognizant of the fact that there will be many tributes
of condolence offered, tributes that thrill with eloquence and lofty
sentiment, yet there will be none more sincere or more truly heartfelt
than that offered by the Merrill E. Pratt Chapter of the United
Daughters of the Confederacy; therefore,

_Resolved_, That in the death of General Longstreet the whole nation
lost one of its truest statesmen, while the South lost one of its
greatest chieftains and one of its stanchest friends.

_Resolved_, That while we deplore his death, we bless and praise the
Glorious Giver for the gift to the Southland of such a patriot as
General Longstreet, a patriot whose fame time cannot wear away, and
years will only add lustre to his crown.

            MRS. JAMES D. RISE,
              _President_.
            MRS. J. A. PRATT,
              _Corresponding Secretary_.

       *       *       *       *       *

(_Tom Smith Camp._)

  “He was the last survivor of the South’s great warriors.”

MR. COMMANDER AND COMRADES,--Your committee appointed at the last
meeting of this Camp to draft resolutions expressing our sorrow and
grief at the death of Lieutenant-General James Longstreet, respectfully
report as follows:

Lieutenant-General Longstreet was the commander of the First Corps
of the Army of Northern Virginia, and the last survivor of the great
warriors upon whom that rank was first conferred when the Confederate
armies were organized into corps. He was known as the “Fighting
General,” and, with the exception of the battle of Chancellorsville,
was with General Lee in all his campaigns from the Seven Days’ fight
around Richmond until the war ended at Appomattox, save only when
incapacitated a few months by wounds received in the battle of the
Wilderness in 1864. He was loved and respected by his soldiers, and the
surviving veterans of his corps have always honored their leader and
are mourners at his grave.

_Resolved_, That we who knew him and followed him through the dangers
and trials of protracted war claim the privilege of paying our tribute
of heartfelt sorrow to the memory of our dead commander.

_Resolved_, That we extend to his widow and surviving children our
sympathy in their affliction.

_Resolved_, That this memorial be spread upon the records of this Camp,
and that a copy be sent to his bereaved family.

            THOS. M. SMITH,
            J. C. CAUSEY,
                _Committee_.

       *       *       *       *       *

(_J. E. B. Stuart Camp._)

  “General Lee leaned on him as a strong arm of defence.”

In the death of General James Longstreet passes away one of the
most prominent generals of the Southern Confederacy. He was born in
Edgefield District, South Carolina, January 8, 1821. When ten years
old, in 1831, he moved with his mother to Alabama, and from this State
he was appointed to the United States Military Academy, from whence
he graduated in 1842. He was assigned to duty at Jefferson Barracks,
Missouri, in 1842-44; on frontier duty at Natchitoches, Louisiana,
1844-45; in the occupation of Texas, 1845-46; and in the war with
Mexico. Here he was wounded, was promoted several times for gallantry,
his courage being observable on all occasions. He faithfully discharged
his duties as an officer of the United States until June 1, 1861, when
he resigned and entered the service of the Southern Confederacy. His
career is well known to his comrades, and is a part of the glorious
history of our Southern cause. He was a brave soldier, a superior
officer, brave and true, and one of the hardest fighters of the Army
of Northern Virginia. General Lee had implicit confidence in him, and
leaned on him as a strong arm of defence in the most desperate fighting
and splendid generalship. Longstreet was a man of the front, where he
stood to execute orders the most difficult and hazardous, and did not
lay aside his sword until his leader surrendered his shattered forces,
until there was no more fighting to do. He was cool, deliberate, and
yet generous. It became an acknowledged fact that where Longstreet and
his brave men were, was sure and desperate fighting. He stood in line
of battle ready for engagement when the surrender came, loosening his
grip on his faithful sword only when the war had ended.

We honor him for his works’ sake, and bow our heads in memory of his
wonderful achievements, his devotedness to duty, and love for our great
Southland.

_Resolved_, That this memorial be spread upon the minutes of this
Camp, a copy furnished the family of our deceased comrade, and a copy
furnished such papers as may wish to publish the same.

Done by order of J. E. B. Stuart Camp, No. 45, U. C. V., Terrell,
Texas, January 16, A.D. 1904.

            VIC. REINHARDT,
              _Adjutant_.

       *       *       *       *       *

(_Horace King Camp._)

  “He was one of the most persistent and determined fighters that
  any country ever produced.”

Your committee appointed by Horace King Camp, No. 476, U. C. V.,
Decatur, Alabama, to prepare resolutions expressive of their profound
sorrow at the death of Lieutenant-General James Longstreet, of
Confederate army fame, beg leave to report,--

First, That in General Longstreet’s death we have lost one of the
bravest generals who fought on either side of the Civil War--one whom
the great Lee called the right arm of the Army of Northern Virginia. He
was one of the most persistent and determined fighters that any country
ever produced.

Second, He was independent, self-reliant, watchful, devoted to the
cause he espoused. He never flinched from unexpected difficulties,
and showed his readiness to die at his post if need be. He was a man
of superb courage. “He not only acted without fear, but he had that
fortitude of soul that bears the consequence of the course pursued
without complaint.” In the presence of death, the good man judges as
he would be judged. In the grave should be buried every prejudice and
passion born in conflict of opinion. Fortunate are we, indeed, when we
become great enough to know and appreciate the great. Longstreet was
brave enough to follow the path of duty as he saw it, no matter where
it led. In speaking words of love and praise over his grave, we honor
ourselves. May we with gratitude remember the good that he has done.
May he rest in peace.

_Resolved_, That a copy of these resolutions be sent the family of the
deceased, and that they be spread upon the record of the Camp.

            W. W. LITTLEJOHN,
            SAMUEL BLACKWELL,
                _Committee_.

The foregoing resolutions were adopted by a rising vote of the Camp,
January 14, 1904.

            W. H. LONG,
              _Commander_.
            W. R. FRANCIS,
              _Adjutant_.

       *       *       *       *       *

(_New York Highlanders._)

  “We had reason to respect him as a foe.”

            HEAD-QUARTERS SEVENTY-NINTH REGIMENT,
              NEW YORK VOLUNTEER HIGHLANDERS,
                VETERAN ASSOCIATION.

WHEREAS, It has come to our knowledge that our esteemed Honorary
Member, Lieutenant-General James Longstreet, late of the Confederate
army, has passed to that bourne from which no traveller has ever
returned; and

WHEREAS, We had reason to respect him as a foe with whom we were often
in conflict, and to whom we sometimes had to yield the palm of victory,
and especially do we remember the gallant fight he and his tried
veterans made at Fort Saunders, Knoxville, East Tennessee, on November
29, 1863, when we were victorious only after he had thrice been
repulsed; and

WHEREAS, We also remember with pleasure the reunion of the Blue and the
Gray held at Knoxville in 1890, where we again renewed our acquaintance
with the General and his gallant band, but under far different and
pleasanter circumstances--they were our foes in 1863, our friends
in 1890; and we also recall the many hours we passed in his company
when we fought our battles over and over again, and where we had the
pleasure of placing upon our roll the name of General Longstreet as an
honorary member; therefore, be it

_Resolved_, That in his death we feel that there has passed away a
gallant soldier and gentleman, who in the conflict and struggle of the
Civil War, where so many gave their lives to defend the cause which
each espoused, we learned to respect, and in peace we learned to love;
and we therefore extend to his widow and family in their bereavement
our heartfelt sympathy, committing them to the loving care of the
Divine Master, who alone can comfort them in their affliction.

            FRANCIS W. JUDGE,
              _President_.
            CHARLES CRAWFORD,
              _Secretary_.

       *       *       *       *       *

(_Camp Frank Gardner._)

  “He won for our armies a world-wide reputation.”

            CAMP GENERAL FRANK GARDNER, No. 580, U. C. V.,
              LAFAYETTE, LOUISIANA, January 14th, 1904.

WHEREAS, This is the first meeting of this Camp held since death has
claimed as one of its victims the distinguished Confederate soldier,
General James Longstreet, who departed this life on the 2d day of
January, 1904, at Gainesville, Georgia; and

WHEREAS, This Camp recognizes the great services rendered to the cause
by the brilliant soldier, and desires to render its meed of just
tribute to the memory of the gallant officer and commander; therefore
be it

_Resolved_, That in the death of General James Longstreet we mourn
the loss of one of the most illustrious of the great generals who
led our armies to victory on many a hard-fought field against almost
overwhelming odds, gaining for our devoted armies a world-wide
reputation that ranks them among the best soldiers of the age.

_Resolved_, That these resolutions be entered in the records of
our Camp as a memento of our admiration and appreciation of this
distinguished general and citizen, and that a copy be sent to the
family of the deceased.

            C. DEBAILLON,
              _Captain Commanding_.
            P. L. DECLOUET,
              _Adjutant_.

       *       *       *       *       *

(_Pat Cleburne Camp, No. 436._)

  “The Gettysburg charges are not supported by authentic history or
  satisfactory evidence.”

WHEREAS, It has pleased Almighty God to call to him the immortal soul
of General James Longstreet, lieutenant-general in the Army of the
Confederate States of America, whose record as a broad-minded citizen
and conscientious, upright, and honorable officer in the various
civil positions he has held, is only excelled by the great service
he rendered his country, as the soldier and general, whose bravery,
fortitude, ability, and devotion to duty was excelled by none whose
fortunes were cast with his, beneath the “Stars and Bars;” and

WHEREAS, There is among certain ones in the South a disposition to
reflect upon his fidelity to the trust imposed upon him at the battle
of Gettysburg, and place upon his shoulders the blame for General Lee’s
loss of that engagement; be it

_Resolved_, That we deprecate the spirit that would induce one
Confederate soldier to stoop from the pedestal upon which history has
placed him, to deprive another of the honor to which he is justly
entitled.

_Resolved_, That we heartily approve of the course taken during his
life by the late General Longstreet,--in ignoring the attacks and
calumnies heaped upon him by those who were his comrades in arms,--as
showing the true greatness of the man.

_Resolved_, That we further believe, when the true facts are known,
an admiring and grateful people will place him second only to the
immortal Lee, who, though all the facts were known to him, exhonerated
Longstreet from all blame, saying, “The fault is mine.”

_Resolved_, That this Camp do hereby attest its belief in his fidelity,
ability, and high moral character, and that the so-called Gettysburg
charges are not supported by authentic history or satisfactory evidence.

_Resolved_, That we here extend to the family of General Longstreet our
heartfelt sympathy in this, their, and their nation’s loss, and that
one copy of these resolutions be mailed to Mrs. James Longstreet, one
be printed in our local papers, and another be spread on the minutes of
this Camp.

            Respectfully submitted,
              JAMES R. KEITH.

The above resolutions were adopted by Pat Cleburne Camp, No. 436, U. S.
C. V., of Cleburne, Texas, at a regular meeting of that Camp, held on
Sunday, January 24, 1904.

            JAS. R. KEITH,
              _Commandant_.
            W. F. BLACK,
              _Adjutant_.

       *       *       *       *       *

(_Pat Cleburne Camp, No 222._)

  “He was a true and tried leader of men.”

    _To Pat Cleburne Camp, No. 222, Waco, Texas_:

Your committee respectfully recommend the following resolutions as to
General Longstreet:

WHEREAS, We have heard with deep regret of the recent death of General
James Longstreet, commander forty years ago of the First Corps, Army of
Northern Virginia, Confederate States army; therefore be it

_Resolved_, That in the death of General James Longstreet the country
at large has lost a true and tried leader of men, and the Confederate
Veterans have parted with a comrade and commander in whom they reposed
implicit confidence and one ever ready to defend his cause against any
foe, foreign or domestic.

_Resolved_, That the war that has been and is being waged on the
military record of General Longstreet for failure to do his duty at the
battle of Gettysburg is not in keeping, in our opinion, with the record
as it is made up from the reports of General Lee, commander-in-chief
of the Confederate army in that conflict. If General Longstreet had
failed to execute the orders of General Lee, and been the cause of the
defeat of the Confederate army, as is charged, we believe he would have
been court-martialed and dismissed from the service instead of being
retained and trusted on down to Appomattox, as he was.

_Resolved_, That we deplore and deeply regret the action of the
Savannah Chapter of the Daughters of the Confederacy in refusing
a floral offering to be placed on the bier of General Longstreet.
His heroic conduct as a soldier of the Confederacy, his wounds and
sacrifices in our glorious but disastrous struggle for freedom, would
have certainly entitled him to the slight token of gratitude as he was
passing out from among us forever.

            GEO. CLARK.
            JOHN C. WEST.
            M. B. DAVIS.

       *       *       *       *       *

(_Cobb-Deloney Camp._)

  “At the end of the unequal contest he sheathed a stainless sword.”

WHEREAS, It has pleased an all wise Providence to remove from this life
Lieutenant-General James Longstreet, commander of the First Corps of
the Army of Northern Virginia, and second ranking officer in that army;
and

WHEREAS, In all the eventful campaigns of that army, from Manassas to
Appomattox, General Longstreet was a conspicuous figure, enjoying the
full confidence and affection of our peerless chieftain, General Robert
E. Lee, whose own right arm leaned on him for support; and

WHEREAS, In our second struggle for independence he displayed sincere
devotion, great military skill, serene courage, and an indomitable
will and resolution, which has shed honor upon Southern arms and added
lustre to the imperishable fame of Southern soldiers; and

WHEREAS, He shed his blood freely in our behalf, and at the end of the
unequal contest sheathed a stainless sword which for four years had
flashed in the front of battle and victory.

_Resolved_, That we mourn with deep sorrow the death of this
illustrious leader, and will ever cherish with gratitude and admiration
the memory of his example, his sacrifices, and his heroic achievements.

_Resolved_, That we tender to his family our sincere sympathy in this
great bereavement.

_Resolved_, That a page be set apart in our minutes upon which these
resolutions shall be recorded, and that a copy be sent to the family of
General Longstreet.

Copy from the minutes of Cobb-Deloney Camp, United Confederate
Veterans, Athens, Georgia, January 14, 1904.

            WM. G. CARITHERS,
              _Adjutant_.

       *       *       *       *       *

(_Mayor and City Council, Atlanta, Georgia._)

  “He was ever loyal to duty and the Southern cause.”

WHEREAS, Lieutenant-General James Longstreet died at his home in
Gainesville, Georgia, on the 2d day of January, 1904; and

WHEREAS, As a Southern soldier General Longstreet won imperishable fame
and glory as a corps commander in the armies of the Confederacy during
the fateful days of the ’60’s, and was held in the highest esteem and
confidence by the knightly and matchless Lee, and was ever loyal to
duty and the cause of the Southern Confederacy; be it therefore

_Resolved_, That we have heard with sincere regret of the death of this
gallant gentleman who in his lifetime exemplified in the highest degree
the courage, chivalry and patriotism of the South, upon a hundred of
his country’s battle-fields.

_Resolved_, That in common with all citizens of the Southland we lament
his demise and honor and revere his memory for his great service to
his country and his people as a soldier of the Southern Confederacy.
No braver heart beat beneath the Confederate gray, no more heroic soul
paid allegiance to the Stars and Bars. Honor to his memory! Peace to
his ashes!

_Resolved_, That this resolution be entered upon the minutes of the
General Council and a copy thereof, certified to under the hand
and seal of the clerk, be forwarded by him to the family of the
distinguished dead, and that the City Hall flag be lowered to half-mast
on to-morrow the 6th instant.

Adopted by a unanimous rising vote.

    GEORGIA, FULTON COUNTY,
      CITY OF ATLANTA.

I, W. J. Campbell, clerk of Council of the city of Atlanta, do certify
that the attached is a true copy of a resolution adopted by the
General Council of said city on January 5, 1904, the original of which
is of record and on file in the office of said clerk of Council.

In witness whereof I have hereunto affixed my hand and seal of office,
this January 11, 1904.

            W. J. CAMPBELL,
              _Clerk of Council_.

       *       *       *       *       *

(_Camp Walker._)

  “We deplore and deeply regret the action of the Savannah
  Daughters.”

The committee appointed to express the views of Camp Walker, U. C. V.,
No. 925, on the military record of General James Longstreet, beg leave
to report as follows:

WHEREAS, We have heard with deep regret of the recent death of General
James Longstreet, commander forty years ago of the First Army Corps, A.
N. Va., Confederate States army; therefore

_Resolved_, That in the death of General James Longstreet the country
at large has lost a true and tried leader of men, and the Confederate
Veterans have parted with a commander in whom they reposed implicit
confidence, and one ever ready to defend his cause against any foe,
foreign or domestic.

_Resolved_, That the war that has been, and is being waged on the
military record of General James Longstreet for failure to do his duty
at the battle of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, is not in keeping, in our
opinion, with the record as it is made up from the orders of General
Robert E. Lee, commander-in-chief of the Confederate army in that great
conflict. If General Longstreet had failed to execute the orders of
General Lee, and had been the cause of the defeat of the Confederate
army, as is charged, we believe he would have been court-martialed and
dismissed from the service, instead of being retained and trusted, on
down to Appomattox, as he was.

_Resolved_, That we deplore and deeply regret the action of the
Savannah Chapter, Daughters of the Confederacy, in refusing to supply a
floral offering to be placed on the bier of General James Longstreet.
His heroic conduct as a soldier of the Confederacy, his wounds and
sacrifices in our glorious but disastrous struggle for freedom, would
have certainly entitled him to this slight token of gratitude as he was
passing out from among us forever.

            M. V. ESTES,
            J. B. McFADDEN,
            J. G. RAMSEY,
                _Committee_.

Resolutions unanimously adopted by order of the Camp.

            J. S. HOLLAND,
              _Commander_.
            JAMES G. RAMSEY,
              _Adjutant_.

ATLANTA, GEORGIA, January 11, 1904.

       *       *       *       *       *

(_Longstreet’s “Boys.”_)

  “A noble, heroic, and spotless soldier.”

“I was a member of Longstreet’s corps for three years,” said General
McGlashan, in the preface to his resolutions, “I followed the fortunes
of that corps, served with it, saw its work, saw its sufferings, its
victories, and its grandeur of behavior on every battle-field from
Seven Pines to Appomattox, for I was fortunate enough to be wounded at
only one fight, and if any one in so humble a position as I was could
say anything about his leader, I think I can.

“You all know the reputation of Longstreet’s corps; you know the glory
of its service and what it accomplished on many battle-fields, and you
cannot dissociate General Longstreet from the glory and reputation
of his corps.” General McGlashan was here interrupted by cheers.
Continuing, he said, “We are concerned with nothing that may have been
said of General Longstreet after the war; we are here to remember him
as a great Confederate general and leader.

“When General Longstreet, in his old gray coat, came to Atlanta in
1886, Jefferson Davis received him with open arms; there was no lack
of confidence or acceptance there, and it is not for any others to say
what Lee and Davis left unsaid.”

General McGlashan then introduced the following resolutions:

WHEREAS, It hath pleased our Almighty Father to call to himself, in
the fulness of years, our beloved comrade and leader, General James
Longstreet; be it

_Resolved_, That in the death of General Longstreet, we have lost
a true and gallant comrade, an able and victorious leader of the
Confederate hosts in the past, whose deeds are among the proudest
memories of the South; the South a noble, heroic, and spotless son;
the nation a true citizen who reflected honor on whatever cause he
undertook; and the world a great soldier whose fame will survive with
the annals of the Lost Cause.

_Resolved_, That we extend our deepest sympathy to the family of our
deceased comrade in their great bereavement, and that a copy of these
resolutions be sent them.

       *       *       *       *       *

(_Floyd County Camp._)

  “The patriot who gave his all.”

            ROME, GEORGIA, January 12, 1904.

    MRS. JAMES LONGSTREET,
        Gainesville, Georgia:

MADAM,--At a meeting held to-day of Floyd County Camp, United
Confederate Veterans, the following resolutions were unanimously
adopted:

WHEREAS, Our honored and beloved fellow-comrade of the United
Confederate Veterans, Lieutenant-General James Longstreet, quietly
and peacefully died at his home in Gainesville, Georgia, on Saturday,
January 2, 1904, and recognizing in him the true man, the good citizen,
the soldier without fear, the patriot who willingly offered his all
and shed his own blood on his country’s altar, and the man who feared
nothing but God; therefore be it

_Resolved_, That the Floyd County Camp, No. 368, United Confederate
Veterans, while bowing to the ever-wise, always loving decrees of God,
are deeply grieved and sincerely sorry at this the death of another
great captain of the Southern Cause; at the same time rejoicing in the
confident assurance and abiding trust that he has, only a little in
advance of us, passed “over the river and is now sweetly resting under
the shade of the trees” with Lee, Jackson, Beauregard, Johnston, Polk,
Gordon, and the thousands of others who grandly and gloriously followed
the same dear flag.

_Resolved_, That these resolutions be spread upon the minutes of this
Camp, that a copy be forwarded to the family of our deceased comrade,
accompanied by our sincerest and deepest sympathy.

            THOMPSON STILES,
            G. W. FLEETWOOD,
            M. W. BRATT,
            A. B. S. MOSELEY,
            J. H. CAMP,
                _Committee_.

       *       *       *       *       *

(_Camp Niemeyer Shaw, Berkley, Virginia._)

  “His life full to the brim of manly principle.”

This Camp has heard with profound sorrow of the death of
Lieutenant-General Longstreet.

His life had reached the full measure of human probation; but it was
full to the brim of manly principle, heroic service, and dauntless
courage. Loyal to his Southland and to all the interest committed to
him by his country, he maintained his integrity of character and the
unbounded confidence of all right-minded men to the end.

Tried in the school of civic life and in the crucible of battle,
he filled a creditable page in the fateful and tragic incidents
of the sixties, and then shared all the privations common to his
fellow-comrades in helping to rehabilitate the homes of a people
wrecked by the scourge of civil war.

As a Camp we desire to re-express our unbounded confidence in his
military career and in his unswerving devotion to the best interests of
mankind.

Having passed through the gate which is ajar for all humanity, we
mournfully bid the old commander and veteran of the “Lost Cause” a
final adieu.

            J. A. SPEIGHT,
            J. S. WHITWORTH,
            J. L. R. HARRIS,
                _Committee_.

  E. L. COX,
    _Commander_.

       *       *       *       *       *

(_Camp Ben McCulloch._)

  “His fame and glory belong to the South.”

WHEREAS, It has pleased Almighty God to remove from this earth our
distinguished comrade, General James Longstreet; therefore be it

_Resolved_, That we deeply lament the death of our comrade, and shall
ever cherish and revere his memory.

_Resolved_, The ever memorable relief of that arch hero “Stonewall”
Jackson, when hard pressed by overwhelming forces of the enemy at the
second battle of Manassas, by which prompt action pending defeat was
turned into glorious victory, entitles General Longstreet to a lofty
pedestal in the Temple of Fame.

_Resolved_, We honor and revere our deceased comrade not only for
his great military achievements, but for the personal solicitude and
care that he always had for the welfare and comfort of the private
soldier, causing all who served under him to regard him with unbounded
confidence and affection.

_Resolved_, The fame and glory of General Longstreet, one of the last
of the great lieutenants of the incomparable Lee, belongs to the South,
especially to those who, like him, fought for its independence, and by
them it will be kept and cherished as one of its precious treasures.

    “Sleep, soldier, sleep, thy warfare’s o’er.”

            J. B. WOLF.
            ED. F. ENGLISH.
            W. M. McGREGOR.

I certify that the above is a copy of the resolutions spread upon the
minutes of our Camp January 13, 1904.

            JAMES B. MOORE,
              _Adjutant_.

CAMP BEN McCULLOCH, U. C. V., CAMERON, TEXAS.

       *       *       *       *       *

(_John B. Gordon Camp._)

  “Courage and honor his characteristics as soldier and citizen.”

_Resolved_, That the John B. Gordon Camp, Sons of Confederate Veterans,
Atlanta, Georgia, has heard with great sorrow of the death of General
James Longstreet, which occurred at his home at Gainesville, Georgia,
on the 2d day of January, 1904.

His life was one of fealty and devotion to the cause for which he
fought, while courage and honor were his characteristics both as
soldier and citizen.

It can truthfully be said of him: He was great among our many
illustrious leaders of the Confederate States army,--than which there
can be no higher tribute paid to man,--and after having bravely served
his country during its darkest hours, accepting the arbitrament of the
sword in a spirit that history now adjudges to have been commendable,
he became a good citizen of our reunited country.

_Resolved_, That as an expression of the high regard in which we, the
sons of the men who followed the lead of this great captain, hold his
services to our Southland as a soldier, and as a testimonial of our
regard for his character as a man, direct that these resolutions be
spread upon the minutes of our Camp, and further that the secretary be
directed to forward a copy of the same to the family of the deceased,
with whom we sympathize in the hour of sad bereavement to which
Providence in His wisdom subjects them.

            H. F. WEST, _Chairman_,
            HUGH W. DORSEY,
            C. H. ESSIG,
            W. B. LADVALL,
            A. J. McBRIDE, JR.,
                _Committee_.

       *       *       *       *       *

(_Alexander H. Stephens Camp._)

  “The beau-ideal of soldier and patriot.”

ATTENTION, COMRADES:

When men conspicuous for sublime action, such as heroic conduct,
goodness or greatness, or other lofty attainment are called to pass
over the “river of death,” it is a patriotic duty for surviving
comrades to give expression to their grief. It needs not the building
of a pantheon or vote of a senate to give them a place among the
immortals, to keep alive their illustrious acts and virtues. Most
certainly it is not necessary in the case of Longstreet,--“Old Pete,”
as he was lovingly called by comrades who followed him unflinchingly
through four years of warfare. “Old Pete” is dead, yet he lives in the
hearts of his old corps and will continue to live in history, poetry,
and song, the beau-ideal of a soldier, patriot, and a lover of liberty.
Yet like all men who attain to eminent merit and conspicuous sublimity,
he lived to realize the truthfulness of the poet, that

    “He who ascends to mountain-tops shall find
      The loftiest peaks most wrapt in clouds and snow.
    He who surpasses or subdues mankind
      Must look down on the hate of those below,
    Though high above the sun of glory glow,
      And far beneath the earth and ocean spread;
    Round him are icy rocks and loudly blow
      Contending tempests on his naked head,
    And thus reward the toil which to those summits led.”

Such was the fateful experience of our beloved Longstreet, a corps
commander and lieutenant-general in the Army of Northern Virginia. To
him obedience to constituted authority moulded and shaped the ideal
soldier and citizen for his distinguished life service; and became the
reasons for his acts in rigidly observing his Appomattox parole. We
know that he was one of the bravest of the brave and truest of the true.

Unanimously adopted by the Alexander H. Stephens Camp, U. C. V.,
Crawfordville, Georgia.

       *       *       *       *       *

(_Marengo Rifles Chapter, U. D. C._)

  “One of the hardest fighters in Lee’s army.”

WHEREAS, The Great Commander-in-Chief has called “over the river” the
gallant Longstreet; therefore be it

_Resolved_, That Marengo Rifles Chapter, U. D. C., mourns with the
entire Southland the death of that daring, brave, and fearless soldier,
General James Longstreet, who was one of the strongest supports, and
one of the hardest fighters the peerless Lee had in his army; that his
fame will ever be cherished by this Chapter as well as by all who “wore
the gray.”

_Resolved_, That we sympathize with the widow of the great leader, to
whom a copy of these resolutions will be sent by the secretary.

            MRS. GEO. W. LAYLOR.
            MRS. BENJAMIN F. ELMORE.
            MISS MARY R. CLARKE.

       *       *       *       *       *

(_Jeff Lee Camp._)

  “The war-horse of the Confederacy.”

            HEAD-QUARTERS JEFF LEE CAMP, NO. 68,
              UNITED CONFEDERATE VETERANS,
            ADJUTANT’S OFFICE, McALESTER, I. T., January 23, 1904.

WHEREAS, The Supreme Commander of all the hosts has ordered our beloved
comrade and friend, General James Longstreet, the old war-horse of the
Confederacy, to report at head-quarters a little in advance of us, his
fellow-soldiers; therefore be it

_Resolved_, That while we shall miss from our councils and general
convention our brother and comrade, the sunlight of whose presence upon
the hard-fought battle-fields enabled us to bear more easily our long
marches and severe engagements of the four years’ campaign, we know
that the order came from One who doeth all things well, and are certain
that in the dispensation of eternity we shall concur in its wisdom.

_Resolved_, That so long as our little remnant of life shall hold
out, we shall feel a pride in the military record of our brother and
comrade.

_Resolved_, That Jeff Lee Camp, No. 68, extend its loving sympathy to
the family of our departed comrade in the darkest hour of their lives.

_Resolved_, That these resolutions be entered in the record book of the
Camp, a copy of them be presented to the daily and weekly papers for
publication, and a copy sent to the surviving widow of our comrade.

            W. A. TREADWELL,
            J. J. McALESTER,
            R. B. COLEMAN,
                _Committee_.

       *       *       *       *       *

(_John H. Morgan and Bourbon Camps._)

  “Full of years and honors.”

At a meeting of John H. Morgan Camp, No. 95, and Bourbon Camp, No.
1368, U. C. V. A., in joint assembly, held in the city of Paris,
Kentucky, on the 1st day of February, 1904, the following resolutions
were adopted:

The distinguished officers of the Confederacy are rapidly falling
before the grim reaper. We are called upon to mourn the departure of
one of the greatest soldiers developed in the war between the States,
Lieutenant-General James Longstreet, dying full of years and of honors.
As a soldier we have the estimate of his chieftain,--“My war-horse.”
With this epitaph engraven on his tomb, the niche his name will occupy
on “Fame’s eternal camping-ground” is assured; therefore be it

_Resolved_, That our sincerest sympathies be extended to his bereaved
wife.

            JAMES R. ROGERS,
            W. M. LAYSON,
            RUSSELL MANN,
                _Committee_.

       *       *       *       *       *

(_Selma, Alabama, Chapter._)

  “A rare combination of fidelity, patriotic principle, and
  unsullied integrity.”

            SELMA, ALABAMA, January 14, 1904.

The committee appointed January 12, at a meeting of the Selma, Alabama,
Chapter, to prepare resolutions in memory of General James Longstreet
offer the following:

_Resolved_, That in the shadow of this great sorrow the Selma Chapter
joins with the Confederate Veterans, Divisions and Brigades, in
submission to Him who “doeth according to His will in the army of
heaven and among the inhabitants of earth.”

That we recognize in the life and character of General Longstreet a
rare combination of fidelity to patriotic principles, an attractive
personality, and an unsullied integrity, calling forth from the North
high estimation, from the South, warmest love.

That we extend to the family and wife of the patriot soldier cordial
sympathy in this dark hour, commending them to the tender mercies of
our Heavenly Father.

            MISS JULIA CLARKE,
            MISS MARY LEWIS,
              _Corresponding Secretary_,
            MISS E. F. FERGUSON,
                _Committee_.

       *       *       *       *       *

(_C. M. Winkler Camp._)

  “One of the great commanders of modern times.”

WHEREAS, It has pleased the Almighty God to remove from our midst one
who while in life was a brilliant soldier, courteous gentleman, and
whose military career in the armies of the South marked him as one of
the truly great commanders of modern times; therefore be it

_Resolved_, That in the death of General Longstreet the South has
lost a great soldier and a brilliant commander, to whose fame as such
nothing can be added, save that he was “the war-horse” of the great Lee.

_Resolved_, That this Camp tenders to the bereaved wife and family its
heartfelt sympathy and condolence in the death of the distinguished
soldier and citizen, and that the adjutant of this Camp forward to the
wife of General Longstreet a copy of these resolutions, and furnish the
city press with a true copy of the same for publication.

       *       *       *       *       *

(_Company B, Confederate Veterans._)

  “A tribute of glory on his grave.”

            HEAD-QUARTERS COMPANY “B,”
              CONFEDERATE VETERANS,
            NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE, January 12, 1904.

At a meeting of Company “B,” Confederate Veterans, the following
resolutions were adopted:

WHEREAS, We have heard with great sorrow of the death of General James
Longstreet, under whose leadership many of us fought during the great
war; be it

_Resolved_, That in General Longstreet the Confederacy had one of her
greatest leaders. His ability as such, his bravery, and unwearied zeal
won for him a place in our hearts, and we desire as an organization to
add our testimony to his worth as a soldier, citizen, and man.

We mingle our tears with those of his family and friends, and place a
tribute of glory on his grave.

_Resolved_, That we send a copy of these resolutions to his bereaved
wife and family.

            SPENCER EAKIN,
              _Captain Commanding_.

    GEO. H. HOWS,
      _O. S._

       *       *       *       *       *

(_Camp Hampton._)

  “His name is associated with almost every Confederate victory won
  on the soil of Virginia.”

At a meeting of Camp Hampton, Columbia, South Carolina, Colonel R. W.
Shand spoke feelingly of the life and services of General Longstreet,
and offered the following resolutions:

The sad intelligence of the death on the 2d of January last of James
Longstreet, the senior lieutenant-general of the Confederate States
army, has reached us since our last regular meeting. In the language
of an impartial historian, his name is “associated with almost every
Confederate victory won upon the soil of Virginia,” and he “was trusted
by his great leader and idolized by his men.” His fame is gloriously
connected with the heroic deeds of the First Corps of the Army of
Northern Virginia, the splendid victory at Chickamauga, and the East
Tennessee campaign; and those who fought under this great fighter have
always entertained for him feelings of affection and regard; therefore
be it

_Resolved_, That this camp has heard with most profound sorrow of the
death of Lieutenant-General James Longstreet, of the Army of Northern
Virginia, who bore so large a part in making glorious that immortal
band.

_Resolved_, That we tender to his surviving family our most sincere
sympathy, and that a copy of this memorial be sent to his widow.

_Resolved_, That a blank page on our minute-book be dedicated to his
memory.

These resolutions were heartily seconded by Comrades Jennings, Bruns,
Brooks, and Mixon, and adopted by a rising unanimous vote.

       *       *       *       *       *

(_Confederate Veterans’ Association._)

  “No wrong to mar his memory.”

WHEREAS, By the death of Lieutenant-General James Longstreet, on the 2d
day of January, 1904, in Gainesville, Georgia, there is removed from
our midst another of the few remaining of our great captains, over
whose parting we sadly lament; and

WHEREAS, In common with other surviving veterans who served in the
Confederate armies where this distinguished dead soldier commanded,
believing in the broad principles of truth, and cherishing a feeling of
fraternal regard for each other, and being at the same time reminded
that by his death we, too, are gradually, but surely, drifting nearer
to the brink of eternity; be it therefore

_Resolved_, That we who espoused the cause of the late Confederacy and
followed its destinies to the end, and being endowed with a high sense
of right and justice towards a departed brother, feel it a duty that
is owing to posterity, as well as to ourselves, to look well to future
history that no wrong be done to mar the memory of a comrade, be he
ever so high or so humble, who served his chosen cause so devotedly and
ably as Longstreet did during the four eventful and trying years from
1861 to 1865.

_Resolved_, That we deeply deplore the death of General Longstreet,
and do hereby extend to the bereaved family of the deceased the most
sincere and heartfelt sympathies of this Association.

_Resolved_, That a copy of these resolutions be furnished the family of
the deceased.

            THOS. W. HUNGERFORD,
              _Secretary_, C. V. A.

    WASHINGTON, D. C.

       *       *       *       *       *

(_Camp Tige Anderson._)

  “His heroic and valiant services will be remembered.”

            ATLANTA, GEORGIA, January 5, 1904.

The following resolutions were read and adopted at a meeting of Camp
Tige Anderson, January 5, 1904.

WHEREAS, This Camp has heard with sincerest regret of the death of our
lamented comrade General James Longstreet; and

WHEREAS, We recognize and remember General Longstreet’s heroic and
valiant services to our beloved cause.

_Resolved_, That we will revere his memory as one of the best of the
friends of the South, one of her best warriors bold--one of her truest
sons.

_Resolved_, That we bow with uncovered heads at the Reaper’s call.

_Resolved_, That in the death of our comrade we have lost a true and
tried friend, and while the majority of us were of an averse political
opinion to that of the General, yet we are generous enough to accord
him the right and the fidelity of party affiliation, particularly so
when we believe that environments when times tried men’s souls were a
terrific pressure brought to bear upon him.

As a Camp and as individuals our prayer is that our late commander may
“_requiescat in pace_.”

_Resolved_, That our commander appoint a delegation to attend the
funeral of General Longstreet, at Gainesville, Georgia, to-morrow, as
an official escort from this Camp.

_Resolved_, That a copy of these resolutions be sent by our adjutant to
the family of our deceased comrade.

            H. P. FOSTER,
              _Commander_.
            SAM’L FULTON,
              _Adjutant_.

       *       *       *       *       *

(_Sidney Lanier Chapter, U. D. C._)

  “We will teach the children of the South the story of his sublime
  courage.”

            MACON, GEORGIA, January 7, 1904.

    MRS. JAMES LONGSTREET:

DEAR MADAM,--The Sidney Lanier Chapter, No. 25, U. D. C., mourn with
you and yours over the loss of your illustrious husband. We tender to
you and his children our heartfelt sympathy, and promise that we will
do all in our power to teach the children of our dear Southland the
story of his sublime courage, his devotion to duty, of the willingness
of his men to follow wherever he led.

    “The strife is o’er, the battle done,
    The victory of Life is won.”

            Faithfully yours,
              ANNA HOLMES WILCOX,
                _President_.

       *       *       *       *       *

(_Troy Chapter, U. D. C._)

  “Reverence and esteem for the soldier and gentleman.”

            TROY, ALABAMA, January 10, 1904.

    MRS. LONGSTREET,
        Gainesville, Georgia:

MY DEAR MADAM,--The members of Troy Chapter, Alabama Division, U. D.
C., desire that you should learn through us of our deep sympathy in
your late bereavement. We feel that we have sustained a personal loss
in the death of your noble husband, and would convey to you some sense
of our reverence and esteem for the gallant Confederate general and
honorable Southern gentleman.

To us the memory of the Confederacy is a sacred trust, and for the
men who made its history we entertain an unalterable veneration. For
General Longstreet, one of its distinguished heroes, we feel an abiding
affection.

That God will bless and sustain you in this trying ordeal is the prayer
of the united Chapter.

            Sincerely yours,
              MRS. L. H. BOWHS.
              MRS. JNO. P. HUBBARD.

       *       *       *       *       *

(_Williamsburg Chapter, D. of C._)

  “The defender of our homes.”

The Williamsburg, Virginia, Chapter of the Daughters of the Confederacy,
wishing to do honor to the eminent soldier Lieutenant-General James
Longstreet, do unanimously resolve:

1. That we can never forget that on the 5th of May, 1862, General
Longstreet held back the advance of the Federal army and protected our
homes and firesides from the overwhelming forces of the enemy, as he
marched towards the Confederate capital.

2. That at his grave we forget all political differences and remember
him as the defender of our homes and as the “Old War-Horse” of the
great commander.

3. That a copy of these resolutions be sent to the press and another to
Mrs. Longstreet.

            MRS. MARGARET CUSTIS HAVERFORD,
              _Chairman_,
            MRS. I. LESSLIER HALL,
            MRS. W. L. JONES,
                _Committee_.

       *       *       *       *       *

(_Mobile Chapter, U. D. C._)

  “His great name and fame precious to Southern hearts.”

            MOBILE, January 19, 1904.

MY DEAR MRS. LONGSTREET:

At a recent meeting of the Mobile Chapter, Alabama Division, U. D. C.,
I was instructed by a rising vote to express to you the affectionate
sympathy of the members of the Chapter, in the recent great bereavement
which has befallen you in the death of your distinguished husband,
General James Longstreet.

In this bereavement you have the sympathy of every Daughter of the
Confederacy, who in unison with you weep the great and honored dead.

The conspicuous courage and heroic gallantry of General Longstreet on
many a hard-fought battle-field, his never-failing devotion to the
Southland, and his eminent services in her cause during the four long
years of cruel war will ever render dear and precious to our hearts his
great name and fame. Among the many condolences that have come to you
from all over the South, none are more loving and heartfelt than those
of the Mobile Chapter, whose words of love and sympathy I have been
directed to express to you.

In giving expression to their grief and sorrow at the great loss which
touches you so vitally, may I venture to add my own personal expression
of admiration for your great husband, and of sympathetic love for
yourself.

            I am, with great respect, yours truly,
              ELECTRA SEMMES COLSTON,
                _President_.

       *       *       *       *       *

(_T. D. Smith Chapter, U. D. C._)

  “Always true to his convictions.”

            DUBLIN, GEORGIA, January 18, 1904.

TO MRS. LONGSTREET AND FAMILY:

The Dublin Chapter of the Daughters of the Confederacy wish to extend
to you and yours their sincerest sympathy, which we, as well as the
entire South, feel in the loss of one of her greatest chieftains,
General James Longstreet. In his death the South has lost a noble,
heroic son, whose deeds will live in the hearts of her people, a
soldier, a general whose brave acts have caused every child of the
South to honor, love, and revere his memory; a hero in whom the
“elements were so mixed that Nature might stand up and say to all the
world, this is a man.”

True to his convictions, he acted always after careful consideration as
his judgment has shown him was best.

            MISS ADELINE BAUM,

_For the T. D. Smith Chapter of the Daughters of Confederacy_.

       *       *       *       *       *

(_Cobb County, Georgia, Camp._)

  “His knightly valor won for him a diadem of glory.”

The committee appointed to give some appropriate expression of its
high appreciation, love, and honor for General James Longstreet, the
great leader of Longstreet’s corps, C.S.A., and of our deep sorrow at
his death, and to report and recommend suitable action by this Camp,
respectfully submit the following:

General James Longstreet was a native of South Carolina, born of an
illustrious family, distinguished alike for intellectual strength and
nobility of character. His love for his native State and the South
was inherent and strengthened by associations, early education, and
environments. In keeping with his natural tastes and fitness for his
chosen profession, his education was completed at the military school
of the United States at West Point, where he developed that strong
and wonderful intellectual power of perception, combination, and
comparison, coupled with cool self-possession, knightly valor, and
lofty ambition, which in the field of terrific war and deadly battle
won for him, the armies he led, and the Southern Confederacy his diadem
of glory, as enduring as the history of the struggles of nations in
freedom’s cause.

General James Longstreet was the friend, comrade, and companion of the
matchless Lee, Generals Joseph E. and Albert Sidney Johnston, of the
incomparable Stonewall Jackson, Leonidas Polk, John B. Gordon, and the
other great leaders of the Confederate army; and was inspired with the
same love of his native State and the South.

His love for his subalterns and privates of his army was as true and
sincere as that of father to son. Many of the members of this camp knew
him personally in the tent and on the march, on the battle-field, and
in the dreadful charge; heard his commands, witnessed his noble deeds,
and listened to his kind words of encouragement and sympathy. He was
our comrade, our friend, and our great leader, and there is a sting, a
sense of bereavement, which finds some solace in the flowing tear and
the glorious hope that we shall meet again. He was a Christian soldier.

IN MEMORIAM.

_Resolved_, That we regard it a duty which we owe to posterity that the
State of Georgia, all surviving Confederate veterans, and especially
those of Longstreet’s corps, should provide an equestrian statue of
General Longstreet, to be erected on the Capitol grounds at Atlanta.

_Resolved_, That a committee be appointed by the Commander of this camp
to inaugurate the movement and take all necessary steps to secure such
a statue.

_Resolved_, That Camp No. 763, U. C. V., tenders to the widow and
family of our beloved chieftain our heartfelt sympathy in the hour of
their bereavement and sorrow.

_Resolved_, That a copy of the foregoing be forwarded to the family.

_Resolved_, That the action of the Camp be published in the Cobb County
papers.

            J. A. L. BORN,
            W. J. MANNING,
            B. A. OSBORNE,
            L. S. COX,
            WM. PHILLIPS,
                _Committee_.

       *       *       *       *       *

(_Atlanta Camp._)

  “His name and fame are the heritage of the American people.”

Atlanta Camp, No. 159, United Confederate Veterans, in the following
report pays glowing tribute to the memory of the late General James
Longstreet, who died on January 2, at his home in Gainesville, Georgia.

In the death of General James Longstreet, there passed away a notable
and commanding figure of the Army of Northern Virginia in the late
Civil War.

His history and service are indissolubly connected with all of the
great movements of that army.

It would not be within the purview of this memorial to attempt to even
epitomize the part he took in the many great battles. Coming into that
struggle with a prestige and honor which shone with brilliant lustre
on account of his intrepid bravery and gallantry as an officer of the
army of the United States on many fields in Mexico, and being withal
an educated and trained soldier, a majestic man, of mild manners and
speech and of leonine courage, his very name throughout the army and
the whole country was a tower of strength. From first Manassas to
Appomattox, his command and leadership held the first place among the
great army corps of the greatest army that was ever marshalled in this
or in any other country. Made a lieutenant-general in the early part of
the war, the conspicuous bravery, skill, and reliability shown by him
in the very crisis of the battles of Williamsburg and at Seven Pines,
and other great conflicts before Richmond in 1862, won for him from
General Lee the sobriquet of the “Old War-Horse.”

After General Lee had planned the advance on General Pope, and after
Jackson had passed through Thoroughfare Gap to the rear of General
Pope, and when he was heavily engaged and sorely pressed, Lee and
Longstreet were passing through Thoroughfare Gap. After a spirited
contest at that mountain-pass, Longstreet’s corps moved like a majestic
stream on to the plains of Manassas, where his lines were quickly
formed. Striking the enemy with the “hand of Mars,” the thunder of
his guns greeted the ear of Jackson, giving hope and succor to his
forces as the sound of the Scottish bagpipes heralded the approach
of the relieving column to the beleaguered garrison at Lucknow. The
well-directed assault which he made in General Pope’s front crowned the
Southern arms with complete victory.

LOYAL TO THE SOUTH.

The Southern cause had no more loyal supporter nor courageous soldier
than General Longstreet, as the honorable wounds and scars which he
carried to his death abundantly attest. He had the unbounded confidence
of his commander-in-chief. The history of that great war gives but one
record of Longstreet being absent from his command, and that was on
account of serious wounds received on the field of the Wilderness in
May, 1864, where, in preparing to lead in person his forces against
General Hancock’s corps, he momentarily halted to receive a word of
congratulation from General Micah Jenkins, of South Carolina, when
Longstreet’s own men, mistaking these two generals, with the little
group of horsemen composing their staff surrounding them, for the
enemy, fired, killing General Jenkins and wounding General Longstreet
in the throat and shoulder, from which he was ever afterwards maimed.

We would not omit to mention that in 1863, when several of his
divisions were ordered from Virginia to Georgia to reinforce the Army
of Tennessee, on his arrival in Atlanta, and when at the old Trout
House, at the junction of Decatur and Pryor Streets, where the old
Austell building now stands, he was called to the balcony of the
hotel to speak to the large and enthusiastic multitude of soldiers
and citizens who thronged every inch of the two streets, he said “I
came not to speak; I came to meet the enemy.” The inspiration of his
presence and this short and pithy declaration called forth from the
assembled multitude the exclamation, “What a magnificent looking man
and soldier.” How well he fulfilled his mission in the battle of
Chickamauga history makes no mistake in its record. How his forces were
hurled against those of General Thomas, and how his army turned the
tide of battle into victory, are too well known to need repetition. In
this battle, like others where he led, his advance was stubborn and
decisive.

He followed with unfaltering bravery and devotion the fortunes of the
Confederacy until the last drama was enacted at Appomattox, and was a
member of the last council of war held in the woods on the night of
April 8, 1865, and was the senior commissioner, on the part of the
Confederate forces appointed by the commander-in-chief, to arrange the
details and terms of the surrender of that little shattered band which,
through fire and smoke, hunger and cold, had stood by the flag of the
Confederacy through all the trying ordeals of four years’ grim and
bloody strife.

IN THE VERY FIRST RANK.

The name and fame of General Longstreet are the common heritage of
the South and the whole American people. The names of his immediate
ancestors are historic and dear especially to every Georgian. His
qualities as a soldier have won for him the highest encomiums not only
of the Southern people, but from the Northern people as well. All true
history, including that written from an English stand-point, places
Longstreet in the very first rank as to ability and generalship among
any of Lee’s subordinates.

No time nor mere political differences can affect or dim the lustre
of that name. The past is secure, the future is safe. We can say with
all the emphasis that the words import that he was one of the bravest,
truest, safest, and the most devoted of the Confederate leaders. In the
generations to come, when passion and prejudice shall vanish like the
mists of the morning at the presence of the clear sunlight of truth,
Longstreet’s name shall receive at the hands of the entire civilized
world the praise and honor to which it is justly entitled.

LONGSTREET AND DAVIS.

We may be permitted to refer briefly to an incident that occurred on
the occasion of the unveiling of the Ben Hill monument in Atlanta.
Among the many distinguished ex-Confederate chieftains seated on
the platform was ex-President Jefferson Davis. General Longstreet
came down from his home in Gainesville, clad in the full uniform of
a lieutenant-general of the Confederate army, wearing his sword.
Providing himself with a superb mount, he rode out Peachtree Street
to the site of the monument, and, dismounting, walked unannounced to
the platform into the outstretched arms of Jefferson Davis. As they
embraced each other, they presented a scene worthy of the brush of
a Raphael or a Rubens. Once heroes in common victory, they were now
heroes in common defeat. This was a beautiful and shining example for
all latter day critics.

This silent episode, as if too impressive to be broken, stilled
the vast multitude for a moment, and then spontaneously from forty
thousand Confederate veterans and citizens, the ladies joining in the
demonstration by waving their handkerchiefs, there went up a loud and
continuous shout of applause that rent the air.

Let us never forget the four years of glorious service rendered by
General Longstreet to the Lost Cause, and let the South erect a
monument to his memory, to tell to future generations that the South is
never forgetful or indifferent to that glorious service rendered in
the cause for which it fought and for which many bled and died.

General Longstreet died in Gainesville, Georgia, January 2, 1904, and
was buried with military honors on the 6th day of the same month. A
detail from this Camp, as well as detachments from various military
organizations, joined in paying the last honor to the old soldier.

Touching and beautiful was the kindly sympathy shown his memory by his
neighbors in Gainesville who were bound to him by ties that no time can
sever. Never was a funeral more largely attended and more universal
respect shown to the dead by the entire community in which he lived.
All places of business were closed. The Confederate Veterans, the
public school children, the college girls, the citizens, all joined
in the procession which followed his remains to beautiful Alta Vista,
where on the crown of the hill overlooking the far-away Blue Ridge was
laid to rest all that is mortal of the old battle-scarred hero.

            BENJAMIN F. ABBOTT,
            GEORGE HILLYER,
            J. F. EDWARDS,
                _Committee_.

       *       *       *       *       *

(_Houston, Georgia, Camp._)

  “His war structure cannot be pulled down.”

At a meeting of the old soldiers of Houston County, Georgia, to
commemorate the birth of the immortal Lee, and also, by previous
arrangement, to take cognizance and condolence of the death of General
Longstreet, under whom many of these old soldiers served throughout the
war, the following resolutions were submitted and unanimously adopted:

_Resolved_, That in the death of General James Longstreet we sustain
the loss of one of the most valiant and capable soldier commanders of
the “Lost Cause.”

_Resolved_, That while during the gigantic war and struggle between the
States, General Lee regarded him as almost a part of himself, “My old
war-horse,” in the carrying out and accomplishments of apparently, at
times, the impossible against and over the enemy.

We view him as from behind the guns, and under those conflicts whose
fierceness and terrible results were sufficient to stagger, and even
turn back, the stoutest manhood, yet we never saw him evince the least
fear, turn his back in dishonor, nor disobey his noble chieftain.

His war structure shows the hand of no ordinary builder, and cannot be
pulled down.

He carved his way through the ranks of the enemy in such a fashion
that they themselves, and their descendants, admire the man for his
great military ability; nor can they be less thrilled by that chivalry
and Americanism he and so many others, equally valorous and capable,
displayed and forged for conscience’ sake, thus awakening and holding
the world as never before in any age.

This was General James Longstreet as we saw him then, and, without
superficiality, as we see him to-day, through our vanishing memories
and waning manhoods, one of the greatest soldiers who crossed
swords with the many gallant spirits of the other side--brother
Americans--over a principle which did not, and, thank God, could not
die--a gift of God to humanity to stand for the right, fight for the
right, and die for the right, even though in failure, that others may
profit by it.

_Resolved_, That we regret to have to antagonize and reprove even one
Chapter of that great, good, and soulful organization, known as the
Daughters of the Confederacy, but we can neither endorse the spirit
and sentiment, nor the statement made by that Savannah Chapter that
“General Longstreet disobeyed General Lee’s order at the battle of
Gettysburg.”

_Resolved_, That we believe, and would advise, that the life and future
good of that great organization lies in the thorough education of its
Chapters to correct history, and a proper appreciation of the spirit
and tenets of the order--a proper observance of its constitution.

_Resolved_, That a copy of these resolutions be sent to Mrs.
Longstreet, carrying with it, as it does, a sympathy, love, and sorrow
such as only can be given by old soldiers bronzed by the same smoke,
buffeted by the same battles, and scarred by the same fury through
which he passed for the love of home and country, for the love of
truth, and for the love of a “cause” then dearer than even life
itself, and for which so many gallant spirits went down.

_Resolved_, That the _Home Journal_ be requested to publish these
proceedings.

            Respectfully submitted,
              W. H. NORWOOD.

    C. C. DUNCAN,
      _Commander Post 880, presiding_.
    J. D. MARTIN,
      _Adjutant_.

       *       *       *       *       *

(_Survivors of Longstreet’s Corps._)

  “History will give him that which is due.”

Another set of resolutions, showing the esteem in which Longstreet’s
men held the dead general, and the love that they bear for him,
were drawn up yesterday by Mr. A. K. Wilson, who was a member of
Longstreet’s corps, and were signed by the veterans in the city, who,
like Mr. Wilson, had been followers of the dead leader. The resolutions
were as follows:

COMRADES,--Our comrade and our leader has left us. He has gone to join
the hosts on the other side of the great river, and we that followed
him at the Manassases, Thoroughfare Gap, Yorktown, Fairfax, Falls
Church, Munson’s and Upton’s Hills, the Wilderness, where he received
that wound said to be from his own men; Williamsburg, Sharpsburg, to
Tennessee; Chickamauga, Knoxville, Lookout Mountain, Missionary Ridge,
back to Virginia, and on all the great fields on her soil, testify to
his worth. With his corps back to Virginia, see him as he appeared
at Petersburg, and countless other places of trust. Lastly, with his
ragged, half-starved, barefooted remnant, bearing scars as he bore
them, see him as he approaches Appomattox, his men drawing but one ear
of corn for a day’s rations.

My comrades, he needs no emblems. History in time will give to him that
which is due, and those that were with him, his survivors, will ever
hold his memory green. Like ourselves, his services at Appomattox show
to the world that he was ever faithful to his enlistment and true to
the cause that he espoused, and his parting with Lee establishes that
fact. Now, be it

_Resolved_, That we, the survivors of Longstreet’s corps, tender to his
bereaved family our heartfelt sympathy, showing the love and esteem
that we had for our dear old leader.

            SURVIVORS OF LONGSTREET’S CORPS.

SAVANNAH, GEORGIA.

       *       *       *       *       *

(_Camp Hardee._)

  “Longstreet more often than any other subordinate was trusted
  with independent commands.”

_To Camp Hardee, Confederate Veterans, Birmingham, Alabama_:

Your committee, appointed to report resolutions commemorative of the
life and service of the late Lieutenant-General James Longstreet,
recommends the following:

_Resolved_, That in the testimony of the estimate of old soldiers of
his life and services to the South in the great war between the States
Camp Hardee adopt the following statement:

General Longstreet, a South Carolinian by birth, a graduate of the
West Point Military Academy as a cadet from Alabama, while assured of
position in the Federal army, resigned the commission he held in an
established service to enter the unorganized, poorly equipped army of
the Confederacy, and undertook all the arduous duties and dangers of
that war, and fought it out to the disastrous end.

From the time of his appointment as brigadier-general under Beauregard
along the line of Bull Run Creek, in July, 1861, to the surrender
at Appomattox in April, 1865, he was distinguished as a stalwart,
skilful commander and a gallant soldier. He was remarkable for staying
qualities rather than for dash.

In all that brave service there was nothing spectacular, but he was
always steadfast, true, and reliable.

Whatever may have been said of General Longstreet, it is remarkable
that at no time for inefficiency or the absence of results or
disobedience of order was he relieved of his command. No other
subordinate was so often intrusted with independent and difficult
enterprises. Now that death has silenced all complaints and the great
commander has gone to his reward, we who survive him desire to crown
his memory with the degree of praise which his great deeds wrought in
behalf of his people so richly deserve. As a soldier he was wholly
faithful to the South, and for that fidelity merits the grateful
appreciation of our people. Such a great soul needs no defence. Time
will cover with its mantle whatever has been charged as his faults. It
may be that in the great conservatism of his nature he saw more clearly
what was best for his country. In this hour of bereavement let us only
remember that a great and gallant spirit has gone to his reward; and
therefore,

_Resolved_, That this memorial be spread on the minutes of the camp,
and a copy be sent to the widow of the dead general with the assurance,
in this hour of her great bereavement, she has the sympathy of Camp W.
J. Hardee.

            J. W. BUSH.
            W. C. WARD.
            W. H. DENSON.

       *       *       *       *       *

(_Camp No. 135._)

  “Hardest fighter in the army.”

Comrades, we assemble to pay tribute to the memory of
Lieutenant-General Longstreet, one of our great chieftains. For him
“taps have sounded,” “lights are out,” and “all is still.” This
fearless leader is gone. He was the “hard fighter” of Northern
Virginia, and his opponents always knew when he was in their front or
directing the assault. He had the confidence of his men, and they loved
him. He led them but to victory. The South admired and trusted him. His
name is enshrined with that of the Army of Northern Virginia, and when
her history shall be gathered and cast into final form, honorable will
be the place assigned to our great general.

We would therefore recommend the adoption of the following tribute of
esteem and respect:

WHEREAS, Lieutenant-General Longstreet recently passed away at his home
in Gainesville, Georgia, and was buried amid the regrets and tears of
many who had gathered from different parts of our Southland to pay the
respect due his illustrious name; therefore be it

_Resolved_, That we bow our heads unto Him who is the author and
finisher of our career, and acknowledge that, while we can not always
understand, yet we know that He doeth all things well.

_Resolved_, That the comrades of Camp No. 135, Confederate Veterans,
have heard with sorrow and regret of the death of this brave general
and fearless commander.

_Resolved_, Educated in the profession of arms, he gave the best years
of his life to the service of his country. For twenty-five years prior
to the action which necessitated his State severing her connection with
the Union, he most valiantly drew his sword in her defence. Through the
Mexican War and during the continuous troubles with the Indians on our
Western plains his services were so conspicuous for gallantry that he
attained the rank of major.

_Resolved_, When his State could no longer remain in the Union, but
withdrew, he resigned his commission, and cast his lot with that of his
State. As he had been gallant and successful in the army of the Union,
he now became more so in the army of the Confederacy. The enlarged
opportunities furnished what his great ability needed. From the rank
of major he rose rapidly to that of lieutenant-general and second
in command to our peerless Lee. As brigadier-general at Manassas he
engaged the left wing of the enemy with the result that is familiar to
all of us. As major-general he was selected to cover Johnston’s retreat
in the Peninsula. He won Williamsburg and was at Seven Pines. For his
service in the Seven Days’ fight around Richmond Congress rewarded him
with the rank of senior lieutenant-general and second in command of all
the Confederate forces. He was at the second Manassas with Jackson, and
at South Mountain. At Sharpsburg he was knighted “War-Horse” by his
chieftain. Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, Chickamauga, and the Wilderness
felt his presence; while Petersburg, Five Forks, and Appomattox beheld
his gallantry. Comrades, we knew him, we loved him, we trusted him.
To-day we would pay him his tribute; believing him to be worthy to be
placed beside Lee, Albert Sidney and Joseph E. Johnston, and Jackson.

_Resolved_, That these resolutions be spread upon the minutes of our
Camp, copies be furnished each of our county papers for publication,
and that a copy be sent to Mrs. Longstreet, together with expressions
of our sympathy by the adjutant.

            J. W. SHERRILL.
            W. H. MORGAN.
            R. L. SUGGS.

       *       *       *       *       *

(_John B. Hood Camp._)

  “Oblivion will shut out those who assail his great name.”

_To the Officers and Members of John B. Hood Camp, No. 103, U. C. V._:

COMRADES,--We, your committee, appointed at a meeting held this day
to draft resolutions upon the death of Lieutenant-General James
Longstreet, late commander of the First Corps, Army of Northern
Virginia, beg leave to submit the following:

WHEREAS, It having pleased the Deity to call our great commander to
cross over the river and take permanent position with the majority of
his old comrades who have preceded him; therefore, be it

_Resolved_, That in the death of General Longstreet we realize the loss
of the senior and last surviving lieutenant-general of the Army of
Northern Virginia, and while freighted with the events of eighty-three
years, and suffering from the effects of many wounds received in
battle, still he bore up with a fortitude becoming his great spirit.

_Resolved_, That in his character we recognize the true patriot and
soldier, devotion to duty, and a genius which added glory to our arms
and inspired faith in our cause.

_Resolved_, That in the remotest history his achievements will be
appreciated with all the glory that came to us during that bloody
drama, while oblivion will shut out those who would assail his fair
name.

_Resolved_, That to his family we tender sincere condolence, with the
assurance that his kind consideration for his men, courtly bearing, and
bravery will ever have a place in the memory of the survivors of his
command, who followed him from the first Manassas to Appomattox.

_Resolved_, That these resolutions be spread upon the minutes of this
camp; the adjutant to forward a copy to the family, and that the State
press be requested to publish same.

            J. D. ROBERDEAU.
            VAL C. GILES.
            W. R. HAMBY.
            C. F. DOHINE.

       *       *       *       *       *

(_John B. Gordon Chapter, U. D. C._)

  “As gallant a soldier as wore the gray.”

            WETUMPKA, ALABAMA, January 12, 1904.

WHEREAS, The Ruler of the Universe has seen fit to call from his
earthly home the spirit of General Longstreet, and take him to his home
on high, as a bright reward for his faithfulness and fidelity here in
life. General Longstreet was as brave and gallant a soldier as wore the
gray during the fierce struggle of the South. He was known and loved
throughout this fair sunny Southland, not only as a soldier and general
who so gallantly and fearlessly led his men in the Southern cause, but
as a true and noble man, and when his final summons came and he laid
down his earthly armor for a heavenly crown, it cast a shadow over all
the South, that another of her brave generals who had so nobly defended
her cause was no more.

But since he has left us and is no more among his family, comrades, and
friends, be it

_Resolved_, That this Chapter of the Daughters of the Confederacy
regrets with deepest sorrow the death of General Longstreet, and
through this little tribute to his memory expresses its deepest and
sincerest sympathy.

_Resolved_, That his State and nation has lost a grand and noble man,
the Southern cause a gallant and fearless soldier.

_Resolved_, That a copy of these resolutions be placed on the
minute-book of the Chapter and a copy be sent to General Longstreet’s
family.

            MRS. S. J. McMORRIS.
            MRS. W. H. GREGORY.
            MISS FANNY GOKON.

       *       *       *       *       *

(_George W. Johnson Camp._)

  “True and faithful to every duty.”

At a meeting of the George W. Johnson Camp, Confederate Veterans’
Association of Kentucky, to take in consideration the death of
Lieutenant-General James Longstreet, the following resolutions were
reported and adopted:

_Resolved_, That in the death of General Longstreet has passed from the
stage of action one of the central and most prominent figures of our
late war.

_Resolved_, In him we recognized one of the ablest and most gallant
soldiers of the lost cause.

_Resolved_, As commander of one of the corps of the Army of Northern
Virginia his name is inseparably connected with the glory that rightly
gathers about the achievements of that immortal organization.

_Resolved_, True and faithful to his every conviction of duty, and
unswerving in his devotion to his country and people in the hour of
their supremest trial and need, his name deserves to be enrolled among
the immortals of our Southland.

_Resolved_, That we extend to the bereaved family our deepest sympathy,
and that a copy of these resolutions be sent to the family and to the
_Confederate Veteran_.

            A. H. SINCLAIR,
              _Commander_.
            ELLEY BLACKBURN,
              _Adjutant_.

       *       *       *       *       *

(_Tennessee Division, Daughters of the Confederacy._)

  “Mankind will find no brighter page of history than that written
  by Longstreet’s corps.”

Resolutions of the Tennessee Division of the Daughters of the
Confederacy:

Entered into rest January 2, 1904, at his home in Gainesville, Georgia,
surrounded by his family, consisting of his wife and five children,
at the ripe old age of eighty-three years, Lieutenant-General James
Longstreet.

A graduate of West Point, one of the heroes of the Mexican War, where
he was desperately wounded, in storming Cherubusco, and where he
was twice brevetted for gallantry on the field of battle,--once as
captain, for Churubusco, and again as major, for Molino del Rey,--a
professional soldier in the army of the United States, the highest in
rank from the State of Alabama at the time of the secession of that
State, he resigned from the United States army, tendered his sword to
Alabama, and from thenceforward was identified with the South in her
immortal struggle for the right of local self-government, guaranteed to
her in the Constitution of the United States, and as laid down in the
Declaration of Independence, from Bull Run to Appomattox, and, at its
close, was recognized as “the left arm of Lee.”

Since his death, his record as a soldier has been criticised, at a
time when he cannot defend himself, but we congratulate the people
of the South and the future historian that the Congress of the
Confederate States, February 17, 1864, passed unanimously resolutions
thanking Lieutenant-General Longstreet and his command for their
patriotic services and brilliant achievements in Virginia, Maryland,
Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Tennessee, and participating in nearly
every great battle fought in those States, the commanding general ever
displaying great ability, skill, and prudence in command, and the
officers and men the most heroic bravery, fortitude, and energy in
every duty that they have been called upon to perform.

This resolution was approved by Jefferson Davis, and was adopted on the
recommendation of the commanding general of the army of the Confederate
States of America, the immortal Robert E. Lee. After the adoption of
these resolutions, nothing which we can say could add to his soldier’s
record. He needs no defence. We consign his name to history; so long as
mankind reads it, they will find no brighter page than that written by
Longstreet’s corps.

He illustrated the South in a long life, the best years of it devoted
to her and her cause, he sacrificed to serve her as much as any other
one man, he fought a score of battles for her, and never one against
her, and this State, over his grave, mingle their tears with those
of the people whom he served and the devoted family who survive him;
therefore

_Resolved_, That the Army of the Confederate States of America is
rapidly passing to the Great Beyond, leaving a record, a part of the
history of the American people, to which we point with pride, and to
which in a few generations civilized man will look, and admit that it
illustrated the highest type of American citizenship.

_Resolved_, That we extend our sympathies to the surviving family of
General Longstreet and to the South, at his death, and that a copy of
the foregoing preamble and resolutions be furnished to his family and
to the press.

            MISS KATE FORT, _Chairman_.
            MRS. JAMES P. SMARTT.
            MRS. M. H. CLIFT.
            MRS. WM. G. OEHMIG, _President_.

       *       *       *       *       *

  “Longstreet’s magnificent service at Gettysburg gives that field
  the great place it holds in history to-day.”

As one of his defenders, in the interest of truth, justice,
and fairness, having participated in the battle of Gettysburg,
Pennsylvania, in Pegram’s battery, A. P. Hill’s corps, and knowing,
from frequent visits to that sanguinary field since the engagement,
something about what occurred on that eventful occasion, I can
confidently say that General Longstreet and those under him performed
such grand and magnificent service on that battle-field as to give it
the great and important place it holds in history to-day. We never knew
that it was otherwise questioned until after the war. Future history
will vindicate his character in his course on that field and everywhere
else where duty called him during the eventful period from ’61 to
’65.--JOHN T. CALLAGHAN, _Vice-President Confederate Association_.

WASHINGTON, D. C.

       *       *       *       *       *

(_Encampment No. 9, Union Veteran Legion, New Castle, Pennsylvania._)

  “A brave, generous, and great man.”

_Resolved_, That the death of Lieutenant-General James Longstreet has
caused the loss to the nation of a brave, generous, and great man. None
knew his bravery or his greatness as a commander better than we of the
Union Veteran Legion who often met him on fields that tested to the
limit the fighting qualities of the American.

We extend to his wife and family our sympathy in their bereavement, and
the assurance of our great respect for their lost one.

            SAMUEL F. ELLISON,
              _Colonel Commanding_.
            GEORGE W. GAGEBY,
              _Adjutant_.

       *       *       *       *       *

(_George E. Pickett Camp._)

  “In nearly all the leading battles of the South there was
  Longstreet to lead his men to fame and glory.”

            January 25, 1904.

_To the Officers and Members of George E. Pickett Camp, C. V._:

Your committee appointed on resolutions relative to the death of
Lieutenant-General Longstreet desire to have it placed on record, that
we, the survivors of Confederate Veterans, lost in the recent death
of General Longstreet one of our best and bravest officers, under
whose command the Army of Northern Virginia gained its reputation
as the grandest fighting army the world ever produced. At Bull Run,
Williamsburg, Seven Pines, Second Manassas, Boonboro, Sharpsburg,
Fredericksburg, and in nearly all of the principal battles and
victories of the South, there was Longstreet to lead his men to fame
and glory.

We therefore express our sentiment that in the death of General
Longstreet we have lost a true and good Confederate, loyal to the cause
for which he bled and fought.

_Resolved_, That we extend our heartfelt sympathy to his widow and
family, and that a copy of these resolutions be spread on our minutes.

            CHAS. T. LOEHR,
            WM. E. TALLEY,
            W. U. BASS,
                _Committee_.

Adopted by vote of camp and copy ordered sent to Mrs. General James
Longstreet.

            R. N. NORTHEN,
              _Adjutant No. 204, N. C. V. S._

       *       *       *       *       *

(_John Bowie Strange Camp._)

  “Those who followed Longstreet in the fitful fever of war ever
  had confidence in his ability, courage, and fidelity.”

The John Bowie Strange Camp of Confederate Veterans of Charlottesville,
Virginia, assembled in special meeting for the purpose, desire to
spread on their record a tribute to the memory of James Longstreet,
lieutenant-general in the armies of the Confederate States, whose
death has been recently announced. The Virginians who served under
him in the great Civil War recognize his splendid ability as a corps
commander, his dauntless courage, and the absolute confidence reposed
in him by that immortal band of Southerners who will go down in history
wreathed in immortal fame as Longstreet’s corps in the Army of Northern
Virginia. This camp, a large proportion of whose members belonged to
regiments and organizations led by him in the Virginia campaigns, wish
to record the fact that whatever criticisms may have been passed upon
his conduct on crucial occasions, yet those who followed him in the
fitful fever of war ever had confidence in his fidelity, his loyalty,
and his devotion to the Southern cause; and along with other comrades
from the South who followed him on the line of danger, they had
absolute faith in his splendid courage and ability as their commander.
It is an historical fact that he so possessed the confidence of our
immortal leader, R. E. Lee, the commander-in-chief of the Confederate
forces, that he continued him in command as lieutenant-general until
the fateful day of Appomattox, when in the expiring crisis of the
Confederacy Longstreet and his corps of Southerners were in line of
battle, ready and willing to risk and lay down their lives in defence
of the South, until ordered by their great chieftain to sheath their
swords, stack their guns, and furl their flags.

_Resolved_, That a copy of these resolutions be published in the local
papers and also be sent to the bereaved widow of this distinguished
Southerner.

            MICAJAH WOODS,
            GEORGE L. PETRIE,
            J. M. MURPHY,
                _Committee_.

The foregoing resolutions, presented by the committee appointed for
the purpose, were unanimously passed by the John Bowie Strange Camp
of Confederate Veterans at Charlottesville, Virginia. Witness the
signature of H. Clay Michie, commander of said Camp, and attested by W.
N. Wood, Adjutant and Secretary of said Camp.

            H. CLAY MICHIE,
              _Commander_.

    This 12th day of January, 1904.
      W. N. WOOD,
        _Adjutant and Secretary_.




[Illustration: Fac-simile of Letter from President Theodore Roosevelt]

    WHITE HOUSE
      WASHINGTON.

            June 7, 1904.

My dear Mrs. Longstreet:

Permit me to subscribe for the book you have just written, on the
work of your gallant husband. General Sickles has just called my
attention to the fact that the book is to be published. Not only must
all Americans hold high the memory of your husband as one of the
illustrious captains of the Civil War, but they must hold it high
particularly because of the fine and high-souled patriotism which made
him, when the war was ended, as staunchly loyal to the Union as he had
been loyal to the cause for which he fought during the war itself. In
his letter to General Sickles, in speaking of the part the General
played in winning the victory of Gettysburg for the Union cause,
General Longstreet wrote:

“It was the sorest and saddest reflection of my life for many years;
but, to-day, I can say, with sincerest emotion, that it was and is the
best that could have come to us all, North and South; and I hope that
the nation, reunited, may always enjoy the honor and glory brought to
it by that grand work.”

This is the spirit that gives us all, North and South, East and West,
the right to face the future with the confident hope that never again
will we be disunited, and that while united no force of evil can ever
prevail against us.

With great regard,

            Sincerely yours,
              Theodore Roosevelt

    Mrs. James Longstreet,
        Gainesville, Georgia.




PERSONAL LETTERS


  “Every inch a man.”

            NEW YORK, January 12, 1904.

    MRS. JAMES LONGSTREET,
        Gainesville, Georgia:

MY DEAR MRS. LONGSTREET,--Permit me to offer my sympathies in your
great bereavement, and to add my tears to yours. I have always loved
and admired General Longstreet, and considered him one of the greatest
general officers in the Confederacy. He was indeed every inch a man.

            With kindest regards I remain,
              Sincerely yours,
                EDWARD OWEN.

       *       *       *       *       *

  “His great heart had nothing but kindness for all that was
  American.”

            NICHOLASVILLE, KENTUCKY, January 22, 1904.

    MRS. JAMES LONGSTREET,
        Washington, D. C.:

DEAR MADAM,--Personally, I am an entire stranger to you, but I have
long been interested in the story of your brave husband, and especially
in that part bearing on the battle of Gettysburg. I am a Canadian
by birth, though a naturalized American citizen, and pastor of the
Christian Church in this place. I had no interest in the matter at
issue save to know the truth and give honor where honor is justly
due. I had read General Gordon’s strictures, and was anxious to
see what could be said in reply. After reading your article in the
Courier Journal with great care, I want to say that General Gordon is
completely and fully answered and his statements of fact absolutely
refuted.

The man who would find the Rev. Mr. Pendleton after the facts you have
covered him with, would need a divining rod or a diving-bell. _He is
disposed of forever._

Your illustrious husband belonged to the class of Southern men which
I have always honored and venerated. With him the war was over and
the great heart which never knew fear had in it nothing but kindness
for all that was American. I feel that I have suffered a great loss in
not knowing him personally. I drop a tear of sympathy with you in his
memory. I think the following lines on “Gettysburg” most fitting now:

    “The brave went down without disgrace,
      They leaped to ruin’s red embrace;
    They never heard Fame’s thunders wake
    Nor saw the dazzling sunburst break
      In smiles on Glory’s bloody face.”

    “Fold up the banners, melt the guns,
      Love rules, a gentler purpose runs;
    A grateful mother turns in tears,
    The pages of the battle years;
      Lamenting all her fallen sons.”

Please accept my thanks for the white light which your splendid,
your unanswerable, letter casts on the whole question, and try to
realize that I am only one of thousands who are equally indebted and
correspondingly grateful.

            With greatest respect,
              Yours most sincerely,
                JAMES VERNON.

       *       *       *       *       *

  “Has taken his place with the great soldiers of all times.”

            RALEIGH, N. C., January 17, 1904.

MY DEAR MRS. LONGSTREET,--I send you a copy of the _Post_ by this mail,
containing article on your late husband and great soldier.

The conduct of some of our people is a brutality. But I beg to assure
you that it is the result of ignorance. General Longstreet has taken
his place beside the great soldiers of all times, and malice cannot
reach him. I hope some soldier of his old corps will take up the
question of these attacks. They can be answered and reputed. You will
pardon this intrusion upon you, a sense of duty to the truth of history
and love for the memory of your great husband is my excuse.

            Truly,
              W. H. DAY.




[Illustration: Fac-simile of Letter from Archbishop John Ireland]

            St. Paul, Jan. 8, 1903

My Dear Mrs. Longstreet

Permit me to offer you the tribute of my deep and sincere sympathy in
the great sorrow which has come to you in the death of your beloved
husband, Gen. Longstreet.

To none is the sad occurrence the bearer of so pain & grief, as it is
to you.

I pray God to console you, & to lead you more & more to see in the
departure of your husband from earth the will of Heaven, & the passage
of a christian Soul from the land of trials to the final home of rest
and peace.

Truly a great man has passed away. The whole country mourns. He was
a noble American. In war he obeyed what he believed to be his duty,
in peace he followed loyally and courageously what he again thought
his duty dictated. The South found in him a defender on the field of
battle, & its truest friend & counsellor when the field of battle had
spoken its verdict. The North, forced at one time to admire his skill
and bravery, willingly at later date, admired his magnanimity & his
high minded patriotism.

It has been a great privilege of mine to have met Gen. Longstreet, & to
have been able to know more intimately than otherwise would have been
possible to me.

Since then he was a proud Servant of the Lord--always ready to hearken
to the voice of Conscience, always prompt to obey it.

I am, my dear Mrs. Longstreet with sentiments of highest esteem,

            Very Sincerely,
              John Ireland

Mrs. E. D. Longstreet

       *       *       *       *       *

  “General Lee’s bull-dog fighter.”

            COMANCHE, TEXAS, February 1, 1904.

    MRS. GENERAL JAMES LONGSTREET,
        Gainesville, Georgia:

DEAR MADAM,--Enclosed please find resolutions of respect passed by John
Pelham Camp, U. C. V., No. 565, Comanche, Texas, to your husband.

As a Confederate soldier who followed the banner of the lost cause for
four years I desire to extend to you personally my heartfelt sympathy
in this great loss to you. I was in the Army of Tennessee, but a great
admirer of General Longstreet. I had a brother in his command under
General Hood. The Southern people never treated General Longstreet with
that respect that was due him. He was General Lee’s bull-dog fighter
during the war, and remained true to the cause until all was lost. I
read with great interest your defence of your husband in the Gettysburg
affair, and you show to any fair-minded people that he was not in any
way responsible for the loss of the battle. I greatly admire your
courage and fidelity in this matter. General Longstreet has many strong
friends in Texas. Please pardon me for the liberty I have taken in
writing you. I have two letters from General Longstreet which I value
highly.

With kindest regards and best wishes, I am truly your friend,

            T. O. MOORE,

  _Late Company F, Seventh Texas Volunteer Infantry Regiment, 1861
  to 1865; Colonel First Regiment, Third Brigade, Texas Division,
  U. C. V._

       *       *       *       *       *

  “When war compelled surrender, I accepted the situation in good
  faith.”

            SAN FRANCISCO LAW LIBRARY,
              SAN FRANCISCO, January 6, 1904.

DEAR MADAM,--Learning of the recent death of General Longstreet, I felt
compelled to address to you an expression of sympathy.

It so happened that soon after the close of the Civil War, he and I
were for a time guests at the same hotel in Washington.

I then formed his acquaintance and had a series of conversations with
him, which constitute pleasing recollections to me.

Although of Northern lineage and sentiment, I learned to admire a
personality that seemed so charming in civil life, and which I had
learned to dread in war.

I am aware that later he fell under the severe displeasure of many
Southern people.

I know nothing of that for which he was blamed, but it would make too
heavy draft on my credulity to believe that he ever departed from what
he believed to be just and honorable.

I well remember an expression he made to me. He said, “I
conscientiously did what I deemed my duty while the controversy lasted,
and when the fate of war compelled surrender, I accepted the situation
in good faith.”

His widow must greatly feel the loss of one who was great as a soldier
and so lovable as a man.

Allow me, a Northern man and a stranger, to condole with you, and
again express the high appreciation I entertained for your illustrious
husband.

            Very respectfully,
              GEO. W. CHAMBERLAIN.

    MRS. JAMES LONGSTREET,
        Gainesville, Georgia.

       *       *       *       *       *

  “He taught peace and conservatism.”

            UNITED STATES CIRCUIT COURT OF APPEALS,
              NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA, January 5, 1904.

    MRS. JAMES LONGSTREET,
        Gainesville, Georgia:

MY DEAR MADAM,--I beg to offer you my sincere sympathy. I greatly
honored General Longstreet for his distinguished career as a soldier,
and for his wise and patriotic course, teaching peace and conservatism,
when war was ended. When history is written after time has modified
all passions and prejudices, his career will stand in honorable and
distinguished contrast with those of his critics who were “invisible in
war and invincible in peace.”

I shall always honor his memory as soldier and citizen.

            Yours sincerely and respectfully,
              DAVID D. SHELBY.




[Illustration: Fac-simile of Letter from General Frederick D. Grant]

            HEADQUARTERS
            DEPARTMENT OF TEXAS
            SAN ANTONIO.

            Jan’y 7th 1903

My Dear Mrs Longstreet,

I was greatly shocked to see the enclosed article in this mornings
paper. Tho’ I had learned sometime ago through friends, that General
Longstreet was not in good health, I had no idea that the end was so
near. The dear old General was one of the earliest and most cherished
friends of my father and mother, and has always held a warm place
in the hearts of the children of Julia Dent and Lieutenant (later,
General & President of the United States) U. S. Grant. Be assured,
my dear Madam, that I join with you in mourning the passing of the
good friend, the brilliant soldier and the noble man, General James
Longstreet

            Sincerely & Faithfully Yours
              Frederick D Grant

       *       *       *       *       *

            TECUMSEH, MICHIGAN, January 16, 1904.

    MRS. JAMES LONGSTREET:
        Gainesville, Georgia:

DEAR MADAM,--Trusting you will pardon the intrusion, I desire to thank
you kindly for the pleasure derived from your article so conclusively
refuting the charges against General James Longstreet, unhappily
revived in General Gordon’s book. Although a Federal soldier during the
last two years of the Civil War, its ending, with me, was the close of
the unhappy strife.

The admiration I held for James Longstreet was sincere and well
founded, and one of the mementoes I much treasure is an autograph
letter from him, generously written to me December 18, 1893.

The news of your husband’s death was to me a personal grief. He was the
one remaining conspicuous figure in the great conflict which those who
participated in will remember while life remains.

            Very respectfully,
              JOHN D. SHULL.

       *       *       *       *       *

  “He performed every duty faithfully and conscientiously.”

            IVANHOE, VIRGINIA, January 23, 1904.

MY DEAR MRS. LONGSTREET,--As commander of the Ivanhoe Camp, United
Confederate Veterans, and as perhaps the youngest Confederate veteran,
“who enlisted as a private,” I desire to express to you the sympathy
of myself and of the Camp which I have the honor to command. While we
mourn with you in this your sad hour of bereavement, it is gratifying
to know that General Longstreet performed his every duty faithfully
and conscientiously, and that his many virtues will entitle him to a
high seat in that better world above, where we hope, when our mission
on earth is finished, we shall be permitted to meet him in all the
glory which his many virtues here below so justly entitles him. Hoping
that the Good Lord, the Grand Commander and Ruler of the Universe,
will comfort you in your sad trials, and with best wishes, I am most
sincerely yours,

            M. W. JEWETT,
              _Commander Ivanhoe Camp, U. C. V._

       *       *       *       *       *

  “Lamented by the nation.”

            MINNEAPOLIS, January 3, 1904.

DEAR MRS. LONGSTREET,--With thousands of my countrymen I sincerely
lament the death of your illustrious husband, the great soldier and
citizen, and extend to you, most bereaved of all, my sincere sympathy.

Mrs. Torrance shares these sentiments with me, and wishes to be
remembered to you in love and sympathy.

            Sincerely yours,
              ELL TORRANCE.

    TO MRS. JAMES LONGSTREET,
      Washington, D. C.

       *       *       *       *       *

  “His name and fame among the priceless treasures of all
  Americans.”

            MONROE, GEORGIA, January 4, 1904.

    MRS. JAMES LONGSTREET,
        Gainesville, Georgia:

MY DEAR MRS. LONGSTREET,--I have noticed with great regret and with
great sympathy for you, the news of the death of General Longstreet.

All who are familiar with his great career will be sorrowed at his
passing. His place in history is secure. And his name and fame are
among the priceless treasures of all Americans.

I understand the depth of the sorrow in which you stand now, and sorrow
with you.

            In deepest sympathy, I remain,
              Sincerely yours,
                GEO. M. NAPIER.

       *       *       *       *       *

  “His greatness of character won the respect of his own and other
  lands.”

            WASHINGTON, D. C., January 3, 1903.

DEAR MRS. LONGSTREET,--The morning paper brings the sad announcement of
the passing away of the last survivor of the brave sons of the South
who made her name glorious in the annals of the world. The nation
mourns the loss of a noble man whose greatness of character won the
respect not only of his own country but of other lands. The South weeps
for a son who has conferred distinction upon her by a life of stainless
integrity.

Still greater is the sorrow of a host of personal friends whose love he
won by the most lofty characteristics and a friendship which failed not
through the years.

Greatest of all is the grief of his family in the loss of his loving
companionship and tender care. Especially heavy is that loss to you,
the companion of his later years whose devotion has smoothed the road
for his weary feet to the end of life’s way. I send you my heartfelt
sympathy in your sorrow.

My love and sympathy go out to the dear children whose mother was my
beloved friend, whom I have held in my arms in childhood, and whose
little brothers and sisters faded away before my loving eyes when their
flower of life had not yet unfolded from the bud of their sweet infancy
and the mortal casket was intrusted to General Pickett and myself to be
laid away among the church-yard lilies when the jewel of the pure soul
had been taken beyond.

To the many to whom the new year brings mourning for the great one gone
I would send sincere sympathy, trusting that the Father of all will
comfort them in their deep sorrow.

            Sincerely yours
              MRS. GEO. E. PICKETT.

       *       *       *       *       *

  “His great fame is fixed.”

            CINCINNATI, OHIO, January 9, 1904.

    MRS. JAMES LONGSTREET,
        Gainesville, Georgia:

DEAR MADAM,--You need fear no slurs on the reputation of General
Longstreet. His great fame is fixed.

All over this country wherever you find the old boys who wore the blue
in the sixties, and who had to fight Longstreet’s corps, you will get
the same opinion.

He was a hard fighter, a tireless general who was always ready for
a battle, and who believed that hitting hard, never giving up, and
following up every advantage was the right way to obey orders.

Our regiment, the Sixth Ohio, met General Longstreet many times. And
whenever he was reported as coming we got ready for hard, stubborn
fighting, and we were never disappointed in that direction.

He was a brave enemy, and we respected his great qualities.

We are going to have a “Longstreet night” at our G. A. R. Post here
this month (open meeting), and have invited all the Confederates near
here to meet with us and talk over old days and hard fights.

            Sympathizing with you in your loss, I remain,
              Yours obediently,
                GEO. C. JAMES.

       *       *       *       *       *

  “If Longstreet was disobedient, Lee was a traitor.”

            WACO, TEXAS, January 12, 1904.

    MRS. LONGSTREET,
        Gainesville, Georgia:

DEAR MADAM,--Enclosed I send you a brief tribute that I paid to General
Longstreet.

General Longstreet’s fame is safe with all fair-minded men, but it is
the duty of us, who knew him and served under him, to raise our voices
in his defence, now that he cannot do so, as he formerly so ably and
conclusively did, and I here make my defence of the charge that he
failed to do his duty at Gettysburg.

If it is true that General Longstreet betrayed General Lee at
Gettysburg, and that General Lee knew it, the legitimate and logical
conclusions are that General Lee was a traitor, not only to the
Confederacy, but to every man who served under him. All know that at
Gettysburg Lee staked an empire on Longstreet’s corps, and all know
that when it rolled back from those bloody heights, leaving its bravest
and its best cold in death upon its grassy slopes, that the sun of the
Confederacy, with battle target red, slowly sank into the bosom of
eternal night. And to say that General Lee knew that General Longstreet
was responsible for the loss of the battle, responsible for the death
of so many brave men who had there died in vain, responsible for the
ruin of a cause dear to so many hearts, and then permit the man who
had brought all this about, to remain as the commander of the First
Corps of his army, to lovingly speak of him as he did as his right arm,
to send him in two months after the battle of Gettysburg in command
of his corps to save the Army of Tennessee from the ruin brought upon
it by the inefficiency of Bragg, to permit him to remain throughout
that long and dreary winter that he spent in East Tennessee, to bring
him back to Virginia and be his chosen lieutenant from the Wilderness
to the banks of the James, and from the James to Appomattox, is to
convict General Lee of a treason to both himself and his country, more
damnable than that which so-called admirers of General Lee charge upon
Longstreet.

            I remain, very truly yours,
              G. B. GERALD.

       *       *       *       *       *

  “Denounced with bitterness the statement of Pendleton.”

            CORSICANA, TEXAS, January 8, 1904.

    MRS. JAMES LONGSTREET,
        Gainesville, Georgia:

MADAM,--Your noble defence of your great husband places beyond cavil or
controversy the fame of an illustrious career.

Yesterday, as I finished reading it, the bent form of one who had
followed him everywhere, “amid the fiery pang of shells,” passed,
and I called him and read him the charge. “Liars! Liars!” and the
light of battle passed once more into his eyes as he defended General
Longstreet. Then I read him your letter, and then he cried.

You will pardon me for this intrusion on your sorrow. My father was a
cavalry officer in the volunteers in Scott’s campaign in Mexico. He
there formed the acquaintance of General Longstreet, and none denounced
with more bitterness the statement of Pendleton.

            With a sincere wish for your future happiness,
              I am most respectfully,
                J. C. GAITHER.

       *       *       *       *       *

  “He was too big a man for his day.”

            New ORLEANS, LOUISIANA, January 4, 1904.

    MRS. GENERAL JAMES LONGSTREET,
        Gainesville, Georgia:

DEAR MADAM,--Enclosed I send you the _Picayune_ comment on the death of
your distinguished husband and my honored commander.

General Longstreet is blamed for the mistake of General Lee in
charging the heights of Gettysburg. The same mistake was made by
General Burnside at Fredericksburg; which clearly proves that American
soldiers can not successfully charge heights guarded by Americans. That
is settled.

Why should General Lee send General Longstreet to Chickamauga
immediately after Gettysburg, if Longstreet had been guilty of anything
that his enemies so persistently accuse.

The only thing that General Longstreet was guilty of was the acceptance
of office under the United States government after the war. Now suppose
all the Confederate generals had accepted office as he did, would
it not have effectively kept the office-holders placed here by the
carpet-bag government out of power? And also, how many ex-Confederates
refuse office under the United States government to-day, is a question
I would like to have answered. Longstreet was too big a man for his
day, that was all.

The scribbling of unscrupulous parties can not dim his fame. He was the
hardest fighter of the Civil War, participant in all the battles of the
Army of Northern Virginia, and victor on the only great field won by
the Confederates in the West, Chickamauga.

I deeply sympathize with you, as I know all of Longstreet’s corps do.

            Yours truly,
              GEO. W. WEIR,

  _Company A, Hampton Legion, Hood’s Brigade, Longstreet’s Corps,
  Army of Northern Virginia._

       *       *       *       *       *

  “He stood the brunt of the battle at Gettysburg.”

            KRUMDALE, TEXAS, January 3, 1904.

    MRS. GENERAL JAMES LONGSTREET,
        Gainesville, Georgia:

MY DEAR MADAM,--As an old Confederate soldier of the Eighteenth
Virginia Regiment, Pickett’s division, General James Longstreet’s
corps, I wish to extend to you my heartfelt sympathy and condolence
in your sad affliction in the death of your gallant and illustrious
husband. His old comrades will never for a moment believe the calumny
that has been thrust against him. A pure, true soldier, a good, noble,
and loyal citizen. He rests now over the river under the shades of the
beautiful heavenly trees, the peer of Hon. Jeff. Davis, General R. E.
Lee, Stonewall Jackson, and others. May his ashes rest in peace. When
I read the announcement of his death in the papers and your letter it
made my heart bleed, and the only comfort I could find was to weep like
a child. I congratulate you on your well-written defence and complete
vindication of my old comrade and general. I loved him so much, and so
long as life shall last I will cherish a lively recollection of his
many noble and gallant deeds. I was with him on that memorable day,
and can testify that he stood the brunt of the battle on the 3d of
July at Gettysburg. I cannot understand how any pure or noble or brave
man could circulate such false statements against one of the best and
bravest men in our army. But envy is a malicious foe, always ready
to destroy that which it cannot imitate or surpass. May God comfort
and his blessings abide with you and yours is the prayer of one that
entertains the highest respect for you and the memory of your husband.

            R. P. GOODMAN.

       *       *       *       *       *

  “One of the greatest military men of the age.”

    MRS. LONGSTREET:

DEAR MADAM,--I had not the honor of a personal acquaintance with your
illustrious husband, nor was I with him in the war on his side of the
question, in any sense. But I believe him to have been one of the
greatest military men of the age, and with no superior on the Southern
side. His course since the war has inspired the highest respect and
esteem of every patriotic and intelligent lover of the Union.

At Gettysburg, in my opinion, he was the one sure-footed counsellor of
Lee’s many advisers.

One of our papers, recently commenting on his life, took occasion to
refer to the old charges of delay at Gettysburg. I expect to answer
these charges in a lengthy article.

            Yours sincerely,
              H. W. HARMON.

EFFINGHAM, N. H.

       *       *       *       *       *

  “Always present at the critical and dangerous point.”

            ATHENS, January 4, 1904.

MY DEAR MRS. LONGSTREET,--I write to assure you of my heartfelt
sympathy with you in your great bereavement.

I mourn with deep sorrow the death of General Longstreet. I have
witnessed many times his valor and devotion. He seemed to me to be
absolutely ubiquitous on the battle-field--always present at the
critical and dangerous point.

The proudest recollections of my life are associated with the glorious
First Corps of the Army of Northern Virginia and its heroic commander.

            With renewed assurance of my sympathy, I am,
              Yours very sincerely,
                ALEX. T. ERWIN.

       *       *       *       *       *

  “He died as he had lived, a model to mankind.”

            METROPOLITAN CLUB,
              NEW YORK CITY, January 3, 1904.

DEAR MRS. LONGSTREET,--I can not express to you the regret I felt when
I read to-day of the death of my noble chief, your dear husband. A
flood of vivid recollections overwhelmed me. It was no surprise to me,
as I knew the nature of the ill he suffered under; still he was dead,
and a blank left in my life which no time can heal. He was so much to
me. For four years I had ridden at his side, and shared his confidence,
and had learned to love him well. No unkind word or look stands between
us, and my sorrow is that of one of his sons.

To you he has owed many happy years, and his old comrades will always
bear you in tender thought.

In your last letter to me you wrote that the doctors had said he had “a
fighting chance.” But alas! his time had come, and it found him ready I
am sure. His life was blameless as it was brave, and he died as he had
lived, a model to mankind.

To you and his children I offer my heartfelt sympathy. I can say no
more, as my heart is very full. As I see that he is to be buried
to-morrow I can not be present, but my heart will be with you at his
grave.

            Always most warmly yours,
              OSMAN LATROBE.

       *       *       *       *       *

  “The country had no more devoted patriot.”

MY DEAR MRS. LONGSTREET,--Please accept my profound sympathy in your
great bereavement.

While as a member of his corps from the time of its organization to the
end, I knew General Longstreet only as a subordinate knows his superior
officer, after the struggle was over I met him frequently and conversed
with him on many subjects, and to my admiration and devotion to the
soldier and general was superadded esteem for him as a citizen and a
high regard and fondness for him as a friend.

If some critics had known his methods as a commander, and witnessed his
powers in battle, as we of his corps did on many hard-fought fields,
and understood his course and motives as a civilian as his friends did,
they would bestow upon him nothing but words of praise and gratitude.
The ranking lieutenant-general of Lee’s great army, he always had the
confidence of the commander-in-chief and the respect and admiration
of all, and the “lost cause” had no braver or truer defender and the
country no more devoted patriot.

But I only intended to write a line of sympathy, hoping to meet you
again some time when we can talk of him and his career.

            With kind regards, I am,
              Very sincerely,
                N. L. HUTCHENS.

LAWRENCEVILLE, GEORGIA.

       *       *       *       *       *

  “The brilliant leader of gallant armies, but greater in peace as
  the patriotic citizen.”

            WASHINGTON, D. C., January 5, 1904.

MY DEAR MRS. LONGSTREET,--My heart was very deeply touched by the
news of General Longstreet’s death, and I write to assure you of my
profound sorrow over the event and of my warm sympathy for you in the
unspeakable loss which you sustain.

General Longstreet will always live in the great and ennobling example
which he set before his fellow-men. He was truly great in war as the
brilliant leader of gallant armies, but he was greater in peace as the
patriotic citizen loyally dedicating his splendid fame to the cause of
his country’s restoration to an harmonious brotherhood.

His conduct since the termination of the mighty struggle in which he
bore a distinguished part was prompted by the highest wisdom and by the
purest love of country. And his fame can never be dimmed by the failure
of the narrow-minded few to appreciate his great qualities of heart and
of brain. I rejoice in the fact that he lived to a ripe old age, and
was thereby blessed with the privilege of witnessing the good fruits of
his noble career.

            With profound respect,
              I am truly yours,
                GEORGE BABER.

       *       *       *       *       *

  “His surpassing ability won him admiration as an American
  soldier.”

            PHILADELPHIA, January 3, 1904.

DEAR MRS. LONGSTREET,--Permit me to express my heartfelt sympathy in
your sad loss and unexpected bereavement.

It had never been my good fortune to meet the general, but his
surpassing ability and great and earnest devotion to the South won him,
as an American soldier, _our_ admiration, and entitled him to the love
and thanks of those whose cause was, for so long, the object of his
sacrifices.

We in the North, or many of us, rate General Longstreet as among the
ablest of those who fought against us, and it was fortunate for us that
he did not have command at some critical moments, when his superior
judgment would have directed other movements than those which were made.

            I am, madam,
              Very respectfully yours,
                H. S. HUIDEKOPER.

       *       *       *       *       *

  “Soldiers who served on the firing line knew the leaders.”

MY DEAR MRS. LONGSTREET,--We soldiers who served four years on the
firing line know who were the leaders; and Longstreet is held in high
esteem as a broad-guage man in the North.

            Yours truly,
              J. L. SMITH.

PHILADELPHIA, January 5, 1904.




TRIBUTE FROM THE GRAND ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC


That splendid soldier and generous gentleman, Major-General Oliver
Otis Howard, sent the following letter to the Grand Army Encampment,
assembled in thirty-eighth annual session at Boston, Massachusetts,
August 15 to 20, 1904:

            “BURLINGTON, VERMONT, August 10, 1904.

  “_To the G. A. R. assembled at Boston_:

  “COMRADES,--Our Commander-in-Chief having already sent his
  subscription to the Memorial Volume to General Longstreet,
  written by his widow, I wish to join a list of subscribers to be
  forwarded from this encampment to Mrs. Longstreet, which we will
  request General Black to transmit with assurances of our regard
  and admiration for her great husband, whom we learned to fear on
  so many brilliant fields, and in a later day to admire for his
  noble qualities as citizen of the reunited nation.”

This tribute came to me accompanied by a delightfully long list of
subscribers to this little volume. I would be pleased to print the
list, but want of space forbids.


THE SONS FOLLOW THE FATHERS

The twenty-third Annual Encampment of the Commandery-in-Chief of the
Sons of Veterans, U. S. A., was in session at Boston, August 17 to 19,
1904.

At their closing session, E. R. Campbell, of Washington, D. C., Past
Commander-in-Chief, acting under unanimous consent, brought the above
tribute from the Veterans to the attention of the Sons of Veterans.

In a graceful speech he referred to this beautiful testimonial from
the Grand Army of the Republic to the memory of a gallant opponent;
asserted that the sons should follow in the footsteps of the fathers in
all things attesting the spirit of a reunited nation; that it was the
pleasure of the sons on their own account and in the light of history
to testify to their enthusiastic appreciation of the valorous deeds of
General Longstreet on the battle-field, and his equally commendable
services to his country when the war was over; and asked that the
matter be referred for further official action and endorsement to the
incoming commander-in-chief, General William G. Dustin, of Dwight,
Illinois.

The sentiment was applauded, the action asked was granted, and the
tokens of individual approval and appreciation are continuing to
gladden my heart as I write these closing words of grateful thanks
to the fathers, the sons, and all who have so generously united in
appreciation of the name and fame of General Longstreet.




FOOTNOTES:


[A] Hood says, “As soon as I arrived upon the Emmitsburg road I placed
one or two batteries in position and opened fire. A reply from the
enemy’s guns soon developed his lines. His left rested on or near Round
Top, with line bending back and again forward, forming, as it were,
a concave line, as approached by the Emmitsburg road. A considerable
body of troops was posted in front of their main line, between the
Emmitsburg road and Round Top Mountain. This force was in line of
battle upon an eminence near a peach-orchard.

“I found that in making the attack according to orders,--viz., up the
Emmitsburg road,--I should have first to encounter and drive off this
advanced line of battle; secondly, at the base and along the slope of
the mountain, to confront immense boulders of stone, so massed together
as to form narrow openings, which would break our ranks and cause
the men to scatter whilst climbing up the rocky precipice. I found,
moreover, that my division would be exposed to a heavy fire from the
main line of the enemy in position on the crest of the high range, of
which Round Top was the extreme left, and, by reason of the concavity
of the enemy’s main line, that we would be subject to a destructive
fire in flank and rear, as well as in the front; and deemed it almost
an impossibility to clamber along the boulders up this steep and rugged
mountain, and, under this number of cross fires, put the enemy to
flight. I knew that if the feat was accomplished, it must be at a most
fearful sacrifice of as brave and gallant soldiers as ever engaged in
battle.

“I considered it my duty to report to you at once my opinion that it
was unwise to attack up the Emmitsburg road, as ordered, and to urge
that you allow me to turn Round Top and attack the enemy in flank and
rear. Accordingly, I despatched a staff-officer, bearing to you my
request to be allowed to make the proposed movement on account of the
above stated reasons. Your reply was quickly received: ‘General Lee’s
orders are to attack up the Emmitsburg road.’ I sent another officer to
say that I feared nothing could be accomplished by such an attack, and
renewed my request to turn Round Top. Again your answer was, ‘General
Lee’s orders are to attack up the Emmitsburg road.’ During this interim
I had continued the use of the batteries upon the enemy, and had become
more and more convinced that the Federal line extended to Round Top,
and that I could not reasonably hope to accomplish much by the attack
as ordered. In fact, it seemed to me the enemy occupied a position by
nature so strong--I may say impregnable--that, independently of their
flank fire, they could easily repel our attack by merely throwing and
rolling stones down the mountain-side, as we approached.

“A third time I despatched one of my staff to explain fully in regard
to the situation, and suggest that you had better come and look for
yourself. I selected, in this instance, my adjutant-general, Colonel
Harry Sellers, whom you know to be not only an officer of great
courage, but also of marked ability. Colonel Sellers returned with the
same message: ‘General Lee’s orders are to attack up the Emmitsburg
road.’ Almost simultaneously, Colonel Fairfax, of your staff, rode up
and repeated the above orders.

“After this urgent protest against entering the battle of Gettysburg,
according to my instructions,--which protest is the first and only one
I ever made during my entire military career,--I ordered my line to
advance and make the assault.

“As my troops were moving forward, you rode up in person; a brief
conversation passed between us, during which I again expressed the
fears above mentioned, and regret at not being allowed to attack in
flank around Round Top. You answered to this effect: ‘We must obey the
orders of General Lee.’ I then rode forward with my line under a heavy
fire. In about twenty minutes after reaching the Peach-Orchard I was
severely wounded in the arm and borne from the field.

“With this wound terminated my participation in this great battle. As
I was borne off on a litter to the rear, I could but experience deep
distress of mind and heart at the thought of the inevitable fate of
my brave fellow-soldiers, who formed one of the grandest divisions of
that world-renowned army; and I shall ever believe that had I been
permitted to turn Round Top Mountain, we would not only have gained
that position, but have been able finally to rout the enemy.”

[B] “The Campaign of Gettysburg,” by Lieutenant-General James
Longstreet. One of a series of papers on the Civil War by different
distinguished participants, both Union and Confederate, in Colonel A.
K. McClure’s Philadelphia _Weekly Times_, 1877.

[C] “From Manassas to Appomattox,” by James Longstreet,
Lieutenant-General Confederate Army. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott
Company, 1896. Revised, 1903.

[D] See “Advance and Retreat,” General J. B. Hood’s Biography, page 55.
It is from this letter that I obtain the information concerning Hood’s
proposed flank movement on Round Top. It was General Hood’s letter
which informed historians that “General Lee’s orders are to attack
up the Emmitsburg road.” See Hood’s letter as to this; also that of
Colonel Fairfax at page 63 of this work.

[E] For General Pendleton’s official report, see Part II., Vol. XXVII.,
War Records, pp. 346-354. That is the volume in which will be found all
the other Confederate reports referred to in the text.

[F] Several years ago General Longstreet hastily prepared in the rough
quite an elaborate history of the Mexican War, the publication of
which was forestalled by the book of a brother officer in that war,
of which he had no hint. The incidents and historical data of this
short story are from that unpublished history, with the addition of
General Longstreet’s comments on the official _personnel_ of the armies
of Taylor and Scott, and their subsequent careers in the Union and
Confederate armies.

[G] This brief review of a few of Longstreet’s famous engagements
before and after Gettysburg has been compiled chiefly from his war
history and his war papers published a few years since by the Century
Company.

[H] Swinton, Decisive Battles of the War, p. 378.




Transcriber’s Notes:


Punctuation and spelling were made consistent when a predominant
preference was found in this book; otherwise they were not changed.

Simple typographical errors were corrected; occasional unbalanced
quotation marks retained.

Ambiguous hyphens at the ends of lines were retained.

Page 336: The letter from Mrs. Geo. E. Pickett was mis-dated “1903”
but is correctly dated here as “1904”.

Portions of the handwritten letters were difficult to read and the
transcriptions here may contain errors; known difficulties are noted
below.

Page 82: “Viga” is uncertain in this handwritten letter. The letter is
not included in the book’s List of Illustrations.

Page 82: “always born for” may be a misprint for “borne”.

Page 165: “The march was quite” probably should be “quiet”.

Page 280: The spellings of “Pendor” and “Heath” in this letter have been
retained, but elsewhere are correctly spelled as “Pender” and “Heth”.

Page 332: “Since” at the beginning of the next-to-last paragraph
(“Since then”) of this handwritten letter is uncertain. On the last
line, it appears to be addressed to “Mrs. E. D. Longstreet” but her
initials were “H. D.” The spelling of the writer of the letter was
taken from the printed Table of Contents of the book.