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An elderly man sat in his parlor, his eyesight too poor to read the newspaper, listening to his son voice the words written by Reverend William Pendleton, Robert E. Lee's head of artillery during the Civil War. The prose was harsh, some would say vicious, as it repeated the charges he, Jubal Early, John Gordon, and others leveled against General Longstreet, accusing him of being insubordinate to the beloved Robert E. Lee and a traitor to the Southern people. "Liars! Liars!" he shouted out, and then, "the light of battle passing once more into his eyes," he stood and defended the General against these outrageous accusations, speaking to no one in particular except his son, who had heard these words before. Even in death, it seemed, Longstreet knew no rest from the controversies that surrounded his tenure as a soldier.

J.C. Gaither, the man's son, stopped him in mid-sentence and asked that he be allowed to read another article, this one written by Helen Dortch Longstreet, the General's widow. In her rebuttal to Reverend Pendleton, Helen alluded to her recently published book in which she attempted to restore the reputation of the man who would come to be known in modern times as Lee's Tarnished Lieutenant. Hearing the benevolence of Longstreet's young widow, the elder Gaither calmed, sat down, and began to cry.

Early life

James Longstreet was born in the Edgefield District of South Carolina on January 8, 1821 during a visit by his mother with her mother-in-law. Within weeks, young James was back at home on his parent's cotton plantation in the region of northern Georgia where Gainesville now stands and where his father, also named James, nicknamed him "Pete" for its meaning of "sturdy and trustworthy," a name into which Longstreet certainly grew.

Longstreet owed his birth to South Carolina, his appointment to West Point in 1838 to the state of Alabama, and much of his income to Louisiana and the Federal Government, but he always thought of Georgia as home. He was educated at Westover near Augusta and received another kind of valuable education in the rugged Georgia woods that would serve him well as a soldier. He spent his formative years, and eventually died there. Still the perception among many Southerners in the latter years of Longstreet's life was that he had no home, no state which to call his own. In an age where one's state citizenship was a measure of one's worth as a human, this fact, after the war, added further ammunition to his critics' charges.

Civil War

James Longstreet first offered his services to the Confederacy through the state of Alabama after resigning his commission as a Major in the United States army. He expected nothing more prestigious that a job as paymaster, his last appointment in the Federal army, but to his surprise he received a colonel's commission commanding infantry. By 1st Manassas (Bull Run) he had already been promoted to brigadier-general in command of three Virginia infantry regiments (1st, 11th, and 17th) which covered Blackburn's Ford during that battle. With an odd bit of irony, General Longstreet was supported by the brigade under Colonel Jubal Early who wrote in his official report of the action at the ford that Longstreet "was actively engaged in the thickest of the fire in directing and encouraging the men under his command, and I am satisfied he contributed very largely to the repulse of the enemy by his own personal exertions." This was likely the first and last compliment Early ever directed at Longstreet, and one might be pardoned for musing as to whether or not Early even remembered making this comment in the years after the war as he mounted a premeditated smear campaign against General Longstreet.

After the Confederate victory at Manassas, Longstreet continued to rise in rank and stature in the Confederate command structure. He formed close associations with P.G.T Beauregard and Joseph Johnston, the latter desiring Longstreet to be given the distinction of second in command. This appointment was not securable, however, due to several generals ranking Longstreet and Johnston's own squabbles with the Richmond government. By the time McClellan invaded the Virginia Peninsula, Longstreet was a Major-General, and he performed an important and well executed rear guard action at Williamsburg during Johnston's retreat towards Richmond.

From that point onward, with the single exception of Seven Pines, Longstreet gave exemplary service to the Confederate army. When Robert E. Lee took command and formed the Army of Northern Virginia, Longstreet found in him both a friend and a valuable guide through his career as a soldier. With Lee's unqualified recommendation, he rose in rank to the senior lieutenant-general in the Confederate army and was given command of the 1st Corps of the Army of Northern Virginia, the premier subordinate of the premier army of the Confederacy. All across Virginia, into Maryland and Pennsylvania, Longstreet led his soldiers into battle after battle and received the love and affection of his men and the appreciation of his fellow generals. During the Seven Days and 2nd Manassas campaigns, Longstreet displayed his brilliance on the offensive, and at Sharpsburg and Fredericksburg, he showed he was equal to the tasks of the defensive as well. He was known as the bulldog, the staff in Lee's right hand, and the Old War-Horse, and as the war progressed, he would live up to each of these titles. But, Longstreet could hear the guns of war echoing all across the Confederacy, not just in Virginia, and as 1863 opened, he found himself seeding the controversy that followed him for the rest of his life. He disagreed with Robert E. Lee.

The Road to Gettysburg

LEE'S "OLD WAR HORSE"
Lee and Longstreet on Seminary Ridge, Gettysburg, July 3, 1863

Prior to the campaign that resulted in the battle of Gettysburg, Longstreet offered a plan to Lee and the Richmond government designed to relieve pressure on the important Mississippi River port of Vicksburg, then under attack from the forces under U.S. Grant. The loss of this port would have the disastrous effect of closing the Confederacy's overland link to the states of Arkansas, Texas, and most of Louisiana, and sealing the Mississippi from use by the Confederacy. Additionally, Braxton Bragg and his Army of Tennessee was being pushed back towards the important rail center of Chattanooga, a loss which would further strangle the already suffering Confederacy. "Old Pete" knew that this possibility had to be countered as well.

Robert E. Lee never criticized Longstreet

Longstreet's plan was not adopted that June. The strategy employed was Lee's plan to invade the North, designed to relieve Virginia from the trampling feet of Federal soldiers, giving farmers time to bring in their badly needed crops. Lee also desired to threaten major Northern cities in the hopes of convincing the Union government that a continued war was useless. As indicated by a letter he sent to Richmond after the battle, Lee also hoped that the invasion of Northern soil would have the effect of relieving other parts of the Confederacy then under pressure from Grant and Rosecrans. While Longstreet had argued for direct relief, Lee seemed to believe that one of these armies would be compelled to move east and assist the Army of the Potomac if the Confederates were able to threaten major Northern cities.

OLD PETE
Gen. James Longstreet at Gettysburg, July 3, 1863

Lee's strategy depended on a grand victory, a literal destruction of the Army of the Potomac, and unfortunately for him, that highly sought after prize was not forthcoming. The Army of the Potomac moved faster than had been expected. Caught unaware with Stuart and his cavalry away from the main body of the army, Lee was forced to give battle in a location of which he had little knowledge and under circumstances which did not favor his desire to utilize an offensive strategy and employ defensive tactics. Longstreet was adamant throughout the entire battle that the plans being enacted were doomed to failure, and he was proven correct. The disagreements between Lee and Longstreet, then only a footnote to the campaign, provided fuel for the fiery attacks of Early, Pendleton, and fellow Georgian John Gordon after the war. Gettysburg was the spark that ignited the Lost Cause mythology that has dominated much of what we have learned of that pivotal event in our nation's history.

Western Theater action

General Longstreet directs his staff, who serve a gun whose crew has been felled at Antietam

In the aftermath of Gettysburg, as the Army of Northern Virginia refitted and rested from its recent exertions, Longstreet again raised his proposal for a western concentration, utilizing the Confederacy's only real advantage of interior lines. This time, Lee and Richmond officials endorsed his idea; however, by the time his plans were adopted, Longstreet's dire predictions of the fate of the Confederacy in the West had largely come true, leaving him an even larger task than he originally envisioned. Vicksburg had fallen, leaving Grant free to maneuver at will, and Bragg had been pushed even further back, south of Chattanooga and into northern Georgia. As Longstreet and two of his divisions began arriving to reinforce Bragg and the Army of Tennessee along the banks of Chickamauga Creek in north Georgia, Federal General Rosecrans was threatening to push past the Confederates and into the heart of Georgia, splitting the Confederacy into dangerously smaller sections.

Brian Hampton

General Longstreet described himself as "having been a soldier all his life". He was born in South Carolina in 1821 and was raised by his aunt and uncle while attending primary school in their town. Both were supporters of nullification, and Longstreet was brought up with great loyalty to his state. When he was a boy, General Longstreet spent most of his time outdoors enjoying sports with his friends. In 1842, now 190 pounds and over six feet tall, he graduated from West Point Military Academy ranking near the bottom of his class. His low rank was partly due to his accumulation of demerits. Soon after he graduated, the Mexican war began and Longstreet quickly enlisted in the U.S. Army and by its conclusion had earned commendations, and suffered a serious wound. He served as both a line and a staff officer, acquiring valuable combat and administrative experience" which would soon be put to a greater test than he could ever have imagined. When the South began to secede it did not take him very long to make his decision, in fact he acted with surprising haste.

WAR IS SO TERRIBLE
Longstreet and Lee after the Battle of Fredericksburg, Dec. 13, 1862.

General Longstreet was one of the most influential Generals in the The War Between the States. He won many great battles with his incredible skill in artillery placement and infantry tactics. Today his reputation has been reestablished as a cautious but determined soldier, slow to act but sure in execution, resolute, reliable, and steadfast in battle. General Longstreet was an incredibly intriguing man, about whom many questions can be raised. What were his most impressive victories, how did he win them, and what made the close friendship and partnership between General Longstreet and General Lee as effective as it was for the Confederacy?

General Longstreet was better at designing a battle to favor him than he was at actually fighting one. He had some of the most amazing defensive skills in history, and would meticulously place his infantry and artillery to hold his ground. At times he could become somewhat insubordinate when following orders with which he disagreed. Yet when the enemy was surging forward, and the battlefield blasted to pieces by Union artillery, Longstreet would set cool and confident in his saddle.

Aside from Lee, Longstreet had many friends whom he'd met in the Mexican war and at West Point. During the the War Between the States Longstreet's camp was always bustling with friends and acquaintances. He was famous for his poker face, (one which he practiced in battle), and card games were often the focus of these gatherings. Longstreet's participation in these congregations ended abruptly when three of his children died of scarlet fever in the winter of 1863. Afterwards, Longstreet sat quietly and contemplatively while his friends drank and joked nearby. This sudden loss of humor disturbed his companions and they often attempted to renew his interest in their games but Longstreet would not relent. This stubbornness was characteristic of Longstreet and he often displayed it on the battlefield. It was at this tragic point in his life that Longstreet became very philosophical and sometimes cynical about the war. He took long rides around his army thinking about what the army should do and how he should do it, meticulously designing battles so that he could win them. He picked good high ground, built strong barricades, and dug deep trenches. He placed his artillery carefully at key locations so that the attacking army would be bombarded with exploding shells. As a battle neared, Longstreet would ride anxiously along his line, seeing to every detail.

Longstreet Statue at Gettysburg

General Longstreet is best described in a passage written by General Kemper. Kemper describes Longstreet while his men hug the ground for safety as every inch is pounded by enemy artillery, "Longstreet rode slowly and alone immediately in front of our entire line. He sat on his large charger with a magnificent grace and composure I never before beheld. His bearing was to me the grandest moral spectacle of the war. I expected to see him fall every instant. Still he moved on, slowly and majestically, with an inspiriting confidence, composure, self-possession and repressed power in every movement and look, that fascinated me." General James Longstreet was the man who was asked to do the dirty work and the impossible for the of the Cause. At his funeral in 1904, James Longstreet was beheld for the final time by his loyal men before he was lowered into his grave. He was no gentleman and he didn't speak perfect English, but this did not matter to his soldiers and comrades. They would always remember General Longstreet as a tall, handsome and blunt man who fought by their side in the bloodiest war on American soil. He was there from start to finish, and endured through victory and defeat. When the real fighting had to be done, Lee did not look to General Jackson or to General Hill, when it was really rough, General Lee looked to the one man he could always depend on: his old "War Horse", General James Longstreet.

Additional Sources:

ngeorgia.com
www.alexandersbattalion.org
mywebpages.comcast.net/civilwar101
www.oldgloryprints.com
www.agribusinesscouncil.org
users.snip.net/~hart
www.henry.k12.ga.us
www.bigcountry.de
www.artfinders.com
www.framery.com

On This Day In History

Birthdates which occurred on August 16:
1860 Jules Laforgue Uruguay, French poet (Les Complaintes)
1862 Amos Alonzo Stagg football pioneer, (developed wing back principle, quick kick, onside kick, double flankers, pass-run option play, man in motion)
1863 Gabriel Piern‚ Metz France, composer (Edith)
1868 Bernard MacFadden publisher (Physical Culture, True Romances)
1874 Arthur Meighen Canada, PM of Canada (1920,1,6)
1884 Hugo Gernsback sci-fi writer (1960 Hugo)
1892 Harold Foster cartoonist (created "Prince Valiant")
1894 George Meany NYC, labor leader (headed AFL-CIO)
1895 Lucien Littlefield San Antonio Tx, actor (Mr Beasley-Blondie)
1897 Robert Ringling circus master
1899 Glenn Strange Weed NM, actor (Sam the Bartender-Gunsmoke)
1902 Georgette Heyer England, novelist (Friday's Child)
1904 Wendell Stanley biochemist, 1st to crystallize a virus (Nobel '46)
1906 Franz Josef II prince of Liechtenstein (1938- )
1910 Mae Clarke Phila, actress (Frankenstein, Nana, Parole Girl)
1913 Menachem Begin Israeli PM (1977-83, Nobel 1978)
1914 Tullio Pandolfini Italy water polo (Olympic-gold-1948)
1917 Roque Cordero Panama, composer (Sonata Breve)
1925 Fess Parker Fort Worth Texas, actor (Davy Crockett, Old Yeller)
1928 Ann Blyth Mt Kisko NY, actress (Kismet, Mildred Pierce)
1930 Frank Gifford Calif, NFL halfback (NY Giants)/ABC sportscaster
1930 Robert Culp Berkley Calif, actor (I Spy, Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice)
1930 Ted Hughes England, poet laureate (1984- )
1930 Tony Trabert tennis pro (1955 Wimbledon)
1931 Betsy Von Frstenberg Germany, stage actress (Gingerbread Lady)
1932 Eydie Gorme Bronx NY, singer (Tonight Show, Bossa Nova)
1933 Stuart A "Smokey" Roosa Durango Colo, Col USAF/astronaut (Apollo 14)
1934 John Standing London England, actor (Edward-Lime Street)
1935 Julie Newmar Hollywood Calif, actress (Catwoman-Batman, Living Doll)
1936 Anita Gillette Balt Md, actress (Quincy ME, Marathon, Moonstruck)
1936 Gary Clarke LA Calif, actor (Hondo, Virginian, Michael Shayne)
1938 Andr s Balcz¢ Hungary, pentathlete (Olympic-gold-1972)
1938 Ketty Lester Hope Ark, actress (Hester-Little House on the Prairie)
1939 Carol Shelly London, actress (Gwendolyn Pidgeon-Odd Couple)
1939 Valeri V Ryumin cosmonaut (Soyuz 25, 32)
1940 Bruce Beresford, Australian film director whose films include Breaker Morant, Tender Mercies, Driving Miss Daisy.
1945 Kevin Ayers England, progressive rocker (Joy of a Toy)
1945 Robert Balaban Chicago, actor (Absence of Malice, Altered States)
1945 Suzanne Farrell Cincinatti, dancer (Don Quioxote)
1946 Lesley Ann Warren NYC, actress (Cinderella, Mission Impossible)
1947 John Howard (US), speed record (152.284 mph at Bonneville Flats, UT)
1952 Gianna Rolandi NYC, soprano (Der Rosenkavalier)
1952 Reginald Veljohnson actor (Carl Winslow-Family Matters, Die Hard)
1953 Catlin O'Heaney Whitefish Bay Wisc, actress (Snow White-Charmings)
1953 James Taylor rocker (Kool & The Gang-Joanna)
1953 Kathie Lee Gifford Paris Fla, hostess (Live with Regis & Kathie Lee)
1953 Nick Leyva baseball manager (Phillies 1988-91)
1957 Tim Farriss rocker (Inxs-Kiss the Dirt)
1958 Jonathan Prince Beverly Hills Pa, actor (Danny-Alice)
1958 Madonna (Ciccone) Bay City Mich, singer/actress (Like a Virgin)
1960 Timothy Hutton actor (Turk 182, Ordinary People)
1964 Jimmy Arias Buffalo NY, tennis player (US Davis Cup team)
1988 Rumer Willis child of Bruce Willis & Demi Moore

Deaths which occurred on August 16:
1675 Bogdan Chmilnicki, cosack leader/murderer of 300,000 Jews, dies
1854 Duncan Phyfe furniture maker, dies
1920 Norman Lockyer editor of NATURE, discoverer of helium in Sun, dies
1948 Babe Ruth Baseball legend, dies in NY at 53
1959 William "Bull" F Halsey, US vice-admiral
1977 Elvis Presley dies of heart ailment at Graceland at 42
1989 Amanda Blake actress (Gunsmoke), dies at 60
1991 Shamu the Whale dies at 16, from respiratory failure
1991 Stuart Karl CEO (Karl Home Video), dies at 38 of skin cancer

Reported: MISSING in ACTION

1968 BLEVINS LURAL LEE III PHILADELPHIA PA.
[06/69 REMAINS RECOVERED]
1968 ELBERT FRED BRENTWOOD NY.
[03/16/73 RELEASED BY PRG
1968 MC ELHANON MICHAEL O. FORT WORTH TX.
1968 OVERLOCK JOHN F. SPRINGFIELD MA.
1971 KENNEDY JOHN W. ARLINGTON VA.
[REMAINS RETURNED 1992/1993 ID'D 06/25/96]
1975 SIMMONS WILLIE E.
[RELEASED 10/01/75]

POW / MIA Data & Bios supplied by
the P.O.W. NETWORK. Skidmore, MO. USA.

On this day...
1513 Henry VIII of England and Emperor Maximilian defeat the French at Guinegatte, France, in the Battle of the Spurs.
1691 Yorktown Va founded
1743 Earliest boxing code of rules formulated in England (Jack Broughton)
1777 Americans defeat British in Battle of Bennington, Vt
1777 France declares a state of bankruptcy.
1780 British decisively defeat Americans in Battle of Camden, SC
1812 Gen Hull surrenders Detroit & Michigan territory to England
1819 Manchester Massacre; English police charge unemployed demonstrators
1829 Siamese twins Chang & Eng Bunker arrive in Boston to be exhibited
1858 U.S. President James Buchanan and Britain's Queen Victoria exchange messages inaugurating the first transatlantic telegraph line.
1861 Pres Lincoln prohibits Union states from trading with Confederacy
1863 Emancipation Proclamation signed
1870 Fred Goldsmith demonstrates curve ball isn't an optical illusion
1876 The opera "Siegfried" is produced (Bayreuth)
1890 Alexander Clark, journalist/lawyer, named minister to Liberia
1896 Gold discovered in the Klondike, found at Bonanza Creek, Ala
1898 Roller coaster patented
1903 Tigers play a home game in Toledo Ohio, Yanks win 12-8
1915 KC's Alex Main no-hits Buffalo (Federal League), 5-0
1920 Ray Chapman, of the Indians is hit in the head by Yanks' Carl Mays pitch; he dies next day, only major league fatality
1934 US ends occupation of Haiti (been there since 1915)
1934 US explorer William Beebe descends 3,028' (1922 m) in Bathysphere
1936 11th Olympic games close in Berlin
1946 Great Calcutta blood bath - Moslem/Hindu riot (3-4,000 die)
1948 The Israeli pound becomes legal tender
1954 Sports Illustrated publishes it's 1st issue
1955 Fiat Motors orders 1st private atomic reactor
1956 Adlai E Stevenson nominated as Democratic presidential candidate
1959 USSR introduces installment buying
1960 Britain grants independence to crown colony of Cyprus
1960 Joseph Kittinger parachutes from balloon at 31,330 m (84,700')
1960 Republic of the Congo (Zaire) forms
1963 Independence is restored to Dominican Republic
1965 AFL awards its 1st expansion franchise (Miami Dolphins)
1969 Woodstock rock festival begins in NY
1976 St Louis Cards beat San Diego Chargers 20-10 in Tokyo (NFL expo)
1977 Yanks blow 9-4 lead in 9th but beat Chicago 11-10 in bottom of 9th
1981 Highest score in World Cup soccer match (New Zealand-13, Fiji-0)
1984 LA federal jury acquits auto maker John Z DeLorean on cocaine charges
1984 Largest harness racing purse ($2,161,000-Nihilator wins $1,080,500)
1984 NASA launches Ampte
1985 Singer Madonna weds actor Sean Penn
1986 Madonna's "True Blue," album goes #1 for 5 weeks & her single "Papa Don't Preach," goes #1 for 2 weeks
1987 156 die as Northwest Flight 255 crashes at take off in Detroit
1987 Astrological Harmonic Convergence-Dawn of New Age
1987 NY Mets beat Chicago Cubs, 23-9
1988 IBM introduces software for artificial intelligence
1988 Jailed black nationalist Nelson Mandela struck with tuberculosis
1988 Mayor Koch says he plans to wipe out street-corner windshield washers
1989 Roger Kingdom of USA sets the 110m hurdle record (12.92) in Zurich
1990 Iraq orders 4000 Britons & 2500 Americans in Kuwait to Iraq
1991 Pres Bush declares the recession is near an end

Holidays
Note: Some Holidays are only applicable on a given "day of the week"
Elvis International Tribute Week Ends
Cyprus : Independence Day (1960)
Dominican Republic : Restoration Day (1963)
Liechtenstein : Prince Franz-Josef II Day
Vermont : Bennington Battle Day (1777)
Hawaii : Admission Day (1959) ( Friday )
Mich : Montrose-Blueberry Festival ( Friday )
Yukon : Klondike Gold Day (1896) ( Friday )
USA : 60s Music Appreciation Weekend (Woodstock 8-15-17-1969)
Don't Wait...Celebrate Week Ends

Religious Observances
old RC : Feast of St Joachim, father of Mary, confessor
RC : Memorial of St Stephen, apostle of Hungary (opt)

Religious History
1815 Birth of St. John Bosco, Italian educator. Poverty among the children in the city of Turin led him in 1859 to establish the Society of St. Francis of Sales (the Salesians). Bosco was canonized by Pius XI in 1934.
1852 Birth of Adolf von Schlatter, Swiss Protestant New Testament scholar. His 1921 History of Christ maintained that the success of any systematic theology had to be based on a foundation of solid biblical exegesis.
1875 Death of early 19th century Presbyterian revivalist Charles G. Finney, 82. Converted at 29, he led revivals for several years before affiliating with Oberlin College in 1835, where he spent the rest of his professional life.
1942 Birth of Don Wyrtzen, contemporary Christian songwriter. Among his most enduring sacred compositions are "Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow" and "Worthy is the Lamb."
1972 African-American Methodist clergyman from Dominica, West Indies, Philip A. Potter, 51, was named general secretary of the World Council of Churches. Serving until 1984, Potter gave strong spiritual guidance to the work of the WCC.

Source: William D. Blake. ALMANAC OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1987.

Thought for the day :
"Fame is proof that people are gullible."

You might be a computer geek if...
you've ever debated the merits of the FVWM95 window manager...
...with yourself.

Murphys Law of the day...(Toddlers Laws)
The amount of sound from the other room is inversely proportional to the amount of trouble the child is getting into.

Cliff Clavin say's it a little known fact that...
Almonds and pistachios are the only nuts mentioned in the Bible