Posted on 08/25/2017 6:58:35 AM PDT by Antoninus
One of the advantages of the present media-driven furor to remove or demolish monuments to the Confederacy is that it is forcing numerous Americans, myself included, to dig deep into the history of the Civil War. And what a strange, convoluted period of history it is! The primary sources are plentiful, rich and deep which makes for endlessly fascinating reading. If the aim of the iconoclasts was to push this period of history even further from the national consciousness, or gloss over it with cherry-picked anecdotes allowing for knee-jerk verdicts, they have failed miserably.
For my own part, I have started looking into the lives and characters of the generals of the Confederacy—and a more intriguing group of characters is seldom to be found. Having done some research into the Cherokee Confederate general, Stand Watie, I next moved on to another atypical rebel officer, General James Longstreet. As I was doing so, CNN published an article asking the question: “Where are the monuments to Confederate Gen. James Longstreet?” It's an interesting question. In truth, there are two that I was able to find. One at Gettysburg, and another in Gainesville, Georgia. Given his bio, however, the man deserves more recognition.
Most people’s familiarity with Longstreet stems from his role as Lee’s second-in-command at Gettysburg, and thus his prominent place in popular historical entertainment such as the movie Gettysburg and Michael Shaara’s novel, The Killer Angels upon which the movie was based. Longstreet’s virtues and flaws as a military leader have long been the subject of spirited debate. But his career on the battlefield is not primarily what interests me here. Longstreet’s life after the war is, if possible, even more interesting than his deeds as Lee’s lieutenant.
During Reconstruction, Longstreet became a pariah to his southern compatriots. In the election of 1868, Longstreet endorsed his old friend from West Point, Ulysses S. Grant, and became a Republican. After winning the election, Grant appointed Longstreet to a customs position in New Orleans, and he was subsequently made a general in charge of the Louisiana state militia. As a result, he was ostracized by many in the South, who considered him a scalawag and a collaborator with carpet-bagging Union profiteers.
It was in his role as head of the Louisiana militia that Longstreet participated in an action that caused his name to be blackened even further within former-Confederate circles. Following a contested election in 1874, a Democrat mob known as the White League attempted to remove the Republican administration from New Orleans by force. Descending on the city in numbers greater than 5,000, they were confronted by a smaller number of largely Black police and militia headed by General Longstreet. As the two sides lined up for battle, Longstreet rode out to meet the rioters in an attempt to quell the matter before the sides came to blows. One White League leader later claimed that it was only with the greatest difficulty that he restrained his men from shooting Longstreet dead on the spot. Instead, they pulled him from his horse and took him prisoner. In the resulting fight, known to history as the Battle of Liberty Place, the White League caused Longstreet’s men to retreat, with about 100 dead and injured on both sides.
Federal troops were later called in to suppress the White League, free Longstreet and restore order. But Longstreet’s days as a military officer were now over, and his role in the affair attracted even more vituperation from those still attached to the Lost Cause. This rancor from his countrymen wounded him. In 1877, he had a religious awakening, as recorded in the book, Lee and Longstreet at High Tide (1904), by his wife, Helen Dortch Longstreet:
“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 the 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.” [Lee and Longstreet at High Tide, page 118]
Longstreet passed away of cancer in 1904 at the age of 82. He was buried in Gainesville, Georgia where the impressive statue shown above may be found today. By the time of his death, any animosity his Confederate comrades had felt for him was gone. Newspaper reports of the funeral service mentioned vast throngs of mourners arriving to pay their last respects. Lavish tributes to Longstreet poured in from all corners of the country. Following the funeral Mass, an oration was given by Bishop Joseph Keily of Savannah, Georgia who had fought under Longstreet during the Civil War. In that eulogy, Bishop Keily gave the man a fitting tribute, saying:
“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….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…This seemed to sum up Longstreet in a nutshell. He was a man disappointed by political creeds offered to ephemeral temporal powers, who found fulfillment in loyalty to an eternal creed professed to an everlasting power.
“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…” [Lee and Longstreet at High Tide, page 219]
One of the few generals who understood early how rifled guns and artillery made Napoleonic techniques obsolete.
The Taliban Left looks at history and sees a collection of evil bogeymen who have been honored with statues. The Taliban Left now strives to tear these down.
But in almost all cases the statues and monuments pay homage to decent and honorable men who strived to build a better world.
It’s true, there were some remarkable figures on both sides. Where I live, there is a monument devoted to Gen. William Loring, who was one of those brilliant, flamboyant adventurers that populated the 19th century and served as a general for three armies successively: the U.S. Army, the Confederate Army (which he joined because his home state seceded, not because he hated African Americans) - and the Egyptian army. He was hired for the latter post and later wrote a book about his experiences.
Of course, they want to remove his statue. So yes, it’s great that this has renewed interest in some of these figures. The problem with most of the people behind the demand for marker removal is that they are just plain ignorant and know nothing about US (or any other) history.
Yep. Longstreet was the forerunner of WWI battle strategy.
An interesting factoid: One of General Longstreet’s staff officers was a Lt. Col. Payton Manning.
No wonder then the Left hates him - he's got every quality they despise and oppose.
One of the best generals on either side of the war as well, in my opinion.
W. G. Piston wrote a good book, “Lee’ Tarnished Lieutenant.” It shows the injustice done one of the greatest generals in the south.
Jubal Early and a couple of others that failed in their own conduct at Gettysburg are much to blame for how their senior General was slurred.
“....CNN published an article asking the question: “Where are the monuments to Confederate Gen. James Longstreet?”
Not that they have ANY respect or regard for the general. They want to agitate to have them demolished. To quote H.S. Truman on a different subject, “ They (CNN) don’t know as much about that as a hog knows about Sunday.”
I didn’t know these anecdotes, and now treasure them. Thanks for this post.
Longstreet was a 4th cousin of Grant’s wife Julia.
He also wrote a great history on the Army of the Potomac called “Sword of Lincoln”.
This is FR at its best.
I read this book about Longstreet several years ago and was greatly impressed. Three thoughts come to mind.
1. Longstreet was Lee’s Old Warhorse. Why? He was a fierce fighter and highly intelligent.
2. As the book title implies, he fought in virtually every major battle in the east and many in the west. He was everywhere. He even lost a leg and was back in full action quickly.
3. He was not a dead ender. After the war he aligned with Republicans and the task of bringing the South back into union with the North. He did not incite racism. He paid a price with the ideologue democrats of the time. He was even a pall bearer at Grant’s funeral.
James Longstreet was a great man.
The period in American history known as reconstruction when blacks were given the vote including holding elective offices (then restricted or removed when deferderalized including Jim Crow when the democrats regain control
Hisory isrevised or ignored because it doesn’t fit into the socialists agenda which calls for division. The reason those monuments in question are placed, honoring men who fought for their cause when after defeat did not continue on. But rather chose to accept and support the result to unuify the country
Now the democrats has figured out what to do with those separate colored only toilets used until the 1960’s.
,,,,,,, didn’t get to the top of the Round Tops in a timely fashion ,,, he procrastinated for many good hours while the north took the high ground and forced Lee into another day of battle . Lee made the mistake of attacking a fortified line head on during the third day ,,, had Stonewall been there he would have attacked the north on both ends of their line . A tactic he used successfully very often .
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