Topic: James Longstreet By Gabriel Attar Weebly: GabrielAttar1 flextape04

James Longstreet, the Man who Messed up.

I. Introduction

General James Longstreet was an extraordinarily crucial American Civil War leader. He also had

some prime background information that might explain why who he was: James Longstreet was

born in South Carolina, however, he spent much of his childhood at his uncle’s house, “Uncle

Gus” might have been influential in Longstreet’s early life as a states’ rights supporter.

Longstreet, later on, went to attend West Point, where he graduated in the class of 1842. At the

academy, Longstreet befriended Ulysses S. Grant, and after graduation, both officers would be

assigned to the 4th U.S. Infantry. (American Battlefield Trust) He led his part of the Confederate

army through several battles, winning just about all of them. He had many triumphs, like in the

Peninsula Campaign and Fredericksburg. However, he only really lost one battle, the Battle of

Gettysburg. Where General Longstreet ordered troops to charge across open fields to attack the

Union, which, consequently, caused the Confederacy to suffer a great loss. If Longstreet had not

lost that battle, the Confederacy might have won the war. Which, without a doubt, would have

caused unknown mass changes to the future. This paper will talk about Longstreet’s early War

life, the innovations he made in society, and his significance in History.

II. Building Action

General James Longstreet had many pre-battles before he reached Gettysburg. He fought

in battles like the Battle of Second Bull Run and the Battle of Fredericksburg, in which
he won both. According to American Battlefield Trust’s article on James

Longstreet.During the bloody battle of Fredericksburg that December, James Longstreet

took advantage of the terrain to create an almost impenetrable defense along Marye’s

Heights. From the heights above the enemies, he used his artillery so effectively that no

Union soldiers came closer than 30 yards to them. Moreover, “That August, at Second

Manassas, Longstreet’s wing of 28,000 men counterattacked the Union forces in what the

National Park Service calls “the largest, simultaneous mass assault of the war. The

Union left flank was crushed and the army was driven back to Bull Run.”.” Both these

quotes show that Longstreet won those two battles and fought very tactically. However,

once he reached Gettysburg, that all changed when Longstreet ordered his famous charge,

“ troops from Longstreet's corps under Maj. General George Pickett charged across open

fields to assault the Union center only to be repulsed, again at a great loss.” (American

Battlefield trust). James Longstreet is a very significant Confederate Civil War leader.

Based on the evidence above, he used tactics wisely and did what he could to get his side

to victory., Longstreet fought in many important battles of the conflict and ended the war

as a respected person, and General. Lee affectionately called him "my old warhorse,"

while his soldiers nicknamed him "the old bulldog" and "the bull of the woods.

(Encyclopedia Virginia). This evidence shows that Longstreet was a respectable man and

that he did his part in the war, Seeing Robert E. Lee calling James his “old war horse”, it

shows he must have been fairly key to be called such a nice thing by the Confederacy’s

leader. James Longstreet was not only a major influence on the American Civil War, but

he also participated in other battles, according to Encyclopedia Virginia, “Serving with

the 8th U.S. Infantry, James Longstreet wins repeated brevet promotions for conspicuous

bravery during the Mexican War.” This quote shows that James Longstreet also played a

role in the Mexican War. After the Mexican War, he officially resigned and joined the

Confederacy. Since he had a good reputation and his rank in the other army, he won

commission as a brigadier-general on June 17, 1861.

​III. Innovation

Once the war ended, James Longstreet did not stop there, “Longstreet joined the

Republican Party and held several federal offices beginning in the Grant administration.

Such actions earned him the moniker of “scalawag” among his fellow Southerners,” (

trary of Congress). He not only did that, but he also led an African-American Militia

against the anti-Reconstruction White League. According to American Battlefield Trust’s

article on Longstreet: Lots of Longstreet’s post-war actions were quite controversial,

some included his letters to the New Orleans Times, his support of the Republican

National Party, his acceptance of political appointments, and that he commanded

African-Americans. This quote shows Longstreet did a lot after the war and innovated

what others saw wrong. Even though he was a Confederate leader, which means he

fought and commanded troops to preserve the South and Slavery with it. After the war,

he fought for different races and the rights they deserved and did what others saw as

misguided or flat out wrong. One thing to demonstrate his efforts is when he commanded

a biracial group in New Orleans: “In the 1870s, he commanded a biracial state militia

loyal to Louisiana’s Reconstruction government, aggravating an old war wound while

fighting alongside his troops against violent white supremacists in the streets of New

Orleans.” (The Washington Post) Researchers now, however, are looking back at

Longstreet and are looking at the history to examine it once more: However, today’s

debate has a come a full historical circle from where it originally stood. Longstreet does

have some things to answer for at Gettysburg, but then so does just about every other

prominent Confederate general in that campaign, starting with Lee himself. There can

certainty in the fact that there be no doubt that Longstreet was opposed to Lee’s

aggressively offensive stance at the Battle of Gettysburg. Longstreet’s full wartime

record can, at last, be examined without the overlay of prejudice and partisanship his

postwar politics brought on. And Robert E. Lee’s relationship with him can be

investigated without stumbling over long-dead Lost Cause issues. (American Heritage).

This quote shows that Researchers are looking back at what Longstreet did but this time

without bias from people claiming he lost the War, this time at an unbiased standpoint.

IV. Significance in History

​If Longstreet hadn’t have served in the Confederate Army, there could have been very

different outcomes to the Civil War. For all we know, the Union could have lost, but

there is no way of predicting such things. However, there are actual significances for

which he is known for. Like: “Longstreet's reputation was further tarnished when some

Confederate officers—led by Jubal A. Early—said that Longstreet had disobeyed Lee's

orders at Gettysburg.” (Biography.com). This quote shows that if he did lead the South

to lose the entire war, which then the south lost slavery ended and African Americans
gained many more rights. However, if Lee had had a different General who would

“follow orders” then maybe they would have won the Battle of Gettysburg. Some

information from Encyclopedia Virginia detailing what he did after the war may also

highlight his significance: After the war, Longstreet decided to live in New Orleans, but

he moved to Gainesville, Georgia, in 1875, staying there until he died. During the

Reconstruction period, he accepted political appointments from the Republican National

Party. Although normally conservative on social issues, he endorsed biracial politics as

the South's accepting future. As a commander of the Louisiana state militia, Longstreet

endangered his life by defending black civil rights against white supremacist violence.

These actions effectively erased his reputation as a Confederate hero. This information

shows the actions Longstreet took that further tarnished his reputation and made him

controversial. However, he wasn’t controversial as soon as he resigned, it took a long

time before people started to think he wasn’t as good, as shown from this quote from

American Heritage: “No, that subtitle should have been “The Confederacy‘s Most

Controversial Ex-Soldier.” Only in the nearly four decades left to him after the war did he

become so argued over. How that came about is a cautionary tale for those who write

Civil War history, and for those who read it. It is also an argument in favor of the

rewriting of history every generation or so.” This quote shows that people did not all the

sudden think he was bad. It took time for people to be talking about him and hear what

other people think what happened. Not all people disagreed with Longstreet, some liked

him, but most probably did not: “As southerners in general and Virginians in particular

enshrined Lee's memory, Longstreet became a scapegoat for Lee's failures and the central
 figure in the emergent Lost Cause mythology white southerners developed to explain the

loss of the war.” (Encyclopedia Virginia).

​V. Conclusion

All in all, James Longstreet was a very vital Civil War leader. He had a very major

significance in history and helped the Confederacy win most of its battles during the Civil

War. If he hadn’t had lost the battle of Gettysburg, then maybe things would have been

different. Maybe slavery in the United States would still be legal, and maybe plantations

would still be around. Several things could have been different. However, everything

happens for a reason.

Works Cited

American Battlefield Trust​. www.battlefields.org/learn/biographies/james-longstreet. Accessed 5

Oct. 2018.

American Heritage​. www.americanheritage.com/content/general-longstreet-and-lost-cause.

Background

Biography.com​. www.biography.com/people/james-longstreet-9385783.

Encyclopedia Virginia.​ www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Longstreet_James_1821-1904. Triumph

The Evening Bulletin​. ​Chronicling America.​

General James Longstreet in New Orleans.​ people.loyno.edu/~history/journal/Canzona.htm#41.

Accessed 5 Oct. 2018.

General James Longstreet: The Confederacy's Most Controversial Soldier​. Jeffry D. Wert.

HistoryNet.​ www.historynet.com/james-longstreet. Tragedy

Library of Congress.​

www.loc.gov/exhibits/civil-war-in-america/biographies/james-longstreet.html.

National Park Service.​ www.nps.gov/people/james-longstreet.htm. Accessed 5 Oct. 2018.

The Washington Post​.

www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-forgotten-confederate-general-who-would-make-a-better

-subject-for-monuments/2016/01/27/f09bad42-c536-11e5-8965-0607e0e265ce_story.html?utm_t

erm=.a8f8456411d2.