Confederate+Generals+-+James+Longstreet


 * General James Longstreet **

 **__Early Life__** - born January 8, 1821 in Edgefield District, South Carolina, in very close relation to Augusta - raised and worked on his parents' cotton plantation in northeastern Georgia - always considered himself a Georgian - at age 9, relocated to Richmond County in order to attend Richmond County Academy, a very renowned school - lived with his uncle, Augustus Longstreet who raised him from age 9 because of his father's death in 1833 and his mother's relocation to Alabama - Augustus Longstreet operated Westover Plantation in Augusts, Georgia - James Longstreet, again, worked on a plantation - his father, also named James, pushed the younger James to become very strong and brave by working in the fields of the plantation - credits this as his preparedness for war

- Longstreet was not well prepared for college - his officers claimed he was lazy and unwilling - high expectations were existent for Longstreet because he was urged and recruited by John C. Calhoun - graduated in 1842 from West Point; ranked 54th out of 56 graduates - was not skilled at independence
 * __College Preparation__**

- from West Point, Longstreet joined an infantry in the United States Army with brevet to 2nd Lieutenant, 4th Infantry - 1845 - promoted to 2nd Lieutenant, 8th Infantry at the Military Occupation of Texas - 1846 - promoted to 1st Lieutenant, 8th Infantry - 1847 - earned position of Captain following the Battle of Churubusco - won brevet to Major at Battle of Molina del Rey - during the assault of the Storming of Chapultepec, he was badly wounded - 1849 - fights to establish Ft. Lincoln, Texas - 1854 - 1858 - Commander of Ft. Bliss, Texas - 1851 - Longstreet resigned from US Army on June 1st in Albuquerque
 * __Military History__**

- following secession of Southern states, Longstreet signed with the Confederate Army where he soon became a Brigadier General - 1861 - ran the commanding brigade of the Army of the Potomac at Blackburn's Ford and First Manassas - 1861 - promoted as a Major General on October 7 - 1861 - 1862 - Longstreet was in the commanding department of Northern VA; gained recognition for performance in the Peninsula campaign (Yorktown, Williamsburg and Seven Pines) - 1862 - 1863, commanded 1st Corps of Army of VA; formerly Army of the Potomac - gained recognition for performance in battles of Second Manassas, South Mountain, Antietam and Fredericksburg - 1862 - promoted to Lieutenant General; become 2nd in command of Army of Northern VA and Senior Lieutenant General - 1862 (May - September) - Longstreet partook in the Battle of Gettysburg - he was blamed for the Confederate loss - on 2nd day of battle, Lee gave him orders to attack Cemetery Ridge during the morning he failed to do so, finally attaching late in the afternoon - realized the Union Army line was much further advanced than expected, could only force that lline back to Cemetery Ridge - 1864 - May 6 - wounded by friendly fire at Battle of the Wilderness by the 12th and 41st regiments of Mahone's Brigade - went to his family's home in Lynchburg, VA but had to be relocated to Augusta, GA because General Hunter threatened to capture him - 1865 - April 9 - Longstreet goes to Appomattox for the surrender of the Civil War
 * __Civil War Experience__**

- Longstreet, Owen & Company; President of the Mobile and Ohio Railroad and President of the Southern Hospital Association - chosen to respond to an inquiry from the New Orleans Times asking former Confederates who lived in the city to provide guidance on how citizens should respond to federal reconstruction laws - 1867 - published a letter in which he supported the suffrage of blacks; this sparks a national debate - 1867 - Longstreet joined the Republican Party - believed in giving civil and voting rights to freed slaves - this greatly angered his Confederate friends - 1870 - became Surveyor for the Port of New Orleans - went from being appointed to Board of Directors, to Vice-President, to President of the New Orleans, Jackson and Great Northern Railroad - became Adjutant General of the State of Louisiana, which gave him control of the militia - named President of New Orleans and Northwestern Railroad - 1873 - Longstreet named a position on the Levee Commission of Engineers - 1874 - led a group of 3,600 policemen and a black militia to the conflict when 3500 White Leaguers demanded that William Kellogg resign - White Leaguers captured Longstreet and held him hostage for the night - he was shot in the leg during the conflict - President Rutherford Hayes appointed Longstreet as Deputy Colelctor of Internal Revnue; then soon took the job of Postmaster in Gainesville, GA - 1880 - again appointed by President Hayes to become US Ambassador to Turkey - President Garfield chose Longstreet as US Marshal of Georgia - 1897 - appointed by President McKinley as US Commission of Railroads
 * __Post War Experience__**

- his father believed James was very strong and rocklike as a young boy - he was nicknamed Pete (signifies strength and courage) - although fighting for opposing sides, Longstreet and Ulysses S. Grant were good friends - Grant married Julia Dent (Longstreet's cousin) - Longstreet was well-known by his comrades for his passion for poker - his tents always had games of poker and alot of drinking - only a few years before his death, Longstreet attended several military reunions, including the 100th Anniversary of the US Military Academy in 1902 - married twice, the second being only seven years before his death; she was only 34 years old - operated the Piedmont Hotel in Gainesville where he raised turkeys, an orchard and a vineyard - Longstreet was famous for his wines made from scuppernong grapes - his Park Hill farmhouse burned under suspicious circumstances - Longstreet died of pneumonia at his daughter's house on January 2, 1904 (only 6 days shy of his 83rd birthday) - 1896 - wrote a memoir titled "From Manassas to Appamattox" - one of few Civil War generals to live to see the 20th century Chili Childress
 * __Personal Life/Quirks__**