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.