Longstreet The Longstreet/Pickett relationship - friendship, camaraderie or...?

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Aug 25, 2013
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Do you know that? You read something and an image builds up in your mind that becomes quite persuasive - until you think it's reality.
That is the case with my image of the relationship between James Longstreet and George Pickett. Somehow I always thought they were pretty good friends - although I cannot really tell why I thought that. Now, in another thread, @diane and @War Horse enlightened me about the fact that it were not Sally Pickett and her husband George who cared for the burial of the Longstreet children. That is a myth created by LaSalle Pickett in one of her books. I had always found it perfectly credible, an act of true friendship - but now I can't help asking myself, what was the true relationship of these two men? Is it true that Longstreet befriended Pickett at West Point (although they were not classmates (as I had thought also...), Longstreet graduated in 1842, Pickett in 1846)? And what is true about the story from the Mexican war - Pickett taking the American flag out of the the hands of his wounded friend (?) Longstreet and placing it on the ramparts of Fort Chapultepec? Was that an act of friendship, as I always thought, in the way of "if any of us did it, we have done it both" - or was it just that Pickett seized the chance to distinguish himself without thinking twice about Longstreet? And then of course, Pickett's Charge. I admit that my image here comes from the movie "Gettysburg". One of my favorite scenes, the desperate Longstreet and the dashing Pickett, eager to fight. I can imagine that so well, Longstreet hoping against hope that a more confident, less doubtful man like Pickett maybe can do the impossible with his men...
Sure there are other stories of the two of them. What do you more knowledgeable members think? Were they friends? Comrades? Just professionally linked as superior and subaltern officers?
Seems I need some help to get my image straight...
 
Interesting topic! I've never really thought about it before but it does have bearing on Pickett's confidence leading the charge at Gettysburg. The two had been friends before, and at Chapultepec, Pickett was the first American over the walls of the castle to plant the flag. Nothing wrong with his courage, that's for sure. But Longstreet had had the flag before him and went down with a wound, passing the flag to his friend. That friend might also have been Grant, who was near enough by to have taken the flag as well. He later distinguished himself by hauling a howitzer into the bell tower of the church and laying down some impressive cover fire. All three were good friends, and Grant married Longstreet's cousin.

Poor Pickett had the misfortune to be the only high ranking Virginian to take part in the charge at Gettysburg and Virginia papers played him up...until they realized it was a disaster. It was, actually, Longstreet's Assault - and Pickett didn't blame Old Pete. He blamed Lee. He and his wife stayed friendly with Longstreet, even when other Confederates heavily criticized him. I think it might have been because of that and because Pickett was very aware Longstreet was against the charge that destroyed Pickett's reputation.

You know, he probably thought the Longstreet children were already buried, not...well, stored.
 
Longstreet and Pickett were certainly friends. The kind of friendship that lasts a lifetime. When Longstreet was shot in the thigh and was going down he passed the flag to his friend George Pickett to carry over the wall at Chapultepec. When soldiers come up through the ranks together, brave death in battle together they form a bond. That bond is in a lot of ways equal to blood!
 
If I recall correctly, the Chapultepec incident actually happened. And I a recent Longstreet book called their relationship "brotherly" (I believe Wert, but it could also have been Mendoza, I'll have to double check).

It is likely that Pickett would not have made a major generalship of the division (half of Longstreet's old division) that he did without Longstreet. Pickett had been wounded commanding his brigade at Gaines's Mill. When Longstreet's division was split into two at the start of the Second Manassas Campaign, the half that contained his brigade was commanded by James Kemper (who Pickett was senior to and likely would have commanded the division), with the other half commanded by Cadmus Wilcox. I personally believe that this was done so Pickett could command a division if he returned to duty early.

After Second Manassas, Kemper's division was folded into D.R. Jones's division and Wilcox's division was folded into Richard Anderson's division. After Antietam, when Pickett returned to duty, he was given the late D.R. Jones's old division over Wilcox and Kemper. There were several factors in this: A.) Pickett's gallant performance at Gaines Mill, B.) Pickett's status as a Virginian (with Lee), C.) Longstreet's friendship and patronage, D.) Wilcox's mediocre performance commanding his division at Second Manassas and Pickett's seniority to Kemper. I think C is critical because Longstreet, as he would do with Micah Jenkins, would go to great lengths to advance officers he favored.
 
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Trust you to come up with one of the best questions ever! I really hadn't thought about it, but I do believe they were truly friends for all the reasons given above. That Mexican War experience was pretty special. As far as the flag, whoever happened to be handy would have probably gotten it from Longstreet and taken it up as best they could....just another of those Pickett in the right place at the right time.

Good discussion!
 
Thank you all for giving me reason to think that I was not totally wrong in thinking they were friends!
Does anybody know of any account of a post-war meeting? Of course that might have been difficult as Pickett had to hide in Canada for a while and died pretty young, age 50, IIRC.
I skipped reading Wert's Longstreet biography last summer for the benefit of being prepared for our Gettysburg meeting. Seems I should resume reading now!
 
I don't know if they met after Pickett returned from Canada - Pickett didn't live very long after his return. If he had been in the States he probably would have tried to take up for Longstreet, who was really getting beat on after Lee's death, if he thought it would do his friend any good. His own reputation had been finished for all after the infamous shad bake at Five Forks. However, soldiers from Pickett's division who survived the charge did take up for Longstreet. Jubal Early suppressed a number of these testimonies in support of Longstreet - didn't fit his narrative.
 
Interesting topic! I've never really thought about it before but it does have bearing on Pickett's confidence leading the charge at Gettysburg. The two had been friends before, and at Chapultepec, Pickett was the first American over the walls of the castle to plant the flag. Nothing wrong with his courage, that's for sure. But Longstreet had had the flag before him and went down with a wound, passing the flag to his friend. That friend might also have been Grant, who was near enough by to have taken the flag as well. He later distinguished himself by hauling a howitzer into the bell tower of the church and laying down some impressive cover fire. All three were good friends, and Grant married Longstreet's cousin.

Poor Pickett had the misfortune to be the only high ranking Virginian to take part in the charge at Gettysburg and Virginia papers played him up...until they realized it was a disaster. It was, actually, Longstreet's Assault - and Pickett didn't blame Old Pete. He blamed Lee. He and his wife stayed friendly with Longstreet, even when other Confederates heavily criticized him. I think it might have been because of that and because Pickett was very aware Longstreet was against the charge that destroyed Pickett's reputation.

You know, he probably thought the Longstreet children were already buried, not...well, stored.
Knew that Longstreet, Grant and Wilcox were friends. Didn't realize Pickett was part of the gang. Learn something every day! (especially here at CWT...)
 
Longstreet graduated in 1842, Pickett in 1846)?

You'll get a kick out of this. Longstreet graduated 54th out of a class of 56 at West Point. George Pickett Graduated dead last in his class and his cousin Henry Heth also graduated dead last. I guess you could say it ran in the family. At any rate there were no real scholars among them. However they all proved to be pretty doggone good soldiers.
 
I think that the answer is complicated, and really depends on what one means with "friends". I think that they were colleagues who got along with each other at some point and then Pickett became Longstreet's subordinate and still got along ok. I have not read any signs of personal friendship, like spending time together "after work", which is something that Longstreet definitely had with Grant (before and after the war; and Longstreet introduced Grant to his cousin Julian Boggs Dent.) I'd call that a friendship.

Here is another thing that bothers me about this bit: Longstreet in his memoirs (Manassas to Appomattox) long after Pickett died wrote this regarding Pickett and day 3 in Gettysburg:

General Pickett, finding the battle broken, while the enemy was still reinforcing, called the troops off

Which is incorrect, because it never was reported to happen in any contemporary reports and it could have not happened for several reasons, the least of which would have been that it would be impossible for Pickett to know whether there were Union reinforcements coming. I kinda take this as a back-stabbing. And you don't do that to your friends. Dead or alive.
 
General Pickett, finding the battle broken, while the enemy was still reinforcing, called the troops off
I've been going through my copy also. I wouldn't put to much credence on that comment. The more I read this book the more I realize it was written by a man who was trying to defend himself without the benefit of his original papers which he had sent to Lee years earlier. He had been criticized for years and his memory clearly was not as accurate as it could have been.
 
I've been going through my copy also. I wouldn't put to much credence on that comment. The more I read this book the more I realize it was written by a man who was trying to defend himself without the benefit of his original papers which he had sent to Lee years earlier. He had been criticized for years and his memory clearly was not as accurate as it could have been.

Agreed.

My take is that if Pickett were his friend, he would not had thrown him under the bus.
 
Agreed.

My take is that if Pickett were his friend, he would not had thrown him under the bus.
One thing I will say. Even though "From Manassas to Appomattox" was written by my hero. It's my least favorite read. It's clearly written by a man who has been beaten up and on the defensive.
 
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One thing I will say. Even though "From Manassas to Appomattox was written by my hero. It's my least favorite read. It's clearly written by a man who has been beaten up and on the defensive.

However, do not dismiss it all. It has some really interesting truths. For example, when he is talking about day 3 at Gettysburg he says this:

General Lee has reported of arrangements for the day,—

''The general plan was unchanged. Longstreet, reinforced by Pickett's three brigades, which arrived near the battle-field during the afternoon of the 2d, was ordered to attack the next morning, and General Ewell was ordered to attack the enemy's right at the same time. The latter during the night reinforced General Johnson with two brigades from Kodes's and one from Early's division."

This is disingenuous. He did not give or send me orders for the morning of the third day, nor did he reinforce me by Pickett's brigades for morning attack. As his head-quarters were about four miles from the command, I did not ride over, but sent, to report the work of the second day.

And this sounds pretty darn true
 
However, do not dismiss it all. It has some really interesting truths. For example, when he is talking about day 3 at Gettysburg he says this:

General Lee has reported of arrangements for the day,—

''The general plan was unchanged. Longstreet, reinforced by Pickett's three brigades, which arrived near the battle-field during the afternoon of the 2d, was ordered to attack the next morning, and General Ewell was ordered to attack the enemy's right at the same time. The latter during the night reinforced General Johnson with two brigades from Kodes's and one from Early's division."

This is disingenuous. He did not give or send me orders for the morning of the third day, nor did he reinforce me by Pickett's brigades for morning attack. As his head-quarters were about four miles from the command, I did not ride over, but sent, to report the work of the second day.

And this sounds pretty darn true
Without a doubt. No, I do not dismiss it entirely. The letters he shares are also fascinating. It's a must have for any Longstreet fan. However it has its moments. Boy does it!
 
You'll get a kick out of this. Longstreet graduated 54th out of a class of 56 at West Point. George Pickett Graduated dead last in his class and his cousin Henry Heth also graduated dead last. I guess you could say it ran in the family. At any rate there were no real scholars among them. However they all proved to be pretty doggone good soldiers.
Not to derail the thread, but wasn't that rascal Custer last (or pretty darn close to last) in his class?

The whole West Point angle in Civil War history is fascinating to me. My favorite West Point story I've run across recently was how Cump Sherman (class of 1840, sixth in his class) kept getting demerits for sneaking out at night to the local tavern... but it wasn't to drink, like his more roguish classmates, it was to eat! Seems he had an extraordinary metabolism (easy to believe, given his legendary nervous energy), and they didn't feed those cadets much -- so the poor guy was constantly famished!
 
I've been going through my copy also. I wouldn't put to much credence on that comment. The more I read this book the more I realize it was written by a man who was trying to defend himself without the benefit of his original papers which he had sent to Lee years earlier. He had been criticized for years and his memory clearly was not as accurate as it could have been.
Longstreet sent his papers to Lee? I thought he'd lost them all in a fire and that's why he had to rely so much on memory.
 
If I recall correctly, the Chapultepec incident actually happened. And I a recent Longstreet book called their relationship "brotherly" (I believe Wert, but it could also have been Mendoza, I'll have to double check).

It is likely that Pickett would not have made a major generalship of the division (half of Longstreet's old division) that he did without Longstreet. Pickett had been wounded commanding his brigade at Gaines's Mill. When Longstreet's Division was split into two at the start of the Second Manassas Campaign, the half that contained his brigade was commanded by James Kemper (who Pickett was senior to and likely would have commanded the division), with the other half commanded by Cadmus Wilcox. I personally believe that this was done so Pickett could command a division if he returned to duty early.

After Second Manassas, Kemper's Division was folded into D.R. Jones's division and Wilcox's Division was folded into Anderson's Division. After Antietam, when Pickett returned to duty, he was given the late D.R. Jones's old division over Wilcox and Kemper. There were several factors in this: A.) Pickett's gallant performance at Gaines Mill, B.) Pickett's status as a Virginian (with Lee), C.) Longstreet's friendship and patronage, D.) Wilcox's mediocre performance commanding his division at Second Manassas and Pickett's seniority to Kemper. I think C is critical because Longstreet, as he would do with Micah Jenkins, would go to great lengths to advance officers he favored.
Love your avatar! That is a wonderful picture of Old Pete.
 
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