Mrs. General Longstreet

Thank you @Northern Light !! I admit that I'm a fan of Helen Dortch Longstreet, but it was about time that Maria Louisa got her own thread too. I'm not sure if the story about George and Sallie Pickett helping with the funeral of the Longstreet children is true - I thin I remember we had a thread that proved it wrong... @War Horse, I'm sure you remember that and know better than me.
Recently I read Elizabeth Keckley's book "Behind the scenes" where she tells about her life that started being a slave owned by a Mrs. Ann Garland (!) and later becoming tge confidante and friend of Mary Todd Lincoln. And lo and behold, I came across Mrs. General Longstreet there, too:
View attachment 299852
https://docsouth.unc.edu/neh/keckley/keckley.html
Maria Louisa had a sister named Elizabeth, and Betty is a diminutive of that name. I think perhaps Ms. Keckley was mis-remembering the women's names.
 
I am tracking down the family now,because I don't know who Ann Garland is. She is not Maria Louisa's mother, grandmother, or aunt.
The aunt she was visiting in Flint when she had her daughter was Mary Garland Deas. General Longstreet visited Flint after the war and owned property there prior to the war , but I believe it was confiscated by the government after the war started . There is a Garland St. in Flint .
 
George Pickett and Sally Corbell had helped nurse the children and were the ones who made the funeral arrangements. The grieving parents were unable to attend the funeral.

Finally I found @War Horse 's post about the burial of the Longstreet children. Indeed it weren't George and Sallie Pickett who took care of the burial because the General and Mrs. Longstreet were grieving too much to do it themselves. That story was an artistic impression by LaSalle Pickett intended to shine a favorable light on hubby George...
Actually there was no funeral at all. Generall Longstreet had the coffins bearing his children transferred to a rented vault where they awaited their later burial. More here:
https://civilwartalk.com/threads/the-wounding-of-general-james-longstreet.90588/page-2
 
Great thread @Northern Light That is the first that I’ve read Louise’s obit. It’s about time someone has started a thread to this remarkable woman. She may not have enjoyed the public notoriety that Helen enjoyed but she was every bit as remarkable. I find it comforting that she is interned at Alta Vista.

[Edited]. Does anyone know why Helen is buried in Westview Cemetery in Atlanta? If this is an inappropriate question, my apologies.
 
Last edited:
@Northern Light , I double checked on the info around Longstreet's conversion. From what I've read here, Louisa died in 1889. Longstreet's conversion, I believe, took place in 1877. I'll link you to an article here, but maybe someone could confirm?

"It was in New Orleans on March 7, 1877 that Longstreet converted to the Catholic faith. His conversion was brought about by Father Abram J. Ryan, the poet laureate of the Confederacy."

https://www.catholicstand.com/general-longstreet-catholic-convert-husband-fighting-lady/
 
@Northern Light , I double checked on the info around Longstreet's conversion. From what I've read here, Louisa died in 1889. Longstreet's conversion, I believe, took place in 1877. I'll link you to an article here, but maybe someone could confirm?

"It was in New Orleans on March 7, 1877 that Longstreet converted to the Catholic faith. His conversion was brought about by Father Abram J. Ryan, the poet laureate of the Confederacy."

https://www.catholicstand.com/general-longstreet-catholic-convert-husband-fighting-lady/
Good catch, CC. I misread the dates.
 
Maria Louisa Garland Longstreet
Most of us who are interested have probably heard of Helen Dortch Longstreet, who did everything she could to rehabilitate her husband’s reputation, but we are less familiar with the woman who was his first love, who bore his children, and who was married to him for over forty years. This is not surprising, as little is known about Maria Louisa Garland Longstreet.
Louise, as she was known by her family and friends, was born at Fort Snelling in the Minnesota Territory on March 16, 1827, the fourth child and third daughter of Harriet Smith and John Spotswood Garland. John Garland was a native of Virginia and distantly related to James Madison, and was a career soldier in the U.S. Army. Her mother was the daughter of Jacob Smith, founder of Flint Michigan. Louise and her siblings were born at the various places that their father was stationed during the 1820s and 1830s.

When she was fifteen, Louise met James Longstreet at Jefferson Barracks in 1843. He was twenty-one and under the command of John Garland. For Longstreet, it seemed like love at first sight. Her parents thought that she was too young to marry and urged a delay until Louise was older. Longstreet’s regiment was transferred to Louisiana and they were parted for a time.

The Mexican War began in and in the course of it, Longstreet was wounded. While recovering he headed to Lynchburg, Va. where Louise was staying with family. The romance bloomed and after a wait of four years, Louise and Longstreet were married on the evening of March 8, 1848 at the home of her uncle, Judge James Garland on Madison Street, known locally as Garland Hill.

This is the earliest picture I could find of Longstreet, before the war in his United States uniform.

View attachment 299515

Isn't he cute? LOL
Very handsome. He was 6' 2 and around 220lbs. Love him.
 
Back
Top