Helen Longstreet on Gettysburg

[Mike Serpa]

Helen Dortch Longstreet (April 20, 1863 – May 3, 1962), known as the "Fighting Lady," was the second wife of Confederate General James Longstreet. She earned her nickname from being a champion of causes such as preservation of the environment and civil rights. She is also remembered for her work as a Confederate memorialist and postmistress.

Civil War Episodes - Gettysburg 90 pages. (Has different newspaper clippings, photos and maps compiled from sundry sources.)
https://archive.org/details/civilwarepisodeslinc_14

 

[MRB1863]

Interesting! Mrs. Longstreet is quite the compelling writer!

 

[Aussie Billy Sherman]

How ironic that she would be born in 1863, the year that saw Longstreet have probably his most famous moments in his life. No wonder his family thought she was too young for him.

 

[JPK Huson 1863]

I've always liked the wives of these men. Helen had her own dignity although you just know General Longstreet did not confide to her Pickett ' smilingly ' closed up the ranks of men as they fell. There's a macabre image even for someone embracing how proud one was of their men ( North or South, making no comment on sides here ).

She probably had a lot to deal with. Longstreet remained the scapegoat for Gettysburg's loss since Lee was untouchable. Helen keeping faith with her husband like this, in the national press is pretty staunch support. By 1922 Lee was more an icon than ever- but Longstreet was her husband. Good for her." In school I was at the head of my class in riveting school. In fact, I was the only one on it. " Her quote, meaning she was no ' wife only '- went to ' riveting ' school ', WWII, and was a Rosie the Riveter! I'm guessing the most elegant riveter in the United States. She did that through patriotism, too, lest anyone think Helen was ' Lost Cause '. All this to say Helen was a vastly unusual woman.

Thanks for posting this, Mike!

 

[FarawayFriend]

General Longstreet could not have found a better ally and companion. He dreaded being alone in old age and so remarried again. And Helen absolutely proved worth it. She was an intelligent and courageous woman and absolutely loyal to her husband. I have read her book "Lee and Longstreet at High Tide" and every word speaks of her deep affection and sincere admiration of her husband. She really is my favorite among all the wives of the generals. And she was a librarian too.

 

[John Winn]

It's nice to know he had at least one true ally later in life. I think the old boy got a raw deal and was, indeed, a scapegoat. Early et al. were also just unhappy that he became a Republican (among other things). Good on ya Helen.

And she died when I was twelve. So I could have met the wife of Gen. Longstreet. It's just one of those "not so long ago as it seems" things.

 

[Bee]

I did quite a bit of reading on Libbie Custer about a month ago, and reading about Helen reminded me of the similarity of the challenges both women faced in defending their husbands' legacies. It is interesting to note that both Helen and Libbie lived a very long time (even by today's standards), thus, outlived their immediate detractors. In an era when women depended much more on men for financial support, it is also worth noting that neither women remarried.

So many interesting people to read about -- just not enough time in the day to devote to all of them!

 

[civilken]

What some people won't do to get their name in the papers. I'm sure she was a lovely woman.