I heard that most of General Longstreet's personal war items like his uniform was lost by fire. Is that true? So sad if it is...
Very true.
Battlefield Tour Pays Tribute to Gen. James Longstreet | GCC ...
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Apr 4, 2012 ... After the Piedmont, we visited the site where Longstreet's home sat until a firedestroyed it. Today the site is occupied by a small part and a ...
His house went up in flames when he was away. Everything he owned, especially his war mementos were destroyed. It was interesting to me, how a house could conveniently go up in flames when he was away from it. Thank goodness his papers and official records he donated to the War Department and are in the Official Records of the Rebellion survived because they were elsewhere in Washington, D.C.
I personally believe it was arson. General Longstreet being vilified for so long and blamed for the loss at Gettysburg his blunder alone--well, General Longstreet wasn't respected by many because of that purposeful trampling on his name, honor and reputation. Hindsight is 20/20, we (in a general sense) know that Longstreet can't be the total reason why Lee lost Gettysburg-- To me, by destroying his mementos, it was another knife into Longstreet's back with a vicious twist to kill more of Longstreet's spirit. It isn't much different to the loss people in New York, New Jersey and elsewhere when their home and personal mementos were destroyed.
We modern students of history were deprived of General Longstreet's papers, personal letters back and forth between Generals Johnston, Lee, Hood, Armistead, "Stonewall" Jackson, J.E.B. Stuart, Pickett, Kemper and gosh knows who else. I can't help but wonder what General Pickett wrote, post Gettysburg--perhaps the answer as to why Pickett's Gettysburg official report never appears in the O.R.s, the contents for which Lee squashed it. We modern students are deprived of beholding his sword(s), spurs, uniform, commission(s), hats and the dip pen he might have used.
Our loss though would never measure to the loss of General Longstreet himself, and his relatives from which came from him from that four year period in time.
Just some thoughts and opinions.
M. E. Wolf