James Longstreet Jr.
James Longstreet was a U.S. Army soldier who graduated from the West Point Military Academy, and was a Veteran of the Mexican-American War. He resigned his U.S. commission in June of 1861 to join the Confederate Army, becoming one of the most prominent generals of the Civil War and the principal subordinate to General Robert E. Lee, who called him his "Old War Horse". Longstreet served under Lee as a corps commander for many of the famous battles in the eastern theater. However, his most controversial service was at the Battle of Gettysburg in July of 1863, where he openly disagreed with the offensive tactics ordered by General Lee, and reluctantly commanded multiple unsuccessful attacks on Union positions, including the famously disastrous Pickett's Charge. Afterwards, he served in the Western Theater with Braxton Bragg in the Army of Tennessee.
Born: January 8, 1821
Birthplace: Edgefield, South Carolina
Height: 6'0"
Father: James Longstreet Sr. 1783 – 1833
Mother: Mary Ann Dent 1793 – 1855
(Buried: Somerville Cemetery, Somerville, Alabama)
1st Wife: Maria Louisa Garland 1827 – 1889
(Buried: Alta Vista Cemetery, Gainesville, Georgia)
Married: March 8, 1848 in Lynchburg, Virginia
2nd Wife: Helen Dortch Longstreet 1863 – 1962
(Buried: Westview Cemetery, Atlanta, Georgia)
Married: September 8, 1897 in Atlanta, Georgia
Signature:
Children:
John G. Longstreet 1848 – 1918
(Buried: Alta Vista Cemetery, Gainesville, Georgia)
Augustus Baldwin Longstreet 1850 – 1862
(Buried: Hollywood Cemetery, Richmond, Virginia)
William Dent Longstreet 1853 – 1854
(Buried: Oak Hill Cemetery, Washington, D.C.)
James Longstreet III 1857 – 1862
(Buried: Hollywood Cemetery, Richmond, Virginia)
Mary Anne Longstreet 1860 – 1862
(Buried: Hollywood Cemetery, Richmond, Virginia)
Major Robert Lee Longstreet 1863 – 1940
(Buried: Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia)
Colonel James Longstreet III 1865 – 1922
(Buried: Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia)
Fitz Randolph Longstreet 1869 – 1951
(Buried: Alta Vista Cemetery, Gainesville, Georgia)
Louise Longstreet 1872 – 1957
(Buried: Oak Hill Cemetery, Washington, D.C.)
Education:1842: Graduated from West Point Military Academy (54th in class)
Occupation before War:1842 – 1845: Brevet 2nd Lt. United States Army, 4th Infantry Regiment
1845 – 1847: 2nd Lt. United States Army, 8th Infantry Regiment
1847 – 1852: 1st Lt. United States Army, 8th Infantry Regiment
1852 – 1858: Captain United States Army, 8th Infantry Regiment
1858 – 1861: Major and Paymaster in United States Army
1861: Resigned from United States Army on June 1st
Civil War Career:Horse Names: Fly by Night and Hero
1861: Commissioned as Lt. Colonel in the Confederate Army
1861: Brigadier General in the Confederate Army Infantry
1861: Participated in the Battle of Blackburn's Ford
1861: Participated in the First Battle of Bull Run
1861 – 1862: Major General in the Confederate Army Infantry
1862: Participated in the Peninsula Campaign
1862: Rear Guard Commander at Battle of Williamsburg & Yorktown
1862: Participated in the Battle of Seven Pines
1862: Participated in the Seven Days Campaign
1862: Participated in the Second Battle of Bull Run
1862: Participated in the Maryland Campaign & Battle of Antietam
1862 – 1865: Lt. General of Confederate Army Infantry
1862 – 1865: Commander of First Army Corps Army of Northern VA.
1862: Participated in the Battle of Fredericksburg, Virginia
1863: Participated in the Siege of Suffolk, Virginia
1863: Heavily Participated in the Battle of Gettysburg
1863: Participated in the Battle of Chickamauga, Tennessee
1863: Participated in the Battle of Knoxville, Tennessee
1864: Wounded during the Wilderness Campaign
1864: Participated in the funeral of Lt. General Leonidas Polk
1864 – 1865: Participated in the Siege of Petersburg, Virginia
1865: Commander of First & Third Army Corps Army Northern VA
1865: Participated in the Appomattox Virginia Campaign
1865: Surrendered at Appomattox Court House Appomattox, Virginia
Occupation after War:
1866 – 1868: Cotton Broker in New Orleans, Louisiana
President of Great Southern & Western Fire, Marine Insurance Co.
Joined the Republican Political Party
1868: Endorsed Ulysses S. Grant for President
1869: Attended the Inauguration of President Ulysses S. Grant
1869 – 1871: U.S. Surveyor of Customs Port of New Orleans, Louisiana
1870: Louisiana State Adjutant General of Louisiana State Militia
1872 – 1877: Commissioner of Engineers for Louisiana
Major General of Louisiana State Militia
1874: Participated in the Battle of Liberty Place
United States Deputy Collector of Internal Revenue
1879 – 1880: United States Postmaster for Gainesville, Georgia
1880 – 1881: United States Ambassador to Ottoman Empire
1881 – 1884: United States Marshal for Georgia
Farmer in Gainesville, Georgia raising turkeys and Planted Orchards
1897 – 1904: United States Commissioner of Railroads
Died: January 2, 1904Place of Death: Gainesville, Georgia
Cause of Death: Cancer & Pneumonia
Age at time of Death: 82 years old
Last Words: "Helen, we will be happier at this post."
Burial Place: Alta Vista Cemetery, Gainesville, Georgia
Last edited by a moderator: