Longstreet With greetings from the Longstreet family

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Aug 25, 2013
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I just found this and was happy to see that Helen Dortch Longstreet, General James Longstreet's second wife, was accepted as part of the family. I have often read that his children resented her, which I always regretted.
So, in the spirit of Thanksgiving, you might enjoy this photo of the Longstreet family.

(and Helen looks like an identical twin of my maternal grandmother, btw!)

upload_2017-11-20_16-29-42.png

https://i.pinimg.com/736x/9b/94/93/9b94933688347cbc4d2ddcc98e23866a--james-longstreet-biography.jpg
 
I just found this and was happy to see that Helen Dortch Longstreet, General James Longstreet's second wife, was accepted as part of the family. I have often read that his children resented her, which I always regretted.
So, in the spirit of Thanksgiving, you might enjoy this photo of the Longstreet family.

(and Helen looks like an identical twin of my maternal grandmother, btw!)

View attachment 166616
https://i.pinimg.com/736x/9b/94/93/9b94933688347cbc4d2ddcc98e23866a--james-longstreet-biography.jpg
Nice find.
 
Thanks Andrea!!! Jamie Longstreet has only been gone 3 years...I just finished reading an article about her. :D

That's interesting! Thanks for telling, I'm always fascinated what bridges can be built into the past ...
Helen Dortch Longstreet died in 1962, when I was already born. And suddenly, 150 years don't seem so very far away anymore!
 
Ben Ames Williams was a popular writer, novelist originally from Mississippi. two of his novels I have read. House Divided and The Unconquered. His mother, Sara Marshall (Ames) was Longstreet's niece. he wrote a wide variety of stories, including many historical short stories about the Revolutionary War and the Civil War. He wrote the edited A Diary From Dixie by Mary Boykin Chestnut.
 
Ben Ames Williams was a popular writer, novelist originally from Mississippi. two of his novels I have read. House Divided and The Unconquered. His mother, Sara Marshall (Ames) was Longstreet's niece. he wrote a wide variety of stories, including many historical short stories about the Revolutionary War and the Civil War. He wrote the edited A Diary From Dixie by Mary Boykin Chestnut.

Wow, I did not know that either!!
Thanks! "A diary from Dixie" sits on my Kindle for quite some time...
 
@FarawayFriend, I have read and enjoyed both novels mentioned by @mofederal. I think you would like them too. They feature our favorite General as a character. I love the pic you shared in the OP. I don't think I have seen it before. I have seen a picture of Jamie Longstreet at the Longstreet statue in Gettysburg. She is buried in the Longstreet plot in Gainesville.
 
Ben Ames Williams was a popular writer, novelist originally from Mississippi. two of his novels I have read. House Divided and The Unconquered. His mother, Sara Marshall (Ames) was Longstreet's niece. he wrote a wide variety of stories, including many historical short stories about the Revolutionary War and the Civil War. He wrote the edited A Diary From Dixie by Mary Boykin Chestnut.

@FarawayFriend, I have read and enjoyed both novels mentioned by @mofederal. I think you would like them too. They feature our favorite General as a character. I love the pic you shared in the OP. I don't think I have seen it before. I have seen a picture of Jamie Longstreet at the Longstreet statue in Gettysburg. She is buried in the Longstreet plot in Gainesville.

I'm absolutely hopeless. :nah disagree:
After the two of you have recommended them, I have just ordered "House Divided". Oh my, 1540 pages!! I love thick books... but now I'm afraid Bruce Catton (whose AoP trilogy I had planned to read over the holidays) may have to wait a little more, because this sounds just irresistible:

upload_2017-11-22_15-11-4.png

51uoFupNG%2BL._SX320_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1556526199/?tag=civilwartalkc-20
 
I'm absolutely hopeless. :nah disagree:
After the two of you have recommended them, I have just ordered "House Divided". Oh my, 1540 pages!! I love thick books... but now I'm afraid Bruce Catton (whose AoP trilogy I had planned to read over the holidays) may have to wait a little more, because this sounds just irresistible:

View attachment 166917
View attachment 166918
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1556526199/?tag=civilwartalkc-20

You're gonna love "House Divided." I read some place that there was some "family" quarrels about Ben Ames Williams' books. It seems some Longstreet relatives thought he took liberties in his comments about the General and Louisa. He said he got it all firsthand from interviews with Longstreet's children. I loved it! He portrays General Longstreet as a very caring father and his marriage as a happy one.
 
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You're gonna love "House Divided." I read some place that there was some "family" quarrels about Ben Ames Williams' books. It seems some Longstreet relatives thought he took liberties in his comments about the General and Louisa. He said he got it all firsthand from interviews with Longstreet's children. I loved it! He portrays General Longstreet as a very caring father and his marriage as a happy one.
Sounds exactly like the kind of book I will love! I really look forward to reading it. Thanks again @Eleanor Rose and @mofederal
 
I'm absolutely hopeless. :nah disagree:
After the two of you have recommended them, I have just ordered "House Divided". Oh my, 1540 pages!! I love thick books... but now I'm afraid Bruce Catton (whose AoP trilogy I had planned to read over the holidays) may have to wait a little more, because this sounds just irresistible:

View attachment 166917
View attachment 166918
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1556526199/?tag=civilwartalkc-20


Now you got me to wanting to order it !!!!

Good grief Charlie Brown..................lol


Respectfully,
William
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@FarawayFriend, you got me searching for more pics of Helen. Here's a new one to me. Helen is packing her bags before leaving a reunion of veterans. The photo is dated July 7, 1938.

View attachment 167026

Wow, I never saw that one before! It sure is a rare shot! And I must say, I always admired Helen, but travelling with such a cigar box of a suitcase is more than heroic! Even the one I use for weekend trips is twice the size!
As to her own size, I'm surprised how petite she was! From the early photos I always thought she was tall and full-figured, a kind of Valkyrie type. Maybe I thought that because of her nickname, "The fighting Lady". But she seemed to be a rather small person!
Isn't it sad that she had to spend so many years of her life alone? I know it's natural, she married a man 42 years her senior and no one lives forever, but spending a life of memories and fighting to keep other peoples memory of him alive and corrected - I would have wished for her to have more fun and much more time together with her hero husband. Because that is what he was for her.
 
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