James Longstreet
James Longstreet
James Longstreetwas one of the foremost Confederate generals of the American Civil War and the principal subordinate to General Robert E. Lee, who called him his "Old War Horse." He served under Lee as a corps commander for many of the famous battles fought by the Army of Northern Virginia in the Eastern Theater, but also with Gen. Braxton Bragg in the Army of Tennessee in the Western Theater. Biographer and historian Jeffry D. Wert wrote that "Longstreet ... was...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionWar Hero
Date of Birth8 January 1821
CountryUnited States of America
About the city, here and there, a few soldiers could be seen, but there was no indication of the heavy masses that were concealed by the houses.
Pickett's lines being nearer, the impact was heaviest upon them.
That man will fight us every day and every hour till the end of the war.
In a very short time the army of Northern Virginia was face to face with the Army of the Potomac.
Before my troops reached the little city, and before the people of Fredericksburg knew that any part of the Confederate army was near, there was great excitement over the demand for surrender.
The town caught fire in several places, shells crashed and burst, and solid shot rained like hail.
If the blame (if there is any) can be shifted from him to me, I shall help him and our cause by taking it. I desire, therefore, that all the responsibility that can be put upon me shall go there and shall remain there.
As full lines of battle could not be handled through the thick wood, I ordered the advance of the six brigades by heavy skirmish lines, to be followed by stronger supporting lines.
General Pickett, finding the battle broken while the enemy was still reinforcing, called the troops off.
In the case of the armies at Fredericksburg it would have been, to say the least, very hazardous to give counter-attack, the Federal position being about as strong as ours from which we had driven them back.
The next time we met was at Appomattox, and the first thing that General Grant said to me when we stepped inside, placing his hand in mine was, Pete, let us have another game of brag, to recall the days that were so pleasant. Great God! I thought to myself, how my heart swells out to such magnanimous touch of humanity. Why do men fight who were born to be brothers?
Why do men fight who were born to be brothers?
There was no indication of panic. The broken files marched back in steady step. The effort was nobly made and failed from the blows that could not be fended.
I hope to live long enough to see my surviving comrades march side by side with the Union veterans along Pennsylvania Avenue, and then I will die happy.