James Longstreet
Born January 8, 1821
Edgefield District, South Carolina
Died January 2, 1904
Gainesville, Georgia
Confederate general
Controversial military leader whose reputation as
General Robert E. Lee's "old war horse" was
shaken at Gettysburg
James Longstreet is perhaps the most controversial of the generals who served the Confederacy during the American Civil War. Longstreet's supporters point out that he fought courageously at many of the war's biggest battles, and that General Robert E. Lee (1807–1870; see entry) had such high regard for Longstreet that he affectionately referred to him as the Confederacy's "Old War Horse." But Longstreet's critics argue that he devoted too much time and energy to trivial political quarrels, and that he did not always do a good job of supporting Lee. Much of this still-lively debate about Longstreet centers on the Battle of Gettysburg, during which he and Lee had a famous dispute over military strategy.
A Georgia Childhood
Longstreet was born on January 8, 1821, in Edgefield District, South Carolina, to James and Mary Ann Dent Longstreet. Within weeks of his birth, however, he was taken to his parents' cotton plantation outside of Gainesville, Georgia. "My earliest recollections were of the Georgia side of theSavannah River, and my school days were passed there," Longstreet recalled.
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