James Longstreet
courted Maria Louisa Garland, the
daughter of his regimental commander.
The couple were to enjoy a 40-year
marriage and have 10 children.
In the War with Mexico in 1846–48,
Longstreet was twice brevetted (given
acting promotions). At Chapultepec in
1847, he was shot in the thigh while
carrying the regimental standard and
handed it to Lt. George Pickett, who
planted the colors on the summit of
Chapultepec Hill. After the war,
Longstreet served at various Texas
frontier posts, where he consolidated
more friendships that would prove
beneficial in the Civil War.
When secession came, he was not
ardently supportive of the Southern
cause but, believing in the states’ rights
doctrine, felt compelled to offer his
services to Alabama, where his mother
still lived and where he knew he would
receive a high-ranking appointment as
the senior West Point graduate. In
1861, he resigned his U.S. commission.A man of military promise
Called to Richmond, the new
Confederate capital, Longstreet was
commissioned as a lieutenant colonel inD
ubbed an “old war
horse” by General
Robert E. Lee, James
Longstreet was one of the
most accomplished corps
commanders of the Civil
War. Serving under Lee in
the east and, later, under
General Braxton Bragg in
the war’s Western Theater,
he was instrumental in
several significant
Confederate victories.A likeable character
James Longstreet was born in 1821 to a
cotton planter in Edgefield District,
South Carolina. He spent the first nine
years of his life on his father’s plantation
and earned the nickname “Pete” after
the apostle Peter, for his apparent
steadfast behavior. His father died in
1833 and his mother moved to
Alabama. It was through her
connections in that state that he
obtained his appointment to West
Point in 1838. Only through grit
and good fortune did he graduate
(54th out of 56 cadets) in 1842.
Despite his academic difficulties,
he was well-liked by his
classmates, who included George
Pickett and especially Ulysses S.
Grant, who graduated a year
later. His first posting was to
Jefferson Barracks, Missouri,
with the 4th U.S. Infantry.
During this period, LongstreetCONFEDERATE LIEUTENANT GENERAL Born 1821 Died 1904
THE UNION TIGHTENS ITS GRIP 1863
“I hope ... to see my ...
comrades march side by
side with Union veterans.”
LONGSTREET AT A MEMORIAL DAY PARADE, 1902Rapid promotion
Longstreet, here
photographed by Mathew
Brady during the war, was
promoted from lieutenant
colonel to major general
within four months of
accepting his commission.
Lee trusted him implicitly,
affectionately calling him
“my old warhorse.”Storming Chapultepec
Among the victories of the War with Mexico was the
Battle of Chapultepec, in which Longstreet saw action and
which culminated in the storming of the hilltop castle,
shown in this lithograph after a painting by James Walker.