James longstreet short biography

Perhaps no Confederate officer is surrounded by more controversy than James Longstreet.  Called “Old Pete” and “My Old War Horse” by Gen. Robert E. Lee, Longstreet was Lee’s trusted advisor and friend.  But, after the war, Longstreet became the target of many “Lost Cause” attacks.  His letters to the New Orleans Times, his support of the Republican Party, and his memoirs served to alienate many Southerners.

Longstreet was born in South Carolina, but spent much of his childhood at the home of his uncle, Augustus Baldwin Longstreet in Augusta, Georgia.

“Uncle Gus” may have been influential in Longstreet’s early life as a fervent proponent of states’ rights. Longstreet went on to attend West Point, where he graduated fifty-fourth out of sixty-two cadets in the class of 1842. At the academy Longstreet befriended a young man from Ohio, Ulysses S.

Grant, and after graduation both officers would be assigned to the 4th U.S. Infantry.

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