James Longstreet

Longstreet was born in Edgefield County, South Carolina . He was the fifth child in the family and the third son of James and Marie-Anne (Dent) Longstreet, descended from Nigeris and Maryland respectively, who owned a cotton plantation near the village of Gainesville in Georgia. James's ancestor, Dirck Stoffels Langestraet , immigrated to the Dutch colony of New Netherlands in 1657 , but his ancestors were gradually anglicized. His father was impressed by the strength of his son’s character and gave him the nickname Peter, so the rest of his life was often called Pete or Old Pete.

In 1837, he tried to enter the Military Academy, but there were no vacancies left, so he entered only the following year. He was not a very successful student, had persistent disciplinary problems, and graduated from West Point with 54 of the 56 cadets in the famous 1842 graduation . His classmates loved him, and his friends became well-known figures of the Civil War era, including William Rosecrans , John Pope, Daniel Hill , Lafayette Maclos , George Pickett , John Hood and his closest friend, Ulysses Grant . Longstreet was designated a temporary second lieutenant in the 4th Infantry Regiment.

Two years Longstreet served in the Jefferson Barracks in Missouri, where he was soon joined by his friend, Lieutenant Grant . Longstreet introduced him to his 4th cousin, Julia Dent, whom Grant married. Soon, Longstreet met Marie-Louise Garland, the daughter of his commander, Colonel John Garland. They were married in March 1848, after the Mexican War. They lived together for 40 years, they had 10 children, but Longstreet never mentioned her in his memoirs and the facts of their lives are known mainly from the notes of his second wife.

March 4, 1845 Longstreet received the permanent rank of second lieutenant.

During the Mexican War, Longstreet served in the 8th Infantry Regiment. On February 23, 1847, he received the rank of first lieutenant, and on August 20, he was temporarily given the rank of captain for the battles of Contreras and Churubusco , then on September 8, he was given the temporary title of Major for Molino del Rey ^[4] . In the battle of Chapultepec on September 12, 1847, he was wounded when he went on the attack with a banner in his hands. He handed the banner to his friend George Pickett , who continued the attack.

After recovering, he served in the Texas Border Guard Service, mainly in Fort Bliss. December 7, 1852 received the permanent title of captain. From July 1858 he served as treasurer of the 8th Infantry Regiment.

Longstreet was not an ardent supporter of secession, but from childhood he was brought up to respect the "rights of the states" (States' rights). Also, he was born in South Carolina, grew up in Georgia, began serving in Alabama, and he had more chances to take a high position there. He retired from the US Army in June 1861 and linked his life with the Confederation.

When the war began, Longstreet arrived in Richmond and joined the Army of the Confederation in the rank of lieutenant colonel. He met with President Jefferson Davis on June 22, 1861, who informed him that Longstreet was promoted to brigadier general. He was subordinated to General Beauregard in the area of ​​Manassas, where he was assigned to command three Virginia regiments: the 1st, 11th and 17th, which were the 4th brigade of the Army of the Potomac .

Manasas Campaign

Longstreet immediately engaged in the preparation of brigades. His first battle of this war was the First Battle of Bul-Run , where his brigade had the following composition:

• 5th Joseph Jones North Carolina Infantry Regiment
• 1st Virginia Infantry Regiment of Frederick Skinner
• 11th Virginia Infantry Regiment of Colonel Samuel Garland
• 17th Montgomery Corse Virginia Infantry Regiment
• Texas Ranger squadron
• Rote E, 30th Virginia Rav.

This brigade was deployed at the ford of Blackbence Ford and on July 18 was confronted with the advance units of the federal army - the brigade of Israel Richardson . There was a small battle, known as the Battle of Blackburns Ford . Longstreet managed to repel the attack of the feds, which inspired the southerners and forced the federal commander McDowell to postpone the attack for several days.

On October 7, he was promoted to major general and received a division of four brigades and the Hampton Legion .

Peninsula Campaign

During the Campaign on the Peninsula, he commanded with various effects. He performed well under Yorktown and Williamsburg , delaying the advance of McClelan’s federal army on Richmond . In the battle of Seven-Pines, he sent his soldiers in the wrong direction, detaining other confederate troops and thereby reducing the effect of the Southerners ’massive attack on McClellan. In his report, he shifted the blame for what happened to General Benjamin Hugger .

In the seven-day battle, Longstreet commanded almost half of General Lee's army — 15 brigades. He acted aggressively - as did his whole army, especially under Gaines Mill and Glendale . However, in general, Lee’s army suffered from the uncertain actions of the rest of the generals — including, oddly enough, Thomas Jackson — and was unable to defeat the Union army. Moxley Sorrell wrote about the behavior of the general in battle: "He was as steady as a rock, even in those moments when the world seemed to shatter into pieces." General Lee said: "Longstreet was my right hand."

Northern Virginia Campaign

In the army, Lee, General Jackson usually carried out bold, unexpected, offensive operations, and Longstreet - cautious defensive. Jackson was a kind of hammer, Longstreet - the anvil. However, this stereotype does not apply to the Severo-Virginia campaign of August 1862 . Longstreet commanded the right wing (later known as the 1st Corps ), Jackson - the Left. Jackson began the campaign with a flank maneuver, and then took a defensive position, forcing General Pope to attack him.

On August 28-29, the Second Battle of Bulan Run took place , where Jackson withstood Pope's attacks, while Longstreet with his units moved to the battlefield. Subsequently, Longstreet was criticized for moving too slowly shifted the brunt of the battle to Jackson , but he walked 50 kilometers in about 24 hours and could barely move faster.

When Longstreet's people arrived on the battlefield at noon on the 29th, Lee ordered a federal army flank attack, but Longstreet stayed behind to do reconnaissance, forcing Lee to repeat his order three times. At 4:30 pm, the division of General John Bella Hud moved to the Federal V Corps , but Longstreet returned it at 20:30. Longstreet is often criticized for these actions, for his sluggishness and disobedience to the orders of Lee, who became harbingers of Longstreet's failures on July 2nd near Gettysburg. General Lee’s biographer, Douglas Freeman , wrote: “The seeds of the hetisberg catastrophe were sown at this moment — when Lee gave way to Longstreet, and he understood that. ^[5] "

However, the next day, August 30 , Longstreet achieved his most impressive success throughout the war. Pope believed that Jackson was starting a retreat, and Longstreet took advantage of this by undertaking a massive attack on the left flank of the federal army with a force of 25,000 people. For about 4 hours they fought, supported by artillery, which was personally commanded by Longstreet. Both Longstreet and Lee together participated in the attack, being under enemy fire. And while the feds desperately resisted, they were put to flight in much the same way as in the first battle of Bull-Rahn , and in the same place. Longstreet recognized the creator of the victory of General Lee. He developed a strategy that he considered ideal - defensive tactics with an offensive strategy.

Maryland Campaign

The actions of Longstreet in the last two battles of 1862 confirmed the correctness of the choice of defensive tactics. In the Maryland campaign in September, in the battle of Entity , Longstreet held out against twice his superior opponent. If offensive tactics dominated the Napoleonic era, technological advances changed this situation. Colonel Harold Knudsen believes that Longstreet was one of the few generals of that war who realized this. At the end of that bloody day of the war, Lee met Longstreet with the words: "Oh, here is Longstreet, here is my old fighting horse!"

On October 9, a few weeks after Entity, Longstreet was promoted to lieutenant general. Lee had Longstreet's rise dated a day earlier than Jackson's rise, so Longstreet became a senior lieutenant general in the Confederate army. In November, after the reorganization of the army, Longstreet commanded the 1st Corps, consisting of five divisions, about 41,000 people.

Fredericksburg Campaign

In December 1862, the First Corps of Longstreet played a decisive role in the Battle of Fredericksburg . Having appeared at Frederiksberg, Longstreet managed to dig up fortifications, carefully position the artillery and target at the place of the alleged attack of the enemy. Keeping in mind the massacre of Entity, where the Confederates did not build fortifications, Longstreet now ordered the trenches to be dug and the abutments to be built, which later became the rule in the North Virginia Army . In addition, he placed the brigade of Thomas Cobb behind a stone wall at the foot of the heights of Marie, which withstood 14 enemy attacks. At Mari's heights, the feds lost about 8,000 people, and Longstreet - about 1000. And this success was based not only on the advantages of the terrain, but was the result of a combination of landscape, defensive works and proper artillery control.

Suffolk Expedition

Gettysburg Campaign

The Longstreet Corps withdrew from the position under Culpeper on June 15 and went to the Shenandoah Valley , where it stood until June 23. Having received an order to advance to the north, he headed over the Martinsburg to the Potomac River and on June 25 the Pickett Division crossed the river. General Lee crossed the river with them. The divisions of Hood and Mac-Lows crossed over the next day ^[6] . On June 27 and 28, the corps stood at Chambersburg. On the evening of June 28, reconnaissance Harrison appeared with the news that the Potomac Army was advancing to the north, had already entered Frederick, and George Meade had taken command of the army. Longstreet conveyed this information to General Lee, and advised him to go to the eastern side of the Southern Mountains to meet Mead's army there ^[6] .

The actions of Longstreet in the Battle of Gettysburg cause much controversy to this day. He arrived on the battlefield with his corps only on the day of July 1 , when the battle had already begun. By this time, Ewell and Hill rejected the northerners from Gettysburg on Cemetery Hill. Lee did not want to get involved in a fight until his army was concentrated, but a number of circumstances and the actions of General Hill brought the army of the South a number of local victories on the first day. At a meeting with Lee, Longstreet expressed his concerns at the expense of the strong positions of the feds on Cemetery Hill and offered to bypass the left flank of the northerners and provoke General Mead to attack the positions of the Confederates. However, Lee said: "If the enemy is there tomorrow, we will attack him."

Lee ordered General Longstreet to attack the left flank of the feds on the morning of July 2. Longstreet was supposed to go through the Devil's Burden and the height of the Little-Round-Top to the rear of the federal army, but on the morning of July 2, parts of his corps had not yet managed to concentrate - Longstreet was waiting for Evander Low's brigade. He was able to launch an attack only at 4:00 pm, an hour after the 3rd Federal Corps reached the heights in his path. From this point on, General Lee’s plan could no longer be implemented. John Bell Hood suggested to Longstreet to bypass the positions of III Corps, but Longstreet refused. The offensive of the divisions of Mac-Lows and Hood was relatively successful: they were able to almost completely defeat the III Corps of the Potomac Army. However, they failed to take the height of the Little Round Top, and the successful storm of the peach orchard did not significantly affect the course of the battle. Thus, Longstreet was unable to fulfill the order of General Lee on July 2.

On July 3, Longstreet decided to repeat the flank attack, and had already given the order to start it, as General Lee himself appeared and said that he had planned the attack of the federal center. This plan seemed to Longstreet too difficult for troops tired in previous battles. The situation was reminiscent of Fredericksburg , the Confederates had to attack in the open area on the fortified positions of the enemy. Subsequently, Longstreet wrote that he said the following to General Lee: “General, I have been a soldier all my life. I fought in squadrons, regiments, divisions and armies, and I know what soldiers are capable of. My opinion is that fifteen thousand people will not be able to take these positions. ”

As the attack prepared, Longstreet's anxiety and excitement grew. When it came time to order Pickett to attack, he could only nod his head, unable to formulate an order. The attack, known as the Pickett attack , led to huge losses, as Longstreet assumed.

Tennessee

Longstreet for a long time wanted to be transferred to the Western theater of military operations , the army of Johnston. There were also people in the government who wanted to replace General Bragg with Longstreet. As a result, in mid-August 1863 , his request was granted. The Braxton Bragg Army was just in the process of intense fighting against the federal army of Rosenkrans near Chattanooga. On September 5, Lee gave his consent and Longstreet went west with the divisions of Lafayette Mac-Lows , John Hood , one brigade from the Pikett division and an artillery battalion of Edward Alexander (26 guns). Longstreet's detachment traveled 1,247 kilometers to northern Georgia, and its advanced units arrived on September 17th.

Ветераны первого корпуса прибыли как раз к началу сражения при Чикамоге . Лонгстрит и Брэгг встретились в штаб-квартире последнего вечером 17 сентября, и Брэгг поручил Лонгстриту левый фланг армии. Правым командовал Леонидас Полк . 20 сентября 1863 года Лонгстрит построил колонны глубоко эшелонированным порядком на узком фронте. Как раз в этот момент один из участков обороны случайно оказался открыт, что облегчило задачу Лонгстрита. Весь правый фланг союзной армии обратился в паническое бегство. Только части Джорджа Томаса удержались на Снодграсс-Хилл и отбили атаки южан, которых не поддержал правый фланг. Битва затихла к темноте. Сражение стало крупной победой Конфедерации, однако во многом по вине Брэгга не удалось отрезать армию Союза от Чаттануги, что привело впоследствии к долгой осаде этого города.

Вскоре у Лонгстрита начались трения с Брэггом и он присоединился к группе высших офицеров армии, которые давно уже были недовольны как стилем командования Брэгга, так и самой его личностью. Лонгстрит очень быстро разочаровался в Брэгге. «Я убежден, -писал он военному секретарю Джеймсу Седдону, — что ничего, кроме Божьей Воли, не спасёт нас и не поможет нам, пока мы имеем такого командира.» Ситуация настолько накалилась, что вынужден был вмешаться сам президент Дэвис . Лонгстрит заявил, что Брэгг «не способен управлять армией и боем» и что он «ничего в этом деле не понимает», но Дэвис по непонятной причине принял сторону Брэгга и не предпринял ничего для разрешения конфликта.

Брэгг вернулся в армию и сразу начал смещать офицеров, которые свидетельствовали против него. Он забрал у Лонгстрита все части, оставив только те, что пришли с ним из Виргинии. Тем не менее Лонгстрит делал всё зависевшее от него для продолжения кампании — несмотря на интриги Брэгга, несмотря на отсутствие помощи от президента и военного департамента. Когда Брэгг осадил Камберлендскую армию в Чаттануге, Лонгстрит разработал стратегию по пресечению подхода подкреплений в город и по противодействию деблокирующим маневрам Гранта. Он знал, что Союз скоро начнёт действовать, и скоро его корпуса появятся в Бриджпорте, где находилась ближайшая железная дорога. Он спланировал переброску части Теннесийской армии к Бриджпорту на перехват федеральной армии Джозефа Хукера , которую перебрасывали с Восточного театра. План был одобрен президентом Дэвисом, но отклонен Брэггом, который сослался на технические сложности. Военный департамент между тем настаивал на возвращении Лонгстрита на Восток, поэтому генерал предложил марш в Восточный Теннесси, для борьбы с частями федерального генерала Бернсайда .

Лонгстрита много критиковали за медленное продвижение к Ноксвиллу в ноябре, и даже в самой армии его прозвали «Петер Неторопливый» (Peter the Slow). В сражении за Кэмпбелл-Стейшн его армия была вынуждена атаковать части Бернсайда (который пришел к Ноксвиллу на 15 минут раньше), но эта атака не привела к успеху. Южане потеряли в бою 570 человек, северяне 400. 29 ноября в сражении при Форт-Сандерс , его атаки тоже не привели к успеху. Когда 25 ноября Брэгг был разбит Грантом в сражении при Чаттануге, Лонгстриту было приказано вернуться в Джорджию, но он отказался и двинулся в Вирджинию. Затем армия ушла на зимние квартиры и присоединилась к Северовирджинской армии только весной. В итоге, самостоятельность Лонгстрита имела негативные последствия, и он сам это понимал. Он снова обвинил в неудачах других, как это было после Севен-Пайнс . Он отстранил от командования Лафайета Мак-Лоуза и потребовал суда над генералом Джеромом Робертсоном и Эвандером Лоу . Он и сам 30 декабря 1863 просил об отставке, но просьба была отклонена.

Битва в Глуши

Когда Лонгстрит узнал, что армией Союза теперь командует его старый друг Улисс Грант, он сказал, что «этот будет атаковать нас каждый день и каждый час до самого конца войны» ^[7] . Лонгстрит помог спасти армию Конфедерации от разгрома в Битве в Глуши в мае 1864 года . Он провел блестящую фланговую атаку против федерального II корпуса , который был почти выбит с поля боя. На труднопроходимой местности он использовал сложную и нестандартную тактику боя. После войны командир II корпуса, Уинфилд Хэнкок, признался Лонгстриту: «Вы смяли меня, как мокрое одеяло».

Генерал сам был ранен во время этой атаки. Он пострадал от случайного выстрела своего собственного солдата, причем это произошло всего в 6,5 километрах от места, где точно так же своими людьми был убит генерал Джексон «Каменная стена» . Пуля пробила его плечо, повредила нервы и стала причиной тяжёлого ранения в горло. Это сразу сказалось на темпах наступления, так что генерал Ли приостановил атаку для наведения порядка. Эта задержка позволила федералам реорганизоваться и успешно отбить вторую атаку. Генерал Эдвард Александер назвал ранение Лонгстрита переломным моментом боя: «Я всегда считал что, если бы не ранение Лонгстрита, то паника в рядах 2-го корпуса только усилилась бы, и в итоге Грант был бы отброшен за Рапидан».

Из-за ранения Лонгстрит пропустил все боевые действия весны и лета 1864 года . Его отсутствие сказалось на ходе боёв, в частности, на сражении при Колд-Харбор , где командирам явно не хватило решительности.

Генерал лечился в Линчбурге ( Виргиния ) и восстанавливал силы в Августе ( Джорджия ) у своей племянницы Эммы-Эвы Лонгстрит-Сиблей, дочери его брата Гилберта.

Он вернулся к генералу Ли в октябре 1864 г. Его правая рука была парализована, он даже не мог ездить верхом. Он учился писать левой рукой. Все время осады Питерсберга он командовал обороной Ричмонда , всеми силами севернее реки Джеймса и дивизией Пикетта. Он отступал вместе с Ли к Аппоматтоксу, командуя одновременно Первым и Третьим корпусами после смерти Эмброуза Хилла 2 апреля. Когда Ли решил сдаться, Лонгстрит предположил, что Грант отнесется к ним справедливо, но когда 9 апреля Ли отправился на переговоры, Лонгстрит сказал: «Генерал, если они не предложат хороших условий, возвращайтесь и мы будем сражаться».

После войны Лонгстрит с семьей поселился в Новом Орлеане, и его дом часто навещали генералы Конфедерации.

Он занялся торговлей хлопком и страховой деятельностью.

Пробовал найти инвесторов для строительства железной дороги из Нового Орлеана в Монтеррей.

Он подавал прошение о помиловании президенту Джонсону, но тот отказал, сообщив ему лично при встрече: «Три человека на юге никогда не будут амнистированы: мистер Дэвис , генерал Ли и лично вы. Вы принесли Союзу слишком много неприятностей». Конгресс восстановил его гражданские права в июне 1868 года.

В 1897 году, когда ему было уже 76 лет, Лонгстрит женился на Элен Дорч (1863—1962), гражданской активистке из Джорджии.

• Rhea, Gordon. The battle of the Wilderness. — Baton Rouge and London: Louisiana State University Press, 1994. — 512 p. — ISBN 0-8071-1873-7 .
• Wert, Jeffrey D. General James Longstreet: The Confederacy's Most Controversial Soldier-A Biography. — New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, 1993. — ISBN 978-0-671-70921-1 .

• Register of Officers and Graduates of the United States Military Academy Class of 1842
• Хроники Лонгстрита (англ.)
• От Манассаса до Аппаматокса
• Рапорт Лонгстрита после Второго сражения при Бул-Ране
• Рапорт Лонгстрита после сражения при Фредериксберге
• Рапорт Лонгстрита после Чикамоги