Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use

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Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research.

Existence and Location of Copies

This collection has been digitized and is available online .

Preferred Citation

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], James Longstreet Correspondence, Ms1993-003, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

The James Longstreet Correspondence was acquired by Special Collections and University Archives prior to 1994.

Processing Information

The processing and description of the James Longstreet Correspondence commenced and was completed in October, 2023.

Biographical Note

James Longstreet, son of James and Mary Ann Dent Longstreet, was born in Edgefield District, South Carolina, on January 8, 1821. An 1842 graduate of the United States Military Academy, Longstreet was commissioned a brevet second lieutenant. During service in the Mexican-American War, he was promoted to first lieutenant, then breveted a captain and, finally, a major, before being wounded in the Battle of Capultepec. Still recuperating at the war's end, Longstreet married Louise Garland (1827-1889) on March 8, 1848; the couple would have 10 children (three of whom would die during an 1862 scarlet fever epidemic). Longstreet returned to active peacetime service in the army, then resigned his commission at the outbreak of the American Civil War. He joined the Confederate Army as a lieutenant colonel but by June 22, 1861 had been named a brigadier general. On October 7, he was promoted to major general and assumed command of a division within the Army of Northern Virginia. He served in the war's eastern theater and became a chief subordinate of Robert E. Lee, commander of the Army of Northern Virginia. Following the Confederate loss at Gettysburg, and at his own request, Longstreet was transferred to the war's western theater. Longstreet returned with his forces to the Army of Northern Virginia in February, 1864. He was seriously wounded at the Battle of the Wilderness three months later but returned to serve during the final months of the war. Following the war, Longstreet, a Republican, served in various roles within the federal government. His cooperation with former enemies and his criticisms of Lee's wartime performance led to Longstreet's loss of popularity among southerners. He published his memoirs,  From Manassas to Appomattox  in 1896. In 1897, he married Helen Dortch (1863-1962), a social advocate, librarian, and newspaper woman. James Longstreet died in Gainesville, Georgia, on January 2, 1904, and was buried in Alta Vista Cemetery, Gainesville.

Scope and Content

The James Longstreet Correspondence consists of eight post-American Civil War letter written to the former Confederate lieutenant general by his children: Fitz Randolph Longstreet (one letter), John Garland Longstreet (one letter), Mary Louise "Lula" Longstreet Whelchel (three letters), and Robert Lee Longstreet (three letters). The collection also contains letters from Masie Johnston Sanders (regarding the purchase of some of Longstreet's furniture), Richard B. Shepard (requesting an autographed copy of Longstreet's book), U. Stamps (regarding a mansion on U Street, Georgetown), and C. Herbert Walling (requesting an autograph). The collection also includes an account statement from J. B. Lippincott Co., publishers of Longstreet's From Manassas to Appomattox .

Related Material

VT Special Collections and University Archives also maintains the John W. Fairfax Letters, Ms2009-025 , which contains letters to Longstreet from Fairfax.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Civil War
• United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865

Rights Statement for Archival Description

The guide to the James Longstreet Correspondence by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ ).