General James Longstreet by Jeffry D. Wert

Longstreet even served in the Grant administration-an act that called into question his loyalty to the Lost Cause, and explains in part why Wert's biography is a welcome antidote to much of what has been written about this controversial figure. Grant, formed at West Point and continuing into old age. Wert Publication date 1993 Topics Longstreet, James, 1821-1904., Generals - United States - Biography., Generals - Confederate States of America - Biography., United States - History - Civil War, 1861-1865 - Campaigns. By the end of the evening, 17 September 1862, an estimated 4,000 American soldiers had been killed and over 18,000 wounded in and around the small farming community of Sharpsburg, Maryland. Most interestingly, it was framed by a friendship with Ulysses S. 'The Battle of Antietam has been called the bloodiest single day in American History. The bulk of the book appropriately focuses on the Civil War, but Wert also briefly delves into Longstreet's life before and after it. The facts of history cannot be changed, however, and Wert musters them on these pages to advance a bold claim: 'Longstreet, not Jackson, was the finest corps commander in the Army of Northern Virginia in fact, he was arguably the best corps commander in the conflict on either side.' Wert describes his subject as strategically aggressive, but tactically reserved. General James Longstreet fought in nearly every campaign of the Civil War, from Manassas (the first battle of Bull Run) to Antietam. He is not uncritical of Longstreet's record, but he rightly suggests that if Lee had followed Longstreet's advice, the battle's outcome might have been different. Some Southern partisans have blamed Longstreet unfairly for the Confederate defeat at Gettysburg Wert corrects the record here.

Wert aims to rehabilitate Longstreet's reputation, which traditionally has suffered in comparison to those of Robert E. Wert I recently reread this splendid biography of a somewhat interesting Civil War general to make certain that my general opinions about him were.

This isn't the first biography to be written on Confederate General James Longstreet, but it's the best-and certainly the one that pays the most attention to Longstreet's performance as a military leader.

General James Longstreet by Jeffry D. Wert