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Longstreet: The Confederate General Who Defied the South
An authoritative biography of the controversial Confederate general, who later embraced Reconstruction and became an outcast in the South.
It was the most remarkable political about-face in American history. During the Civil War, General James Longstreet fought tenaciously for the Confederacy. He was alongside Lee at Gettysburg (and counseled him not to order the ill-fated attacks on entrenched Union forces there). He won a major Confederate victory at Chickamauga and was seriously wounded during a later battle.
After the war Longstreet moved to New Orleans, where he dramatically changed course. He supported Black voting and joined the newly elected, integrated postwar government in Louisiana. When white supremacists took up arms to oust that government, Longstreet, leading the interracial state militia, did battle against former Confederates. His defiance ignited a firestorm of controversy, as white Southerners branded him a race traitor and blamed him retroactively for the South’s defeat in the Civil War.
Although he was one of the highest-ranking Confederate generals, Longstreet has never been commemorated with statues or other memorials in the South because of his postwar actions in rejecting the Lost Cause mythology and urging racial reconciliation. He is being rediscovered in the new age of racial reckoning. This is the first biography in decades and the first to give proper attention to Longstreet’s long post-Civil War career.
It was the most remarkable political about-face in American history. During the Civil War, General James Longstreet fought tenaciously for the Confederacy. He was alongside Lee at Gettysburg (and counseled him not to order the ill-fated attacks on entrenched Union forces there). He won a major Confederate victory at Chickamauga and was seriously wounded during a later battle.
After the war Longstreet moved to New Orleans, where he dramatically changed course. He supported Black voting and joined the newly elected, integrated postwar government in Louisiana. When white supremacists took up arms to oust that government, Longstreet, leading the interracial state militia, did battle against former Confederates. His defiance ignited a firestorm of controversy, as white Southerners branded him a race traitor and blamed him retroactively for the South’s defeat in the Civil War.
Although he was one of the highest-ranking Confederate generals, Longstreet has never been commemorated with statues or other memorials in the South because of his postwar actions in rejecting the Lost Cause mythology and urging racial reconciliation. He is being rediscovered in the new age of racial reckoning. This is the first biography in decades and the first to give proper attention to Longstreet’s long post-Civil War career.
476 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 21, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 105 reviews
December 6, 2023
“Longstreet’s story is a reminder that the arc of history is sometimes bent by those who had the courage to change their convictions.. He accepted defeat with a measure of grace and tried to learn, and then to teach, the past’s lessons. And for that, he commands our attention as one of the most enduringly relevant voices in American history.”
I had heard of the Confederate general James Longstreet, but I hadn’t paid much attention to him. He attended West Point and then became a traitor and joined the Confederate army. He was a war hero, although there was a lot of controversy surrounding his leadership at Gettysburg. However, the reason that his activities are not touted and commemorated like other generals (and a fort was not named after him) is that after the war he actually had a change of heart. He accepted that the South lost the war, and during Reconstruction he even commanded integrated units. He became a loyal Republican (the party was a lot different then), and supported voting rights for all (excluding women of course). For these reasons, he was reviled by white southerners - those staunch believers in the Lost Cause.
In an interview he stated: “My opinion is that the only true solution for Southern troubles is for the people to accept cordially, and in good faith, all the results of the war, including the reconstruction measures, the acts of Congress, negro suffrage, etc., and live up to them like men. If they would do this, and encourage Northern immigration, and treat all men fairly, whites and blacks, the troubles would soon be over, and in less than five years, the South would be in the enjoyment of greater prosperity than ever.”
This book was an extensively researched and balanced biography. Longstreet certainly wasn’t liberal by today’s standards, but the above quote seems pretty amazing coming from a Confederate general. I have no interest in military strategy, and I don’t care what Longstreet did at Gettysburg, so many parts of the book dragged for me. The book told me more than I really wanted to know. I read the book because I wanted to know about his “transformation”, so Longstreet’s postwar activities were much more interesting to me. He served in many appointed positions (including as minister to Turkey) and was constantly besieged by people challenging his war record and/or excoriating him for his postwar opinions. The book told me what I wanted to know.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.
I had heard of the Confederate general James Longstreet, but I hadn’t paid much attention to him. He attended West Point and then became a traitor and joined the Confederate army. He was a war hero, although there was a lot of controversy surrounding his leadership at Gettysburg. However, the reason that his activities are not touted and commemorated like other generals (and a fort was not named after him) is that after the war he actually had a change of heart. He accepted that the South lost the war, and during Reconstruction he even commanded integrated units. He became a loyal Republican (the party was a lot different then), and supported voting rights for all (excluding women of course). For these reasons, he was reviled by white southerners - those staunch believers in the Lost Cause.
In an interview he stated: “My opinion is that the only true solution for Southern troubles is for the people to accept cordially, and in good faith, all the results of the war, including the reconstruction measures, the acts of Congress, negro suffrage, etc., and live up to them like men. If they would do this, and encourage Northern immigration, and treat all men fairly, whites and blacks, the troubles would soon be over, and in less than five years, the South would be in the enjoyment of greater prosperity than ever.”
This book was an extensively researched and balanced biography. Longstreet certainly wasn’t liberal by today’s standards, but the above quote seems pretty amazing coming from a Confederate general. I have no interest in military strategy, and I don’t care what Longstreet did at Gettysburg, so many parts of the book dragged for me. The book told me more than I really wanted to know. I read the book because I wanted to know about his “transformation”, so Longstreet’s postwar activities were much more interesting to me. He served in many appointed positions (including as minister to Turkey) and was constantly besieged by people challenging his war record and/or excoriating him for his postwar opinions. The book told me what I wanted to know.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.
April 13, 2024
Unlike Lee, who removed himself from the national stage after the Civil War, and unlike Mosby, who had never really been on the national stage but actively accepted the results of the war, and unlike countless Confederate soldiers who agreed to terms of parole and the end of the war but apparently didn't really mean it, Longstreet accepted the outcome of the war, in a very public way, accepted black suffrage and rights of citizenship, and believed in Reconstruction.
And lost causers have been gunning for him ever since.
Varon makes her most keen observation right at the end of the book - had the Confederacy succeeded, Longstreet would have been a full-on pantheonic hero of that young nation, with statues everywhere and reverent biopics still being made to this day. His legacy is complicated.
But as Americans, I believe we should judge people not where they started out, but where they ended up. And flawed as he may have been ever after the war, he made great strides in an effort to truly heal the nation. Too bad it made him a Pariah.
And lost causers have been gunning for him ever since.
Varon makes her most keen observation right at the end of the book - had the Confederacy succeeded, Longstreet would have been a full-on pantheonic hero of that young nation, with statues everywhere and reverent biopics still being made to this day. His legacy is complicated.
But as Americans, I believe we should judge people not where they started out, but where they ended up. And flawed as he may have been ever after the war, he made great strides in an effort to truly heal the nation. Too bad it made him a Pariah.
May 18, 2023
Great biographies need to have two things. First, a balanced view of the subject which avoids painting them as either all hero or all villain. Second, an excellent writer who knows how to be engaging while doing this because let's be honest, being thorough and fair can be boring! Longstreet is an excellent example of a great biography. I was engaged; I learned a lot; and I feel like I finished it with a better understanding of all aspects of James Longstreet.
Longstreet was a Civil War general (for the wrong side). By all accounts, he was exceptional, at least for the first part depending on which side you are on. After the Civil War, Longstreet turned traitor (again!) by becoming a Republican. He had a long career which does not neatly fit into a narrative. Did he become more open minded to Black people? Yes. Did he believe in full blown equality? Eh, not really.
These consistent inconsistencies make Longstreet absolutely fascinating to a nerd like me. He went from general to politician with the expected growing pains. Some of his Confederate compatriots later decided the South lost the war because of him. It all becomes quite messy. This is where author Elizabeth Varon's style and eye for detail is so exceptional. She never lets the narrative slow down while explaining both sides of these arguments. She appreciates Longstreet's evolution but does not make him a better man than he actually is.
If you have any interest in the Civil War or just good biography, then this is a must read.
(This book was provided as an advance copy by Netgalley and Simon & Schuster.)
Longstreet was a Civil War general (for the wrong side). By all accounts, he was exceptional, at least for the first part depending on which side you are on. After the Civil War, Longstreet turned traitor (again!) by becoming a Republican. He had a long career which does not neatly fit into a narrative. Did he become more open minded to Black people? Yes. Did he believe in full blown equality? Eh, not really.
These consistent inconsistencies make Longstreet absolutely fascinating to a nerd like me. He went from general to politician with the expected growing pains. Some of his Confederate compatriots later decided the South lost the war because of him. It all becomes quite messy. This is where author Elizabeth Varon's style and eye for detail is so exceptional. She never lets the narrative slow down while explaining both sides of these arguments. She appreciates Longstreet's evolution but does not make him a better man than he actually is.
If you have any interest in the Civil War or just good biography, then this is a must read.
(This book was provided as an advance copy by Netgalley and Simon & Schuster.)
November 22, 2023
Courage and principle, betrayed by history
My first knowledge of Confederate general James Longstreet came as a result of reading Michael Shaara's splendid historical novel The Killer Angels, which Elizabeth Varon, in Longstreet: The Confederate General Who Defied the South describes thus
At the end of the Civil War, Longstreet, unlike the huge majority of Confederate officers, accepted defeat. Longstreet was a great friend of Union general Ulysses S Grant, and he was inspired by Grant's generosity in victory to behave in such a way as to deserve it. (There is much more to say than this, and Varon of course says it, but that's a good place to start.) Most Confederate officers did not. They believed that they had been defeated by "might, not right" -- that they fought in a good cause (white supremacy, not to put too fine a point on it), that they deserved to win, and in a just world would have won. This ideology is called the Lost Cause, and it is far from dead in the USA even today, 22-Nov-2023.
Longstreet became a staunch Republican. (The Republicans, remember, were the party of Lincoln, those who fought for the abolition of slavery.) He went into politics in New Orleans, where he committed such unforgivable sins as building a mixed-race police force. For these reasons he was reviled by almost the entire Southern USA as a traitor. Lost Cause Confederate military officers sought to retroactively blame him for the defeat at Gettysburg, and thus the loss of the Civil War.
When in the late 19th and early twentieth century, Southerners sought to revive the Lost Cause ideology, they put up statues of Confederate generals all over the South. (I lived in Richmond, Virginia for five years, and I saw them.) But Longstreet, as valiant a soldier as any in the Confederate ranks, didn't get any statues.
That's why I had never heard of Longstreet.
Varon's new biography seeks to be fair to Longstreet. It is by no means a whitewash -- like all the Confederate officers, he was a traitor. And even after the war, his attitudes were hardly ones we would celebrate today. But he fought for the rights of black folks to be safe in their homes, to vote, to seek and hold office, and to be welcome at public accommodations. Varon sums him up thus
Blog review.
My first knowledge of Confederate general James Longstreet came as a result of reading Michael Shaara's splendid historical novel The Killer Angels, which Elizabeth Varon, in Longstreet: The Confederate General Who Defied the South describes thus
A finely grained fictional account of the Gettysburg campaign, the book conjured the strained relationship of Longstreet and Lee, casting Longstreet as a prescient pragmatist oriented toward the future, who symbolized modern warfare, and Lee as the prideful romantic, backward-looking and resigned to fate.Why had I never heard of Longstreet? Because the USA doesn't want to remember him.
At the end of the Civil War, Longstreet, unlike the huge majority of Confederate officers, accepted defeat. Longstreet was a great friend of Union general Ulysses S Grant, and he was inspired by Grant's generosity in victory to behave in such a way as to deserve it. (There is much more to say than this, and Varon of course says it, but that's a good place to start.) Most Confederate officers did not. They believed that they had been defeated by "might, not right" -- that they fought in a good cause (white supremacy, not to put too fine a point on it), that they deserved to win, and in a just world would have won. This ideology is called the Lost Cause, and it is far from dead in the USA even today, 22-Nov-2023.
Longstreet became a staunch Republican. (The Republicans, remember, were the party of Lincoln, those who fought for the abolition of slavery.) He went into politics in New Orleans, where he committed such unforgivable sins as building a mixed-race police force. For these reasons he was reviled by almost the entire Southern USA as a traitor. Lost Cause Confederate military officers sought to retroactively blame him for the defeat at Gettysburg, and thus the loss of the Civil War.
When in the late 19th and early twentieth century, Southerners sought to revive the Lost Cause ideology, they put up statues of Confederate generals all over the South. (I lived in Richmond, Virginia for five years, and I saw them.) But Longstreet, as valiant a soldier as any in the Confederate ranks, didn't get any statues.
That's why I had never heard of Longstreet.
Varon's new biography seeks to be fair to Longstreet. It is by no means a whitewash -- like all the Confederate officers, he was a traitor. And even after the war, his attitudes were hardly ones we would celebrate today. But he fought for the rights of black folks to be safe in their homes, to vote, to seek and hold office, and to be welcome at public accommodations. Varon sums him up thus
We like to bestow praise on historical figures who had the courage of their convictions. Longstreet’s story is a reminder that the arc of history is sometimes bent by those who had the courage to change their convictions. He accepted defeat with a measure of grace and tried to learn, and then to teach, the past’s lessons. And for that, he commands our attention as one of the most enduringly relevant voices in American history.This is an excellent, even-handed biography of a man who deserves attention and justice.
Blog review.
June 6, 2024
This biography offers a complete picture of one the Confederate State’s top military commanders of the Civil War and not just of his experience of the war itself but especially his after war politics. I thought originally that I would’ve enjoyed more focus on the war itself, however it was such a small period of this life and the biography reflects that. While his actions and influence during the war is referenced throughout, I felt the majority of the book focused on his political ambition and reinvention for better or worse.
Overall, this was a great book and I learned a lot. Definitely a must read for anyone interested in the American Civil War, just not a strong interest of mine.
Overall, this was a great book and I learned a lot. Definitely a must read for anyone interested in the American Civil War, just not a strong interest of mine.
January 7, 2024
The first I had ever heard of General James Longstreet was when I saw this book on NetGalley [I am often a "title requester" and such was the case here] and was intrigued by it as I had never heard of Longstreet before. Fast-forward a couple of months and I am reading Gods and Generals by Jeff Shaara and *POOF* there he was [I will say I didn't recognize the name at first...I kept going "WHERE have I seen/heard that name before?" LOL. SUCH an old lady moment] and I was even more intrigued by the end of that book [and then by The Killer Angels]. So I went into this book knowing little about the man, but my appetite was whetted and I was ready to do the deep dive.
What a tangled man General Longstreet was. As with all the confederacy, he was a traitor to the very country he lived in, but much like Benedict Arnold, he was much more than that. He did not relish the war, regretted much of it and had great respect and honor for General Grant, no matter that he was fighting against the man. And while he lived with racist ideas, he DID strive to make life better for the former Slaves after the war was over. He changed political parties, believed in Reconstruction and fought for that, even whilst being vilified by everyone around him. And that is why we don't hear about him in history class and that is a real shame. He is the very definition of how a man CAN change and try to right the wrongs of the past.
I am so glad I was able to read this book and learn even more about a time that was one of the most horrific in history [and one we MUST NOT EVER REPEAT]. I know little about the confederate generals and I am glad I am able to read about them now - I think we must know how the "enemy" works to make sure that evil is never repeated and how some saw the evil themselves and did what they could to change the results of their actions.
If you love history, this book is for you - very well done.
Thank you to NetGalley, Elizabeth R. Varon, and Simon and Schuster for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
What a tangled man General Longstreet was. As with all the confederacy, he was a traitor to the very country he lived in, but much like Benedict Arnold, he was much more than that. He did not relish the war, regretted much of it and had great respect and honor for General Grant, no matter that he was fighting against the man. And while he lived with racist ideas, he DID strive to make life better for the former Slaves after the war was over. He changed political parties, believed in Reconstruction and fought for that, even whilst being vilified by everyone around him. And that is why we don't hear about him in history class and that is a real shame. He is the very definition of how a man CAN change and try to right the wrongs of the past.
I am so glad I was able to read this book and learn even more about a time that was one of the most horrific in history [and one we MUST NOT EVER REPEAT]. I know little about the confederate generals and I am glad I am able to read about them now - I think we must know how the "enemy" works to make sure that evil is never repeated and how some saw the evil themselves and did what they could to change the results of their actions.
If you love history, this book is for you - very well done.
Thank you to NetGalley, Elizabeth R. Varon, and Simon and Schuster for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
December 29, 2023
A solid history of *what* Longstreet's post-war life was like but not enough of an examination of *why.*
Varon's 2023 biography of Confederate General James Longstreet is unexpectedly topical as questions of "insurrection" and ability to serve as "officers of the United States" permeate the political landscape with various smoothbrains purporting to be "saving democracy" by eliminating the ability of people to vote for their preferred candidate.
So it's fascinating just how lengthy the post-war political life of Longstreet was in light of current inanities. While this bio it covers his early life and pre-Civil War time briefly, Varon focuses primarily on that post-war period. What's most interesting is Longstreet's rapid acceptance of the outcome of the war and the decision to become a Republican rather than a Confederate diehard or "Lost Cause" proponent. While Longstreet still held racialist views, he still made substantial efforts to integrate blacks into the body politic and civil society where he could as well as stand up against his fellow former Confederates who were less willing to submit to the new political order. The book also chronicles Longstreet's "contentious" relationship with other Confederate veterans as many tried to blame Longstreet for the loss at Gettysburg or, more broadly, for the failure of the Confederacy as a whole.
So, while the book gives a very thorough history of what Longstreet did after the War - it never really dives deep enough into *why* Longstreet made the decisions he did. I got no sense of Longstreet the man, his motivations, or his thinking in these rather fundamental shifts in ideology, political affiliation, or position.
As a broad overview of his political life, Varon's "Longstreet" is excellent, but as a biography of the man, it falls short.
Varon's 2023 biography of Confederate General James Longstreet is unexpectedly topical as questions of "insurrection" and ability to serve as "officers of the United States" permeate the political landscape with various smoothbrains purporting to be "saving democracy" by eliminating the ability of people to vote for their preferred candidate.
So it's fascinating just how lengthy the post-war political life of Longstreet was in light of current inanities. While this bio it covers his early life and pre-Civil War time briefly, Varon focuses primarily on that post-war period. What's most interesting is Longstreet's rapid acceptance of the outcome of the war and the decision to become a Republican rather than a Confederate diehard or "Lost Cause" proponent. While Longstreet still held racialist views, he still made substantial efforts to integrate blacks into the body politic and civil society where he could as well as stand up against his fellow former Confederates who were less willing to submit to the new political order. The book also chronicles Longstreet's "contentious" relationship with other Confederate veterans as many tried to blame Longstreet for the loss at Gettysburg or, more broadly, for the failure of the Confederacy as a whole.
So, while the book gives a very thorough history of what Longstreet did after the War - it never really dives deep enough into *why* Longstreet made the decisions he did. I got no sense of Longstreet the man, his motivations, or his thinking in these rather fundamental shifts in ideology, political affiliation, or position.
As a broad overview of his political life, Varon's "Longstreet" is excellent, but as a biography of the man, it falls short.
January 2, 2024
I was raised to think of the generals of the Confederacy as heroes. Of course slavery was wrong. Of course the union needed to be preserved. But damn our boys fought like hell and their generals were brilliant. Lee and his two corps commanders, Jackson and Longstreet, stood at the head of the pantheon, surrounded by lesser deities - the two generals Johnston, JEB Stuart, Moseby, John Hunt Morgan, Forrest, and the rest. Grant was good, but he only won because of massive superiority of force. As an adult I've had to rethink this. The cause was more than a little wrong and could not be redeemed by honorable military service. The war caused horrible needless suffering and tens of thousands of deaths. And I couldn't look up to men who were symbols of racism and oppression for black people. So heroes no more. But wait. Can we maybe at least save Old Pete Longstreet? Though he has been blamed by some for the loss at Gettysburg, wasn't he a great general? Didn't he perform brilliantly at Second Manassas and Fredricksberg? And after the war, didn't he redeem himself by actually supporting Reconstruction? The answer in this book is mostly yes, but it's complicated. As a general he was loyal and generally performed well, but, like all of us, he made his share of mistakes. And though it's true that he became a supporter of Reconstruction and full rights for the freed slaves, his attitudes were always tinged with racism and many of the things that he did in support of equal rights for blacks were at least partially politically motivated. On the other hand, the positions that he took in favor of Reconstruction and equal rights required huge courage and made him so unpopular that they must have been sincerely felt. If we had had more men like him in leadership positions then Reconstruction would have gone a lot easier and the South could have been a freer and fairer place that would have enjoyed a quicker post war recovery. But still he was imperfect, and as I read along in the story of his post war activities, every time I was really beginning to like him, he would do something to make me cringe. So maybe we don't need to build new statues of Longstreet to replace all of the ones of Lee that we have torn down, but at least Longstreet tried to reform himself and generally conducted himself in the post war period in ways that we can respect.
January 16, 2024
A fresh and thought-provoking look at one of Lee's chief lieutenants, this biography was a breath of fresh air in Civil War historiography. The book details Longstreet's exploits during the war, but the majority of the book focuses on his postwar activities. I found the book to be well balanced, and it read every bit as well as the author's previous Armies of Deliverance. Overall, a very good effort.
May 28, 2024
This new biography is much in the same vein as another recent biography about another famous Civil War general, On Great Fields: The Life and Unlikely Heroism of Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain. Varon, like White, covers their subject's military service, but only as about a third of the main text. For Longstreet that means another third is his activities during Reconstruction and the final third his post-Reconstruction activity. Varon has a much better grasp of the Civil War that White, but seems to have far less to work with in terms of insightful personal papers that would really give readers a look inside the Longstreet's head the way Chamberlain's paper trail did.
Varon is reasonably favorable to James Longstreet, but doesn't think he's some underappreciated genius like a few modern biographers do. Longstreet's postwar activity, which earned him the enmity of so many Southerns (including his fellow former Confederates) can be summed up thus: he considered the war to have settled matters definitively, was grateful for the lenient surrender terms at Appomattox, and believed Republican economic policies would be more beneficial to the South than Democratic policies. He seems to have been very consistent about this message for the rest of his life; certain Varon is consistent about it.
While the military side is a little too light other than Gettysburg, the look at Longstreet's postwar activity was very welcome in some respects (including an entire chapter about his wartime memoir and the public reaction to them) the postwar material seems a little too long. At times James Longstreet - as the main character - seemed temporarily lost to the reader amidst a sea of context regarding larger political issues.
The concept of the book intrigued me and there were parts I liked (especially the Epilogue about Longstreet's widow, took some surprising turns). However, this book made realize I simply don't enjoy reading about Reconstruction very much - just too sordid of a subject.
Ultimately, it's not a bad book, but do I kind of regret reading it. I will still give it 3 stars rather than 2 because this is better writing than the dry writing that I usually give that rating to, and I appreciated both the intent of book and the fair treatment given by the author. I think other people interested in his period of American History will enjoy this book more than I did.
Varon is reasonably favorable to James Longstreet, but doesn't think he's some underappreciated genius like a few modern biographers do. Longstreet's postwar activity, which earned him the enmity of so many Southerns (including his fellow former Confederates) can be summed up thus: he considered the war to have settled matters definitively, was grateful for the lenient surrender terms at Appomattox, and believed Republican economic policies would be more beneficial to the South than Democratic policies. He seems to have been very consistent about this message for the rest of his life; certain Varon is consistent about it.
While the military side is a little too light other than Gettysburg, the look at Longstreet's postwar activity was very welcome in some respects (including an entire chapter about his wartime memoir and the public reaction to them) the postwar material seems a little too long. At times James Longstreet - as the main character - seemed temporarily lost to the reader amidst a sea of context regarding larger political issues.
The concept of the book intrigued me and there were parts I liked (especially the Epilogue about Longstreet's widow, took some surprising turns). However, this book made realize I simply don't enjoy reading about Reconstruction very much - just too sordid of a subject.
Ultimately, it's not a bad book, but do I kind of regret reading it. I will still give it 3 stars rather than 2 because this is better writing than the dry writing that I usually give that rating to, and I appreciated both the intent of book and the fair treatment given by the author. I think other people interested in his period of American History will enjoy this book more than I did.
November 22, 2023
Quick Summary: A biographical resource on an infamous historical figure
My Review: Longstreet: The Confederate General Who Defied the South by Elizabeth Varon was a thoroughly researched, highly captivating book. It detailed the life and actions of a controversial man who was viewed as having shifted between different ideologies during a time of tumult in this country.
About the Book: Who was General James Longstreet? Was he a man of honor, or was he a man of ill repute? Did he stand for the good of the country or for the good of self? Forever immortalized as a traitor, Longstreet remains a person of interest.
My Final Say: Readers who are interested in digging into history or who are intrigued by Civil War and Reconstruction history will appreciate this book.
Rating: 5/5
Recommend: Yes
Audience: G
Thank you to the author, to the publisher (Simon & Schuster), and to NetGalley for granting access to this work in exchange for an honest review. The words I have shared are my own. I appreciate the opportunity to read this informative title.
My Review: Longstreet: The Confederate General Who Defied the South by Elizabeth Varon was a thoroughly researched, highly captivating book. It detailed the life and actions of a controversial man who was viewed as having shifted between different ideologies during a time of tumult in this country.
About the Book: Who was General James Longstreet? Was he a man of honor, or was he a man of ill repute? Did he stand for the good of the country or for the good of self? Forever immortalized as a traitor, Longstreet remains a person of interest.
My Final Say: Readers who are interested in digging into history or who are intrigued by Civil War and Reconstruction history will appreciate this book.
Rating: 5/5
Recommend: Yes
Audience: G
Thank you to the author, to the publisher (Simon & Schuster), and to NetGalley for granting access to this work in exchange for an honest review. The words I have shared are my own. I appreciate the opportunity to read this informative title.
February 25, 2024
"We've read a book or two in my day but I've never read a more balanced biography, particularly of such a controversial person. I shall decree all of my people read it, and we will prioritize it over producing enough food. I suspect that someone will a story similar to this about me in the near future."
-Kim Jong Un
-Kim Jong Un
January 4, 2024
3 stars, it could have been 4 had not the last chapter of the book tried to connect the January 6th incident to an actual attempted coup, of Canal Street in Louisiana, that took place in 1874. The egregious attempt at connecting such occurrences does the book a disservice.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 24, 2024
A captivating and thought-provoking biography of one of the most controversial figures in the Confederate Army during the Civil War. Varon’s meticulous research and engaging narrative style bring to life the complex personality of General James Longstreet, shedding new light on his actions and decisions during the war. One of the key attributes of Varon’s book is her ability to present Longstreet as a multifaceted and human character, rather than a one-dimensional hero or villain. Through detailed analysis of Longstreet’s personal letters and other primary sources, Varon reveals the internal struggles and conflicting loyalties that shaped his actions on and off the battlefield. Longstreet’s relationships with other Confederate leaders, including Robert E. Lee and Jefferson Davis, are also explored in depth, providing valuable insights into the inner workings of the Confederate command structure. Varon’s examination of Longstreet’s post-war life and his controversial actions, such as his support for Reconstruction and his criticism of the Lost Cause mythology, adds an additional layer of complexity to his character. By challenging traditional interpretations of Longstreet as a traitor or scapegoat, Varon encourages readers to reconsider their preconceived notions of this enigmatic figure. In addition to its thorough analysis of Longstreet’s life and legacy, Varon’s book is also a compelling and accessible read. Her clear and engaging prose makes the complex historical events and military strategies easy to understand, even for readers with limited knowledge of the Civil War. Overall, “Longstreet: The Confederate General Who Defied the South” is a must-read for anyone interested in Civil War history, military leadership, or the complexities of human nature. Varon’s insightful and well-researched biography offers a fresh perspective on a figure who has long been misunderstood and underrated in the annals of American history.
January 15, 2024
Fascinating biography of James Longstreet. The book touched on Longstreet’s early years, his education, role in the Mexican-American War, and, of course, involvement in the Civil War as a Confederate general and Lee’s “Old War Horse.” However, the vast majority of the book focuses on Longstreet’s post-war life, which was entirely unknown to me despite the fact that Longstreet was, like Forrest Gump, a witness to some of the more important events of Reconstruction and the Gilded Age.
Shortly after the Civil War ended, Longstreet made the decision to accept defeat and embrace the tenets of Congressional Reconstruction. But the path to redemption was long and tedious. He was viewed by many in the North as public enemy number three, behind Jefferson Davis and Robert Lee. He was the highest profile Confederate to petition the return of his constitutional rights. Eventually, he would join the Republican Party and serve as a presidential appointee in various government positions in the south.
Many Southerners became suspicious of Longstreet and questioned his motives. And as Southern whites sought to reestablish white rule, began deifying Robert Lee, and preached the Lost Cause narrative, Longstreet became a pariah. His life and legacy itself became a battleground Longstreet had to defend. Given his proximity to Lee, Longstreet knew, better than most, Lee’s faults and follies, details many Southerners wanted buried and forgotten. And yet, Longstreet persevered.
The book is highly relevant today as modern Republicans appear to have borrowed the script of Reconstruction-Era Democrats, attempting to rewrite the past, supporting insurrection and rebellion, deifying its failed leaders, etc. Longstreet’s life deserves to be studied and remembered.
Shortly after the Civil War ended, Longstreet made the decision to accept defeat and embrace the tenets of Congressional Reconstruction. But the path to redemption was long and tedious. He was viewed by many in the North as public enemy number three, behind Jefferson Davis and Robert Lee. He was the highest profile Confederate to petition the return of his constitutional rights. Eventually, he would join the Republican Party and serve as a presidential appointee in various government positions in the south.
Many Southerners became suspicious of Longstreet and questioned his motives. And as Southern whites sought to reestablish white rule, began deifying Robert Lee, and preached the Lost Cause narrative, Longstreet became a pariah. His life and legacy itself became a battleground Longstreet had to defend. Given his proximity to Lee, Longstreet knew, better than most, Lee’s faults and follies, details many Southerners wanted buried and forgotten. And yet, Longstreet persevered.
The book is highly relevant today as modern Republicans appear to have borrowed the script of Reconstruction-Era Democrats, attempting to rewrite the past, supporting insurrection and rebellion, deifying its failed leaders, etc. Longstreet’s life deserves to be studied and remembered.
May 6, 2024
My introduction to General James Longstreet (‘Ole Pete to his Army buddies) came during the Civil War Centennial, which I experienced as a pre- to young teen. The glamor was (as author Elizabeth Varon notes) was all on the Confederate side, especially the Army of Northern Virginia but with some left over for the ‘partisan ranger’ John Singleton Mosby. The North generally had to settle for the image of President Abraham Lincoln, martyred in victory.
As I grew older and the centenary moved through the five-year cycle, one might say that I read and learned more and “I put away childish things” and with a deeper understanding and knowledge unknowingly followed my ancestors over to the side of the Union. I also discovered wargaming via a copy of Avalon Hill’s game on the battle of Gettysburg (hex version for those into such details), which provided the opportunity to study the decisions of General Lee and General Meade in greater depth. Soon I determined that my two favorite generals, based mainly on their apparent understanding of the modern aspects of warfare as revealed on the battlefield, were General Longstreet for the Confederacy and General Sherman for the Union.
Historian Elizabeth R. Varon in “Longstreet, The Confederate General Who Defied the South” offers us the most detailed and nuanced portrait of Longstreet, the man, the general, and the politician. Longstreet’s life as revealed in these pages also shines a great deal of light on the history of post-Civil War “white supremacy” and the political deals and compromises that effectively threw away the fruits of the Union victory. The narrative carries us from Longstreet’s early days and beyond his death through the life of his younger second wife Helen Dortch Longstreet, who died during the Civil War centennial. As a result, we see the changing perceptions of General Longstreet, the Civil War, and of America’s racial politics over 100 years. The author deals with civil, military, political, and social aspects and issues with equal deftness and surety. This biography thus becomes in fact a biography of the nation as framed by the lives of General Longstreet and his widow. It is a tale of opportunities lost and struggles to do right by all of our citizens even to this day.
The book includes ample end notes and an excellent bibliography (with her observations on various sources interspersed throughout the text). Highly recommended.
As I grew older and the centenary moved through the five-year cycle, one might say that I read and learned more and “I put away childish things” and with a deeper understanding and knowledge unknowingly followed my ancestors over to the side of the Union. I also discovered wargaming via a copy of Avalon Hill’s game on the battle of Gettysburg (hex version for those into such details), which provided the opportunity to study the decisions of General Lee and General Meade in greater depth. Soon I determined that my two favorite generals, based mainly on their apparent understanding of the modern aspects of warfare as revealed on the battlefield, were General Longstreet for the Confederacy and General Sherman for the Union.
Historian Elizabeth R. Varon in “Longstreet, The Confederate General Who Defied the South” offers us the most detailed and nuanced portrait of Longstreet, the man, the general, and the politician. Longstreet’s life as revealed in these pages also shines a great deal of light on the history of post-Civil War “white supremacy” and the political deals and compromises that effectively threw away the fruits of the Union victory. The narrative carries us from Longstreet’s early days and beyond his death through the life of his younger second wife Helen Dortch Longstreet, who died during the Civil War centennial. As a result, we see the changing perceptions of General Longstreet, the Civil War, and of America’s racial politics over 100 years. The author deals with civil, military, political, and social aspects and issues with equal deftness and surety. This biography thus becomes in fact a biography of the nation as framed by the lives of General Longstreet and his widow. It is a tale of opportunities lost and struggles to do right by all of our citizens even to this day.
The book includes ample end notes and an excellent bibliography (with her observations on various sources interspersed throughout the text). Highly recommended.
January 8, 2024
The consummate iconoclast, Longstreet, has been one of my favorite Confederate leaders. As a boy I bought into all the Robert E. Lee deification. What a crock. I’d read Werts’s biography of him ages ago so I was skeptical as to what this new biography would add. It adds a lot and focuses more on his life after the war. A fascinating man and a well written and stimulating narrative of a competent and loyal soldier who moved on and was falsely vilified by lies and disinformation.
November 28, 2023
Less a biography, although it is, and more an assessment of Longstreet’s role as a southern icon, either villified or affirmed, for both his leadership in the War and his reconciliation efforts post-war. As a Southern boy, born in 1946, with a long Confererate heritage and imbued with “lost cause” mythology, I find Longstreet to be very much heroic.
July 16, 2024
I confess to skimming though this book because it was not what I expected and I was not interested in a recreation of all the battles of the civil war.
April 8, 2024
The author is excellent writer and focus on Longstreet's career is wonderful. My only complaint is I wish as a reader I could learn more about his family and thoughts when not doing his official duties. However the author does mention early in the book that much of the personal thoughts and activities at the time of life were destroyed by his 2nd wife after his death. Otherwise if your interested in learning about someone who changed after the Civil War, this book is worth reading.
December 4, 2023
A book written at the popular level by an academic historian, bringing a depth of knowledge to the topic, but also awkwardly straddling the two worlds. The section of the book covering the war was actually my least favorite, and felt quite sketchy. But there was good amount of information about Longstreet’s postwar career that was quite interesting.
December 27, 2023
When I came across this new biography a few months ago, I immediately knew I had to read it. Annoyingly, I had to read it on my phone through the Libby app because that was the only copy my local library had available. Regardless, I finished this in four or five days and felt pretty engrossed for most of it.
Being a lifelong student of the American Civil War, I was extraordinarily curious to read a biography on Confederate General James Longstreet and learn more about him as I’ve note studied him much. Some time ago, I learned that Longstreet served as US Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire in the 1880s. I found that a former Confederate, notably one of the most prominent, serving in a high ranking US government position interesting as not two decades before he had taken up arms against the US government. So I wondered, how did he get there? How did the “Number 3 Confederate”, behind Davis and Lee, rehabilitate his image and successfully have a second life in US politics. This biography answers that question.
General James Longstreet may be one of the most interesting and important characters in American history, and maybe he’s emblematic of America’s soul and history as a whole.
Longstreet fought for the Confederacy in the 1860s as Lee’s “Warhorse” and took part in many prominent battles in the war. Before that, he was a West Point blue blood who had served in the Mexican-American War in the 1840s with so many future friends and foes. He was a dear friend to Ulysses S. Grant, his foe for much of the war. He was defensive tactical mastermind, who understood modern warfare more than possibly any other.
He was originally an ardent defender of slavery and a slaveholder. At war’s end he became an early supporter for peace and later reconciliation between the North and South. After that, which is the main point of this biography, he became an ardent Republican, defender of black civil rights, and a weapon against the “Lost Cause” mythology that many Southerners purported following the war. He was an ally to multiple Republican and Reconstruction presidents, including his friend US Grant, and held numerous political offices after the war across the South as well as the aforementioned post in Turkey. He was loved by the African-American community and by the North and reviled by the Lost Cause South. After the war, while living in New Orleans, he even led black militia troops against a White Supremacist mob in the 1870s. Imagine a former Confederate doing that, see certainly weren’t taught that in school.
Longstreet engaged in a brutal war of words, defending his legacy and his actions. He had enraged many former allies for standing up against Civil Rights and becoming an ardent Reconstructionist Republican. He spent much of his life defending his legacy. There is a reason why the Lost Cause era did not see any Longstreet statues, and that’s because the Lost Cause folks didn’t like what he had to say, which was, the truth. He lived until 1904 and defended his legacy until the end.
His second wife, who was much younger than him, lived until 1962 and spent her years as a supporter for equal rights and her late husband’s legacy. Only until recently has Longstreet’s legacy been rehabilitated and more fully understood. He’s a Confederate worth remembering for his change of heart and noble actions following the Civil War. As I said above, his story is emblematic of America itself and a uniquely American one.
To summarize the book’s structure, the author’s work of scholarship and primary sources is commendable. The book is essentially broken into three parts. The first part is a summary of Longstreet’s early life and Civil War career and is excellent. The second is as a reformist and Republican, which can be muddled in the war of the words sections but full of key and forgotten information. And lastly, the third part is about his later years and legacy, which gets the author’s argument across excellently.
Being a lifelong student of the American Civil War, I was extraordinarily curious to read a biography on Confederate General James Longstreet and learn more about him as I’ve note studied him much. Some time ago, I learned that Longstreet served as US Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire in the 1880s. I found that a former Confederate, notably one of the most prominent, serving in a high ranking US government position interesting as not two decades before he had taken up arms against the US government. So I wondered, how did he get there? How did the “Number 3 Confederate”, behind Davis and Lee, rehabilitate his image and successfully have a second life in US politics. This biography answers that question.
General James Longstreet may be one of the most interesting and important characters in American history, and maybe he’s emblematic of America’s soul and history as a whole.
Longstreet fought for the Confederacy in the 1860s as Lee’s “Warhorse” and took part in many prominent battles in the war. Before that, he was a West Point blue blood who had served in the Mexican-American War in the 1840s with so many future friends and foes. He was a dear friend to Ulysses S. Grant, his foe for much of the war. He was defensive tactical mastermind, who understood modern warfare more than possibly any other.
He was originally an ardent defender of slavery and a slaveholder. At war’s end he became an early supporter for peace and later reconciliation between the North and South. After that, which is the main point of this biography, he became an ardent Republican, defender of black civil rights, and a weapon against the “Lost Cause” mythology that many Southerners purported following the war. He was an ally to multiple Republican and Reconstruction presidents, including his friend US Grant, and held numerous political offices after the war across the South as well as the aforementioned post in Turkey. He was loved by the African-American community and by the North and reviled by the Lost Cause South. After the war, while living in New Orleans, he even led black militia troops against a White Supremacist mob in the 1870s. Imagine a former Confederate doing that, see certainly weren’t taught that in school.
Longstreet engaged in a brutal war of words, defending his legacy and his actions. He had enraged many former allies for standing up against Civil Rights and becoming an ardent Reconstructionist Republican. He spent much of his life defending his legacy. There is a reason why the Lost Cause era did not see any Longstreet statues, and that’s because the Lost Cause folks didn’t like what he had to say, which was, the truth. He lived until 1904 and defended his legacy until the end.
His second wife, who was much younger than him, lived until 1962 and spent her years as a supporter for equal rights and her late husband’s legacy. Only until recently has Longstreet’s legacy been rehabilitated and more fully understood. He’s a Confederate worth remembering for his change of heart and noble actions following the Civil War. As I said above, his story is emblematic of America itself and a uniquely American one.
To summarize the book’s structure, the author’s work of scholarship and primary sources is commendable. The book is essentially broken into three parts. The first part is a summary of Longstreet’s early life and Civil War career and is excellent. The second is as a reformist and Republican, which can be muddled in the war of the words sections but full of key and forgotten information. And lastly, the third part is about his later years and legacy, which gets the author’s argument across excellently.
April 16, 2024
Recent events, from the tragic incidents in Charlottesville to the protests surrounding George Floyd and others, have thrust us into a new era of examining how we remember the Civil War and its participants. As I reflect on my experiences living in Virginia, surviving the Trump Administration, and witnessing new attacks on equity and diversity, we are presented with a unique opportunity to revisit and reassess the players of ‘The Lost Cause.’ This reexamination could lead us to a more nuanced understanding of our history.
Longstreet, a figure of the Confederacy, is a fascinating enigma, one of the most complex characters that followers of ‘The Lost Cause’ doctrine have gone out of their way to villainize as a traitor since their establishment in historical scholarship.
Interestingly, the statues at the center of recent removal controversies were in memory of Lee, Jackson, Davis, and Johnson. But none of Longstreet a critical general and advisor to Lee. So are the statues in honor of military contributions or reminders of the pride of the South and to keep the former slaves in their place?
This is the crucial question Elizabeth Varon seeks to answer in her mixture of biography and historiography of James Longstreet in Longstreet: The Confederate General Who Defied the South.
Varon spends just one chapter setting up Longstreet’s background before the war, giving the reader all the critical information and insight needed to understand his actions and thinking before the start of the war. As such, there is an assumption that you are not a person coming into the book without a basic understanding of the root causes and life in the antebellum South.
As we progress through the rest of the first of the three parts of the narrative, the focus is on the events of the war itself. The narrative has a good flow but also takes the time to show how different historians over the years accounted for Longstreet’s actions during the war. The Battle of Gettysburg sealed not only the Glorious Cause’s fate but that of Longstreet’s as well.
Part two of the book examines Longstreet’s time in Louisiana after the war’s end and his work during the Reconstruction era. Longstreet, a friend of Grant from their mutual time at West Point, accepts a political appointment at the US Customs House and becomes a significant figure in the struggle for equality and reconstruction in New Orleans. Longstreet supports and develops African American political leaders and communities throughout NOLA. But as we know, the forces of the Democratic Party and the Ku Klux Klan destroyed all these efforts and led to the Canal Street Coup in 1874. The results of these events left Longstreet frustrated. With the election of the Hayes Administration and the negotiated end of Reconstruction, he returned to his home state of Georgia.
Part three of the book examines Longstreet’s time in Gainesville, Georgia, where he would spend the remainder of his life defending accusations from the creators of the ‘Lost Cause’ school. Longstreet would also continue to hold political patronage positions from US Marshall for Georgia to his final position in the McKinley Administration as US Railroad Commissioner. He found love after the death of his first wife, and she would continue to defend his reputation and battle the historians of the ‘Lost Cause’ till her death in 1962.
Overall, this is a great read, not only about Longstreet but also about the seeds of how the ‘Lost Cause’ narrative was developed and deployed by its agents at Southern Universities.
Longstreet, a figure of the Confederacy, is a fascinating enigma, one of the most complex characters that followers of ‘The Lost Cause’ doctrine have gone out of their way to villainize as a traitor since their establishment in historical scholarship.
Interestingly, the statues at the center of recent removal controversies were in memory of Lee, Jackson, Davis, and Johnson. But none of Longstreet a critical general and advisor to Lee. So are the statues in honor of military contributions or reminders of the pride of the South and to keep the former slaves in their place?
This is the crucial question Elizabeth Varon seeks to answer in her mixture of biography and historiography of James Longstreet in Longstreet: The Confederate General Who Defied the South.
Varon spends just one chapter setting up Longstreet’s background before the war, giving the reader all the critical information and insight needed to understand his actions and thinking before the start of the war. As such, there is an assumption that you are not a person coming into the book without a basic understanding of the root causes and life in the antebellum South.
As we progress through the rest of the first of the three parts of the narrative, the focus is on the events of the war itself. The narrative has a good flow but also takes the time to show how different historians over the years accounted for Longstreet’s actions during the war. The Battle of Gettysburg sealed not only the Glorious Cause’s fate but that of Longstreet’s as well.
Part two of the book examines Longstreet’s time in Louisiana after the war’s end and his work during the Reconstruction era. Longstreet, a friend of Grant from their mutual time at West Point, accepts a political appointment at the US Customs House and becomes a significant figure in the struggle for equality and reconstruction in New Orleans. Longstreet supports and develops African American political leaders and communities throughout NOLA. But as we know, the forces of the Democratic Party and the Ku Klux Klan destroyed all these efforts and led to the Canal Street Coup in 1874. The results of these events left Longstreet frustrated. With the election of the Hayes Administration and the negotiated end of Reconstruction, he returned to his home state of Georgia.
Part three of the book examines Longstreet’s time in Gainesville, Georgia, where he would spend the remainder of his life defending accusations from the creators of the ‘Lost Cause’ school. Longstreet would also continue to hold political patronage positions from US Marshall for Georgia to his final position in the McKinley Administration as US Railroad Commissioner. He found love after the death of his first wife, and she would continue to defend his reputation and battle the historians of the ‘Lost Cause’ till her death in 1962.
Overall, this is a great read, not only about Longstreet but also about the seeds of how the ‘Lost Cause’ narrative was developed and deployed by its agents at Southern Universities.
March 18, 2024
I had only the vaguest idea of Longstreet's larger career and significance before I picked up this book. I'm glad I did though, because it was really interesting, if a bit long and occasionally more detailed than what I needed to know.
The basic story here is Longstreet's dramatic turn from legendary Confederate general to ally of Reconstruction. Longstreet was Lee's right-hand man, and he was generally seen as an effective and judicious strategist. But he was a straight-up product of his environment; he owned a few slaves, believed in the COnfederate cause and fought to save it, held obviously racist views of black people, and even had a black spy hanged.
But he had an interesting attitude toward the meaning of the Confederacy's defeat that put him on a very different track than most of his compatriots. He was friends with Grant from West Point and the Mexican War, and he was impressed by Grant's grace and leniency in the phase of surrender. HE believed that the Confederate cause had been bested by the sword and that the vanquished must now try their best to aid the intentions of the victory (almost a might makes right argument that worked out). He didn't actually become pro-Reconstruction until 1867, as radical Reconstruction began a more systematic revising of black citizens' status. As his former comrades were opposing Reconstruction, almost violently, he supported the 14-15 amendments, became a Republican in New Orleans, and even led mixed-race units in both parades and street battles with white supremacist militias. He still held paternalistic views of black people and believed that whites should remain in charge, but he was radically different from the vast majority of ex-Confederates.
His support of Reconstruction led many of his ex-friends to condemn him and blame the defeat of the Civil War on him, especially Gettysburg. Varon does a nice job showing how they didn't make these accusations until he turned his coat politically. Most would have said beforehand that he was a good general; the historical revisionism was driven entirely by resentment at his betrayal of the white cause. Varon does a great job weaving in material and insights about the politics of Civil War memory in her more admiring book of Longstreet.
However, Longstreet was also a bit of a shape-shifter, sort of the Talleyrand of the Civil War era. He remained a Republican but adapted to the GOP's shift away from Reconstruction. He pursued a pro-Reconstruction agenda not simply out of conviction; he clearly remained politically ambitious and wanted the patronage jobs that came with supporting the GOP at the time. He later became a sort of New South booster who believed in modernizing the South and slowly developing African-Americans toward some semblance of equality while keeping power and resources firmly in white hands.
Overall, I found this book interesting because I'm always compelled by people who show the capacity for change. Longstreet was imperfect, but he took stances that we remarkable for his background, and he put his life on the line to fight for a new and better version of America. Varon tells this story well, paying attention to nuance and the "uncategorizability" of Longstreet in this era. That's a real historian's touch. I did find parts of the book to be a little too detailed, but overall this is a really interesting look at the Civil War era through one of its more unusual characters.
The basic story here is Longstreet's dramatic turn from legendary Confederate general to ally of Reconstruction. Longstreet was Lee's right-hand man, and he was generally seen as an effective and judicious strategist. But he was a straight-up product of his environment; he owned a few slaves, believed in the COnfederate cause and fought to save it, held obviously racist views of black people, and even had a black spy hanged.
But he had an interesting attitude toward the meaning of the Confederacy's defeat that put him on a very different track than most of his compatriots. He was friends with Grant from West Point and the Mexican War, and he was impressed by Grant's grace and leniency in the phase of surrender. HE believed that the Confederate cause had been bested by the sword and that the vanquished must now try their best to aid the intentions of the victory (almost a might makes right argument that worked out). He didn't actually become pro-Reconstruction until 1867, as radical Reconstruction began a more systematic revising of black citizens' status. As his former comrades were opposing Reconstruction, almost violently, he supported the 14-15 amendments, became a Republican in New Orleans, and even led mixed-race units in both parades and street battles with white supremacist militias. He still held paternalistic views of black people and believed that whites should remain in charge, but he was radically different from the vast majority of ex-Confederates.
His support of Reconstruction led many of his ex-friends to condemn him and blame the defeat of the Civil War on him, especially Gettysburg. Varon does a nice job showing how they didn't make these accusations until he turned his coat politically. Most would have said beforehand that he was a good general; the historical revisionism was driven entirely by resentment at his betrayal of the white cause. Varon does a great job weaving in material and insights about the politics of Civil War memory in her more admiring book of Longstreet.
However, Longstreet was also a bit of a shape-shifter, sort of the Talleyrand of the Civil War era. He remained a Republican but adapted to the GOP's shift away from Reconstruction. He pursued a pro-Reconstruction agenda not simply out of conviction; he clearly remained politically ambitious and wanted the patronage jobs that came with supporting the GOP at the time. He later became a sort of New South booster who believed in modernizing the South and slowly developing African-Americans toward some semblance of equality while keeping power and resources firmly in white hands.
Overall, I found this book interesting because I'm always compelled by people who show the capacity for change. Longstreet was imperfect, but he took stances that we remarkable for his background, and he put his life on the line to fight for a new and better version of America. Varon tells this story well, paying attention to nuance and the "uncategorizability" of Longstreet in this era. That's a real historian's touch. I did find parts of the book to be a little too detailed, but overall this is a really interesting look at the Civil War era through one of its more unusual characters.
April 17, 2024
Longstreet: The Confederate General Who Defied the South is a biography that focuses on Longstreet’s military service in the American Civil War, and his political life thereafter. It’s meticulously researched, and the documentation is among the best I’ve seen anywhere. Students, Civil War buffs, and other interested readers won’t want to miss it.
My thanks go to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for the invitation to read and review. This book is for sale now.
James Longstreet was one of the most able and respected generals for the Confederacy, serving as General Robert E. Lee’s right hand officer. Lee called him “my old war horse.” However, a disagreement between them about strategy at Gettysburg has made Longstreet a convenient scapegoat for Lost Cause types that accuse him of treachery, of deliberately sabotaging the deadly three day fight, and thereby causing the rebels to lose a key battle. Varon sets the record straight, and then goes on to explain what he did following Lee’s surrender and the Confederacy’s failure.
When I saw the subscript in the title, I wondered whether Varon might be overstating Longstreet’s postwar behavior in order to draw readers. Having read it, I can say that she has not overstated one single thing. This is a fair and balanced account. In essence, Longstreet recognized that, while the Confederate Army fought long and hard, it had in fact lost, and there was no good to be gained from further destruction at a time when reconciliation was more important. He basically said that having lost the war, the best thing for the South to do is recognize that the war is done, and proceed to obey the laws of the United States and rebuild the ruined Southern states.
I was unaware, before reading this biography, how extensively defeated Caucasian Southerners were inclined to sabotage the U.S. government. Guerilla actions were common, along with the passage of local laws that directly conflicted with Federal ones. Acts of terror against African American former slaves, as well as free Black Southerners, were frequent whenever Federal troops or other peacekeepers were not present to see to their safety and their rights. And though I had not realized it, Longstreet hailed from Louisiana, which seems to have had the ugliest resistance of all, with the White League and the Knights of the White Camelia wreaking havoc against Blacks that occupied governmental posts, became too prosperous for the liking of local Whites, or that in any way displeased any White person of any social standing. Longstreet did his best to shut that down; he failed.
Varon discusses the role played by Longstreet’s personal friendship with U.S. Grant, one which predated the war; he was best man at Grant’s wedding to Julia. She suggests that although the friendship was important, Longstreet was also acting on principle.
Varon doesn’t overstate her case, and is measured and fair in her assessment. She points to the occasions when Longstreet folded and cooperated with the local racists in that well-traveled road of U.S. politicians: I have to do this terrible thing in order to get elected, or I can’t do any good for the former slaves or anything else. This habit, both past and present, sets my teeth on edge, but she doesn’t defend it. She also points out that had the Confederacy won the war, Longstreet would have remained a Dixie racist for the rest of his life, more likely than not.
Those looking at the length of this book—over 500 pages—should be aware that about the last twenty-five percent of it is endnotes, with documentation, bibliography, etc. And while it may be more than a general reader that simply enjoys a good biography might appreciate, those interested in the Civil War should get this book and read it.
My thanks go to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for the invitation to read and review. This book is for sale now.
James Longstreet was one of the most able and respected generals for the Confederacy, serving as General Robert E. Lee’s right hand officer. Lee called him “my old war horse.” However, a disagreement between them about strategy at Gettysburg has made Longstreet a convenient scapegoat for Lost Cause types that accuse him of treachery, of deliberately sabotaging the deadly three day fight, and thereby causing the rebels to lose a key battle. Varon sets the record straight, and then goes on to explain what he did following Lee’s surrender and the Confederacy’s failure.
When I saw the subscript in the title, I wondered whether Varon might be overstating Longstreet’s postwar behavior in order to draw readers. Having read it, I can say that she has not overstated one single thing. This is a fair and balanced account. In essence, Longstreet recognized that, while the Confederate Army fought long and hard, it had in fact lost, and there was no good to be gained from further destruction at a time when reconciliation was more important. He basically said that having lost the war, the best thing for the South to do is recognize that the war is done, and proceed to obey the laws of the United States and rebuild the ruined Southern states.
I was unaware, before reading this biography, how extensively defeated Caucasian Southerners were inclined to sabotage the U.S. government. Guerilla actions were common, along with the passage of local laws that directly conflicted with Federal ones. Acts of terror against African American former slaves, as well as free Black Southerners, were frequent whenever Federal troops or other peacekeepers were not present to see to their safety and their rights. And though I had not realized it, Longstreet hailed from Louisiana, which seems to have had the ugliest resistance of all, with the White League and the Knights of the White Camelia wreaking havoc against Blacks that occupied governmental posts, became too prosperous for the liking of local Whites, or that in any way displeased any White person of any social standing. Longstreet did his best to shut that down; he failed.
Varon discusses the role played by Longstreet’s personal friendship with U.S. Grant, one which predated the war; he was best man at Grant’s wedding to Julia. She suggests that although the friendship was important, Longstreet was also acting on principle.
Varon doesn’t overstate her case, and is measured and fair in her assessment. She points to the occasions when Longstreet folded and cooperated with the local racists in that well-traveled road of U.S. politicians: I have to do this terrible thing in order to get elected, or I can’t do any good for the former slaves or anything else. This habit, both past and present, sets my teeth on edge, but she doesn’t defend it. She also points out that had the Confederacy won the war, Longstreet would have remained a Dixie racist for the rest of his life, more likely than not.
Those looking at the length of this book—over 500 pages—should be aware that about the last twenty-five percent of it is endnotes, with documentation, bibliography, etc. And while it may be more than a general reader that simply enjoys a good biography might appreciate, those interested in the Civil War should get this book and read it.
January 1, 2024
What I knew about General Longstreet's post-Civil War career was from a capsule description in THE KILLER ANGELS by Michael Shaara, who states that Longstreet joined up with his old friend, U.S. Grant, in the Republican Reconstruction project, and was hated by the South as a result. This is the full story of how Longstreet turned his back (not entirely) on the Lost Cause and came to become a chief advocate of what was then called Radical Republicanism. It's a fascinating story, very well told, and Varon does an excellent job in trying to mediate between the varying views on who Longstreet was and why he did what he did.
The Longstreet story is, among other things, an antidote to the all-or-nothing school of revisionist history. The current thinking (to the extent that I understand it, or that it can be readily understood) is that all have sinned and come short of the glory of Ibram X. Kendi. Yes, of course, Jeff Davis and Bobby Lee were the blackest of traitors, fighting in the name of white supremacy, everyone gets that. But they're tearing down the statues of Grant and Lincoln, too. Why? I can't say that I understand why, but it seems that their attitudes trump their actions. All I can readily say about this is that if your fine-toothed comb of historical analysis screens out the Great Emancipator, you are going about things the wrong way, likely for the wrong reasons.
So the question raised here is, what to make of Longstreet? He was considered in his time one of the chief malefactors of the Confederacy, up there with Davis and Lee. (This despite an ongoing debate on the quality of Longstreet's generalship.) But he sought to make peace with Grant in early 1865, knowing that the Lost Cause was indeed lost. He readily accepted peace at Appomattox. Instead of stepping away from the conflict of Reconstruction, as Lee did, Longstreet moved to New Orleans, and sought (and received) a federal appointment, and allied with the new Republican officeholders, who were black.
Did he make a complete reversal of his previous views? No, certainly not, and Varon is very specific about this; he was still a white supremacist as it was understood in his time. But certainly he did far more to accept Reconstruction than any other major Confederate leader, and bore the brunt of Southern criticism. Maybe Longstreet didn't change in the right way, or changed enough, but the fact of the matter is that he did change, and that change is important.
There are more drawbacks than one in the all-or-nothing critical theorist's approach, but certainly the idea that everyone is on the wrong side, that everyone is irredeemable, keeps us from evaluating the Longstreets of the world, the people who recognized that there was a problem, the people who did something - even if that something wasn't what the good people of 2024 would have said or done. Varon's work is a tonic to that school of thought, and welcome.
The Longstreet story is, among other things, an antidote to the all-or-nothing school of revisionist history. The current thinking (to the extent that I understand it, or that it can be readily understood) is that all have sinned and come short of the glory of Ibram X. Kendi. Yes, of course, Jeff Davis and Bobby Lee were the blackest of traitors, fighting in the name of white supremacy, everyone gets that. But they're tearing down the statues of Grant and Lincoln, too. Why? I can't say that I understand why, but it seems that their attitudes trump their actions. All I can readily say about this is that if your fine-toothed comb of historical analysis screens out the Great Emancipator, you are going about things the wrong way, likely for the wrong reasons.
So the question raised here is, what to make of Longstreet? He was considered in his time one of the chief malefactors of the Confederacy, up there with Davis and Lee. (This despite an ongoing debate on the quality of Longstreet's generalship.) But he sought to make peace with Grant in early 1865, knowing that the Lost Cause was indeed lost. He readily accepted peace at Appomattox. Instead of stepping away from the conflict of Reconstruction, as Lee did, Longstreet moved to New Orleans, and sought (and received) a federal appointment, and allied with the new Republican officeholders, who were black.
Did he make a complete reversal of his previous views? No, certainly not, and Varon is very specific about this; he was still a white supremacist as it was understood in his time. But certainly he did far more to accept Reconstruction than any other major Confederate leader, and bore the brunt of Southern criticism. Maybe Longstreet didn't change in the right way, or changed enough, but the fact of the matter is that he did change, and that change is important.
There are more drawbacks than one in the all-or-nothing critical theorist's approach, but certainly the idea that everyone is on the wrong side, that everyone is irredeemable, keeps us from evaluating the Longstreets of the world, the people who recognized that there was a problem, the people who did something - even if that something wasn't what the good people of 2024 would have said or done. Varon's work is a tonic to that school of thought, and welcome.
January 15, 2024
A solid book, on the 4/5 star border that I bumped up for a variety of reasons, one at the bottom.
I'd read Piston's book before, which, IIRC, doesn't have nearly the post-war focus this book does. Wert gives detailed looks at wartime Longstreet, but even less than Piston tackles the postwar man.
As for people saying Longstreet's "why" isn't clear enough in this book? More than once, Varon cites him as saying the war's conclusion meant the North won, on its terms, therefore was entitled to take the lead on the South's future. That IS his "why." That simple.
That includes his decision to become a Republican and to try to steer that future from there rather than as a Democrat. That includes even supporting voting rights for Blacks after they were granted.
Contra Piston, since he discusses postwar Longstreet more than Wert, while L may have fudged off his own military problems to some degree, I don't think it was to a horrible degree and neither does Varon. On Day 2 of Gettysburg, she does fault his maneuvering to some degree, but not extremely. On Day 3, she finds nothing of note to fault. On the campaign, she does noted that Lee made no promise to fight a tactical defensive, and no commander would promise such a thing in advance on a blanket level.
She does note his low points at Knoxville while saying he'd been dealt a bad hand, as he had.
One thing she noted that I don't recall from Piston is how L stayed connected with Joe Johnston even after Lee replaced him in the East. I would have liked to have seen more follow-up on this, especially re when Longstreet was sent West. He was obviously not a naif on military politics and entered the transfer with eyes reasonably wide open.
Varon is good at showing Longstreet was not a political naif in the civilian world, up to the end of his life. This was good work here.
And, he was principled in this, per his command of Black and White troops in Louisiana, up to and through the Battle of Liberty Place. (Note: If you don't like that being tied to Jan. 6, 2021, you're wrong, and that's a problem that spills beyond both dates.)
I'd read Piston's book before, which, IIRC, doesn't have nearly the post-war focus this book does. Wert gives detailed looks at wartime Longstreet, but even less than Piston tackles the postwar man.
As for people saying Longstreet's "why" isn't clear enough in this book? More than once, Varon cites him as saying the war's conclusion meant the North won, on its terms, therefore was entitled to take the lead on the South's future. That IS his "why." That simple.
That includes his decision to become a Republican and to try to steer that future from there rather than as a Democrat. That includes even supporting voting rights for Blacks after they were granted.
Contra Piston, since he discusses postwar Longstreet more than Wert, while L may have fudged off his own military problems to some degree, I don't think it was to a horrible degree and neither does Varon. On Day 2 of Gettysburg, she does fault his maneuvering to some degree, but not extremely. On Day 3, she finds nothing of note to fault. On the campaign, she does noted that Lee made no promise to fight a tactical defensive, and no commander would promise such a thing in advance on a blanket level.
She does note his low points at Knoxville while saying he'd been dealt a bad hand, as he had.
One thing she noted that I don't recall from Piston is how L stayed connected with Joe Johnston even after Lee replaced him in the East. I would have liked to have seen more follow-up on this, especially re when Longstreet was sent West. He was obviously not a naif on military politics and entered the transfer with eyes reasonably wide open.
Varon is good at showing Longstreet was not a political naif in the civilian world, up to the end of his life. This was good work here.
And, he was principled in this, per his command of Black and White troops in Louisiana, up to and through the Battle of Liberty Place. (Note: If you don't like that being tied to Jan. 6, 2021, you're wrong, and that's a problem that spills beyond both dates.)
May 5, 2024
James Longstreet studied at West Point, served in the U.S. military for many years prior to the Civil War, rose to become Robert E. Lee’s “War Horse,” and when the Civil War was over, he accepted the South’s defeat and spent decades being hounded by Lost Cause Southerners who regarded him as a traitor and a turncoat for his service to his West Point classmate U.S. Grant and other Republican presidents in a variety of roles, always emphasizing the necessity of including Blacks in the South’s governance as he supported Reconstruction and reconciliation.
This book tells Longstreet’s story thoroughly and pretty well, although it spends little time on why Longstreet did what he did, fighting hard for the United States before the Civil War, fighting fiercely against the United States during the Civil War, and then trying to reincorporate the South, both Blacks and Whites, in the United States after the Civil War. The answer would seem to be, it seems to me, that he was a soldier by training and experience and that ultimately overrode his allegiance to the Old South. Once he was licked, he knew he was licked. He understood that battles have winners and losers. He did not want the Civil War to devolve into a protracted guerrilla struggle when he saw that the war was over (Lee didn’t want that either). And then, as a pragmatic, problem solving military man he understood the counterproductive futility of White post-War resistance. He was willing and eager to work with Blacks. He saw them, it seems to me, in professional terms—let’s not pretend the Civil War wasn’t fought to emancipate them. It appears he harbored an attachment to racial superiority but he regarded it as useless and pointless. The world changed at Appomattox and Longstreet changed with it.
The intriguing aspect of his post-War life is how hard his Southern critics attacked him and how little they seem to have understood that he was a man who had lived through the horrors of war (and been badly wounded) who was unlikely to be cowed or deterred. Rather, he would fight back with words and deeds, and that part of his story is really what continues to make Longstreet relevant today.
This book tells Longstreet’s story thoroughly and pretty well, although it spends little time on why Longstreet did what he did, fighting hard for the United States before the Civil War, fighting fiercely against the United States during the Civil War, and then trying to reincorporate the South, both Blacks and Whites, in the United States after the Civil War. The answer would seem to be, it seems to me, that he was a soldier by training and experience and that ultimately overrode his allegiance to the Old South. Once he was licked, he knew he was licked. He understood that battles have winners and losers. He did not want the Civil War to devolve into a protracted guerrilla struggle when he saw that the war was over (Lee didn’t want that either). And then, as a pragmatic, problem solving military man he understood the counterproductive futility of White post-War resistance. He was willing and eager to work with Blacks. He saw them, it seems to me, in professional terms—let’s not pretend the Civil War wasn’t fought to emancipate them. It appears he harbored an attachment to racial superiority but he regarded it as useless and pointless. The world changed at Appomattox and Longstreet changed with it.
The intriguing aspect of his post-War life is how hard his Southern critics attacked him and how little they seem to have understood that he was a man who had lived through the horrors of war (and been badly wounded) who was unlikely to be cowed or deterred. Rather, he would fight back with words and deeds, and that part of his story is really what continues to make Longstreet relevant today.
October 9, 2023
I have to say that I love anything at all to do with the American Civil War. This is because I married a man who grew up close to Gettysburg, and once I went to the battlefield, I was in awe. Not only because of what I saw there, but because of the history that it tells. Since then, I have collected hundreds of books on the war, and many of them are biographies. However, this is the first one of Longstreet that I have read, and I have always wondered why no one has written anything -- until now.
The author gives us a complete history of this general, and how he came to be who he was in his later years. As a southern gentleman, he went into the war with illusions, but came out with reality. He was seriously wounded during the earlier Mexican-American war. He came out of that with many accolades.
He was both a friend of Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee. General Lee called him "The Old War Horse." and he was a close confidant. Perhaps if Lee had listened to Longstreet's warnings, the battle at Gettysburg may have gone differently; but we will never know. While he began as a Democrat he later changed to a Republican, and this book details the reasons why. He came to know that slavery was wrong, and tried to do the right thing as he aged.
This biography is detailed and done with great research; although somewhat dry at times, it is still worth the read, and not too hefty of a tome (weighing in at 480 pages); it has given me a new understanding of the man and both his personal and professional life. Indeed, it stands well with other military biographies that I have read. Even those who revile the Confederates should understand that it was a different time with different mores. The writing is done very well, and the author has done herself proud. Highly recommended.
I was given an advance copy of this book from the publisher but it in no way influenced my review.
The author gives us a complete history of this general, and how he came to be who he was in his later years. As a southern gentleman, he went into the war with illusions, but came out with reality. He was seriously wounded during the earlier Mexican-American war. He came out of that with many accolades.
He was both a friend of Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee. General Lee called him "The Old War Horse." and he was a close confidant. Perhaps if Lee had listened to Longstreet's warnings, the battle at Gettysburg may have gone differently; but we will never know. While he began as a Democrat he later changed to a Republican, and this book details the reasons why. He came to know that slavery was wrong, and tried to do the right thing as he aged.
This biography is detailed and done with great research; although somewhat dry at times, it is still worth the read, and not too hefty of a tome (weighing in at 480 pages); it has given me a new understanding of the man and both his personal and professional life. Indeed, it stands well with other military biographies that I have read. Even those who revile the Confederates should understand that it was a different time with different mores. The writing is done very well, and the author has done herself proud. Highly recommended.
I was given an advance copy of this book from the publisher but it in no way influenced my review.
May 22, 2024
At the end of the Civil War, nearly every prominent leader from the South at some level rejected the Union victory, fought Reconstruction tooth and nail and never (to this day, one might argue) embraced the notion of full citizenship for former slaves … except one. James Longstreet has long fascinated me because of his stance, which cost him dearly in terms of prestige, power and even personal success. This book does a fantastic job of helping us understand Longstreet, though his story remains agonizingly prescient of the rifts that roil the country even today, 160+ years after Appomattox. Longstreet put his money where his mouth was, defending the former slaves in New Orleans where white racists attacked the legitimate government to unseat the African American legislators. Longstreet greatly admired US Grant, and the feeling was mutual, but in the end even Grant had to give up the fight for equality. It’s a tragic story of a great man, but it’s also emblematic of ex-Confederates and certain modern-day racists. America’s original sin continues to prevent the country from being what the original experiment was designed to be, and in many ways Longstreet is a perfect symbol for the country’s ultimate failure. And Longstreet is not perfect — many, many times in this meticulously researched biography, I was frustrated by his contradictions and lack of conviction. But he’s a fascinating character, so much more interesting than, say, the supposedly saintly Robert E Lee, but his fellow southerners could never forgive him for siding with the former slaves. Like LBJ knowing that signing the Civil Rights Act cost the Demcrats the south forever. The parallels are eerie and depressing. None of which mar this brilliant book, as fine a biography as I’ve read in a long time.
Grade: A
Grade: A
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