Helen Dortch Longstreet

“ To me the battle-fields of 1846–47 were of supreme interest. They are to most Americans doubtless the chief magnet of attraction. But the eye of an active participant in those glorious achievements of American arms sees more as it sweeps over the valley of Mexico than is comprehensible to the unprofessional casual observer. It was my great privilege​—​to-day a cherished memory​—​to go over the fields that stretch away from Chapultepec with a war-worn soldier who fifty years earlier had there learned his first lessons in real warfare.
Mexico will always be a land of romance. ”

“ Men of Southern blood who recall the days when the civilized world was thrilled with the renown of those great Confederate captains, ‘Lee, Longstreet, and Jackson,’ can scarcely realize that the grave has just closed over all that is mortal of the stoutest, the steadiest, the most practical, pushing, resolute, and stolidly unimaginative fighter of that goodly and immortal group. In the military annals of the Anglo-Saxon race there is nothing finer than the fighting record of this Old Lion of the South. ”

“ If it be thought strange that I should write a preface to a memoir of a conspicuous adversary, I reply that the Civil War is only a memory, its asperities are forgotten, both armies were American, old army friendships have been renewed and new army friendships have been formed among the combatants, the truth of history is dear to all of us, and the amenities of chivalrous manhood are cherished alike by the North and the South, when justice to either is involved. Longstreet’s splendid record as a soldier needs neither apologies nor eulogium. ”

“ He saw his people in the ranks of our army, in Cuba, Porto Rico, the Philippines, China, and Panama; he saw the Union stars and the blue uniform worn by Fitzhugh Lee, and Butler, and Wheeler. He witnessed the fulfilment of his prediction,​—​that the hearty reunion of the North and South would advance the welfare of both. He lived long enough to rejoice with all of us in a reunited nation, and to know that his name was honored wherever the old flag was unfurled. His fame as a soldier belongs to all Americans. ”

“ When Jackson at the second battle of Manassas was hard pressed by Pope’s whole army, Longstreet rushed to his aid and, striking Pope’s flank, crushed it as an egg-shell in the hand of a strong man. Thus always and everywhere that Longstreet led, his men hurried to death as joyously as the bridegroom to greet the bride; where his flag waved his lines stood as immovable as Gibraltar to the storms of the ocean, and when he moved forward, there the enemy were beaten or death and carnage reigned supreme. ”

“ No hero that wore the gray deserves more honor and thanks than this gallant Southern hero, who, like Lee, Jackson, Johnston, and a long list of other loyal Southern sons resigned a position of prominence in the army of the United States and cast his fortunes with his Southern brethren in defense of Southern rights, homes, and firesides, and many of whom died for Southern honor. Sleep on, noble and illustrious soldier and patriot! Thy good name and record as a soldier is safe from the attacks of politicians, rivals, and so-called Daughters of the Confederacy of Savannah! ”

“ America has lost a loyal patriot, whose inflexible devotion to duty, as he saw it from a view-point of patriotic loyalty to his country, commanded the admiration of the age in which he lived; the South has lost a son, whose distinguished services as a gallant soldier and whose superior ability as a general in the Army of Northern Virginia easily classed him with the greatest of the world’s great generals, one whose brilliant record sheds an honorable lustre on the Southern soldier of which the American people feel justly proud ”

“ History will be incomplete without according him her brightest page; and as long as we live to recount deeds of valor and heroism on the battle-field, will live the names of Lee, Longstreet, and “Stonewall” Jackson. Who that was at Gettysburg, Spottsylvania, and the Wilderness, when the earth rocked with the tramp of armed men and the roar of battle resounded almost to heaven, would deny him this mead of praise?
In all these was General Longstreet a prime warrior, a conspicuous actor. He rarely, if ever, was defeated. ”

“ The death of General Longstreet removes from the world’s stage of action one who in time of war had his name and his deeds sounded by the trumpet of fame throughout the civilized world. He was a conspicuous figure in the eyes of the world, and his name was at one time familiar to and honored in every Confederate household. He was Lee’s Rock of Gibraltar that never failed to stem the tides of assault, and when he led, in his turn, the attack, he was a thunder-bolt of war that never failed to strike with terrible effect. ”

“ In those times General Longstreet, at Cerro Gordo, Molino del Rey, and Chapultepec, was aiding to win the great empire of the West; in subsequent hard Indian campaigns lighting the fagots of a splendid western civilization, adding new glory to American arms and, in the struggles of a nation that fell, a new star of the first magnitude to the galaxy of American valor, completing one of the most lustrous pages in the world’s war history. That page cannot be dimmed or darkened; it rests secure in its own white splendor, above the touch of detractors. ”

“ My Dear Madam,​—​As an old Confederate soldier of the Eighteenth Virginia Regiment, Pickett’s division, General James Longstreet’s corps, I wish to extend to you my heartfelt sympathy and condolence in your sad affliction in the death of your gallant and illustrious husband. His old comrades will never for a moment believe the calumny that has been thrust against him. A pure, true soldier, a good, noble, and loyal citizen. ”

“ After a spirited contest at that mountain-pass, Longstreet’s corps moved like a majestic stream on to the plains of Manassas, where his lines were quickly formed. Striking the enemy with the “hand of Mars,” the thunder of his guns greeted the ear of Jackson, giving hope and succor to his forces as the sound of the Scottish bagpipes heralded the approach of the relieving column to the beleaguered garrison at Lucknow. The well-directed assault which he made in General Pope’s front crowned the Southern arms with complete victory. ”

“ It needs not the building of a pantheon or vote of a senate to give them a place among the immortals, to keep alive their illustrious acts and virtues. Most certainly it is not necessary in the case of Longstreet,​—​“Old Pete,” as he was lovingly called by comrades who followed him unflinchingly through four years of warfare. “Old Pete” is dead, yet he lives in the hearts of his old corps and will continue to live in history, poetry, and song, the beau-ideal of a soldier, patriot, and a lover of liberty. ”

“ With the history and the glory of that army his name will ever be signally and inseparably connected. His fame as a skilful, resolute, and sagacious commander, the honor due him as a dauntless defender of his native soil, his record for faithful performance of duty and unflinching courage from “Manassas to Appomattox,” will endure so long as the story of the great struggle shall be told. ”

“ He made a good public servant​—​where could Grant have found a better in those reconstruction days, which were not noted for the excellence of their public servants? Where could Longstreet have better served his own people than by taking an office which might otherwise have been given to men who were still so inflamed by partisan prejudice as to hate those people? His motives were of the highest in this acceptance, and his attitude of silently bearing the remarks of those who criticised him under a misapprehension stamps his moral courage with the golden seal of a serene nobility. ”

“ Nothing is alien to the true American heart that in the least degree concerns the glory of the Old South or the interest of the New. It is precisely this sentiment that was expressed in the fine chivalry of Grant at Appomattox and won for that iron conqueror the lasting affection and respect of the men that he had fought. The heroic Longstreet needs no higher eulogy than the single phrase, He was the friend of Grant and Lee. ”

“ Longstreet,​—​The morning paper brings the sad announcement of the passing away of the last survivor of the brave sons of the South who made her name glorious in the annals of the world. The nation mourns the loss of a noble man whose greatness of character won the respect not only of his own country but of other lands. The South weeps for a son who has conferred distinction upon her by a life of stainless integrity. ”

“ General Longstreet came down from his home in Gainesville, clad in the full uniform of a lieutenant-general of the Confederate army, wearing his sword. Providing himself with a superb mount, he rode out Peachtree Street to the site of the monument, and, dismounting, walked unannounced to the platform into the outstretched arms of Jefferson Davis. As they embraced each other, they presented a scene worthy of the brush of a Raphael or a Rubens. Once heroes in common victory, they were now heroes in common defeat. ”