Longstreet, James Peter | South Carolina Public Radio

“L” is for Longstreet, James Peter [1821-1904]. Soldier. Born in Edgefield District, Longstreet spent his formative years in Georgia and Alabama. After graduating from West Point, he had a successful army career, serving with distinction in the Mexican war and achieving the rank of major. In 1861, he resigned his U.S. Army commission and joined the Confederate Army as a brigadier general. He distinguished himself as a superb military tactician and in 1862, Robert E. Lee made him his second in command. After Gettysburg, he was transferred to the Western Theater where he won an impressive victory at Chickamauga. Returning to Virginia, he served brilliantly in the Battle at the Wilderness. After the war, James Peter Longstreet settled in New Orleans and alienated many postwar southerners by joining the Republican Party.