October 7, 1861---Old Pete

OCTOBER 7, 1861:   

James Longstreet is promoted to Major General C.S.A. Longstreet, who would go on to fame at Gettysburg, is of Dutch extraction and Northern parentage, even though he is a native South Carolinian. Best Man at U.S. Grant’s wedding, he is deeply conflicted about secession. A dour man who loses his children to illness, he is called “Old Gloomy Pete” by his friends. He is, however, a very able commander, probably the second best of the Confederacy (after Robert E. Lee). He strongly objects to Lee’s strategy at Gettysburg, but follows orders anyway. After the war, he becomes persona non grata in the South by criticizing the beloved General Lee for the loss at Gettysburg, becoming a Republican, and taking a job in Grant’s Administration.