Longstreet: The Confederate General Who Defied the South

by Elizabeth Varon

Finalist, Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Biography
American Battlefield Trust Prize for History Finalist

A “compelling portrait” (Jon Meacham, Pulitzer Prize­–winning author) 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 discovered in the new age of racial reckoning as “one of the most enduringly relevant voices in American history” (The Wall Street Journal). This is the first authoritative biography in decades and the first that “brilliantly creates the wider context for Longstreet’s career” (The New York Times).

Genres: History, Biography, Civil War, Nonfiction, American History, American Civil War, Politics

476 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 21, 2023

Reviews

[Faith · Rating 4 out of 5]

“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.

[bup · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Brendan (History Nerds United) · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.)

[Brok3n · Rating 4 out of 5]

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

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.

[Caleb Fogler · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Dawn Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Christopher · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[John Devlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

(3.2) an odd biography in that it focuses on Longstreets life after the civil war much more than one might suspect.

Much of what was argued about for a century has been settled.

Lee failed at Gettysburg but he was protected from this ruling bc the South needed the marble man.

Longstreet was an able general who foresaw not just the army of northern Virginia's defeat on the third day at Gettysburg but the defensive architecture that would make WWI a Grand Guignol.

Longstreet’s switch to Republicanism and a see-sawing supporter of reconstruction and black rights is where this book really focuses.

Was Longstreet a traitor to the South?
Did his support of the North represent a come to Jesus moment?
Was he just a political opportunist?

The last assertion bares some weight. The rest of his life had him seeking political patronage positions, but even there his maneuvering could have been achieved much easier had he sided with the Lost Cause folks of his home.

My conclusion is straightforward: when the south was defeated at Appomattox, Longstreet took that as exactly what it was…an unqualified, unadulterated Loss. The South’s honor, and very much his own, was now tied to his being the gracious loser and submitting to Northern rule…

A postscript here…it’s a revealing take on some of the intricacies of Reconstruction

[Richard Thompson · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Joseph · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Paul Spence · Rating 4 out of 5]

James Longstreet’s civil war did not end at Appomattox. For decades thereafter, the Confederacy’s Number Three—behind Jefferson Davis and R. E. Lee—battled the Civil War’s verdicts and its contested narratives of memory, including his own role in the conflict’s storied campaigns. Searching to exonerate their beloved Lee, Lost Cause authors hunted for a scapegoat whom they could blame for Confederate defeat. They found in Longstreet the perfect heel. He was a Georgian, not a Virginian. He defied Lee’s orders at Gettysburg, leading somehow to inevitable Confederate defeat. And most damnable of all, after the war he became a Republican, a vocal supporter of Reconstruction, a defender of Black suffrage, and a fierce critic of white southern intransigence.

Elizabeth R. Varon’s brilliant biography confronts the decades-old conventional wisdom about Longstreet’s legacy. She poses a straightforward yet complex question: “How did Longstreet, a man who had gone to war in 1861 to destroy the Union and perpetuate slavery,” come to renounce all for which the Confederacy stood and champion a new postwar biracial order (xv)? The answer is found in the most striking of places: in the picture of Longstreet gracing the book’s dustjacket. There, we see the former Confederate not donning his general’s uniform, but rather his civilian dress. He gazes not backward to an idyllic past, but forward toward a better future.

Varon’s wonderful analysis reminds us that Longstreet dedicated much of his public life (he lived from 1821 to 1904) not in defending slavery or serving the Confederacy (though he had been a proslavery apologist and staunch Confederate). Varon offers a not-so-subtle cue that one’s life is not the sum-total of four years of war, much less several days spent on a battlefield at Gettysburg. That is why she dedicates two-thirds of her book to the years after 1865. And that is the way Longstreet would want it.

Though he long defended his military record, Longstreet came to repudiate the Confederacy. He insisted that his fellow white southerners abide the terms at Appomattox. Secession was dead, slavery was vanquished, emancipation was a reality.

Those were all good things, Longstreet concluded. Confederates lost the war, he believed, not because of the Union’s industrial might or ranks overflowing with mad conscripts. Defeat came from simpler sources: ill-conceived military decisions and, as Varon puts it, Confederate “hubris” (305). Herein lay the wellspring of Lost Cause ire. Longstreet was a dissenting postwar voice in a region bound by rigid conformity. He embraced a new South liberated from the impossible grip of slaveholding genuflection. And he practiced what he preached, as custom surveyor in New Orleans appointed by his dear friend President Ulysses S. Grant; as an officer in the biracial Louisiana State Militia which he led against white paramilitary insurgents; as an active member of Georgia’s Republican Party; and as the United States minister to Turkey from 1880 to 1881. All the while, he advocated “radical” Republican Reconstruction policies, especially the Fifteenth Amendment and Black political equality.

With deft sensitivity, Varon implies that Reconstruction could have turned out very differently, that it was not doomed from its inception. Longstreet was proof of this. During the war to be sure, he was “sustained by his fervent ideological commitment to the Confederate cause” (28). However, in the long wake of Appomattox, he believed that dignified honor required all white southerners acquiescing to Abraham Lincoln’s vision for a “new birth of freedom.” Lincoln anticipated that with the death of slavery, white Americans would be liberated from their deceitful vanity about humanity, politics, nationhood. With remarkable humility, Longstreet took seriously the new way of things. He insisted that societies can change, that democracy is based on majority rule, minority consent, and grace for one’s fellow citizens. Here, Varon poses her most provocative inference of all: what might have happened had more former Confederates followed Longstreet’s postwar example?

Longstreet was the raw proof that change could have happened. He practiced the kind of “self-reinvention” that Union victory and emancipation necessitated (291). Yet purveyors of the Lost Cause insisted on ideological though fanciful purity. They aimed to destroy anyone who dissented. Longstreet welcomed the fight. “The most his southern critics treated him as an apostate on the issue of race,” Varon explains, “the more receptive he became to Republican ideology” (157). For more than two decades, he published popular articles and his massive memoirs, critiquing the Lost Cause, laying blame where he saw fit, defending biracial politics, and promoting sectional reconciliation. Longstreet was hardly a progressive and never perfect. His own complexity underscored the complexity of his era. And Varon’s triumphant book provides the vindication that he always sought.

[Graham Barrett · Rating 4 out of 5]

(3.0-3.5 rounded up)

I watched “Gettysburg” (based on “The Killer Angels”) plenty of times over the years but never cared too much for the Confederate officers as a Yankee abolitionist. I was intrigued to learn that one of them, General James Longstreet, broke with his former Confederate companions after the war and pushed for protecting the gains of Reconstruction for Black Americans. “Longstreet” by Elizabeth Varon charts Longstreet’s tumultuous journey from hardcore Confederate to quasi-true believer of equal rights in period where it was almost suicidal to be like that South of the Mason-Dixon line.

I wouldn’t say the book was the best written as there were a lot of dry sections throughout, particularly Longstreet’s later years. Even the parts about his life I would find interesting like his Civil War years and period running a multi-ethnic militia weren’t as gripping as the subject matter would suggest. Nonetheless when the book captured my interest it did hold it because Longstreet was a very interesting figure. The Civil War portions I already sort of knew like his role at Gettysburg and his debates with Robert E Lee on strategy. It was the post-War years I was most interested in and Varon does deliver on the initial parts like his response to anti-black violence in Louisiana and attempts to quell the White Nationalists at the Battle of Canal Street in NOLA. This section made it clear how lacking my K-12 education was in regards to the history of Reconstruction so I appreciated Varon filling in the gaps for it. I also appreciated her drawing connections between the lack of consequences for the Battle of Canal Street leading to Reconstruction falling apart throughout the region and the lack of true accountability for January 6th 2021 leading to current chaos. Moving back to Longstreet, I think while flawed the book does a job at emphasizing that there were Confederates that saw the light and tried to move towards a better, more equitable way of life for all Americans regardless of color.

While I can’t say it was the strongest book on a Civil War figure, “Longstreet” did make me appreciate the life of at least one Confederate general who was vilified by Lost Causers for actually learning from the experience and electing to protect Black Americans. I wouldn’t say build him a statue but this is the type of Southern Heritage that should be better spotlighted and serve as a example of how to learn from one's mistakes.

[Beyond the Pages with Eva K · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

I learned a lot from this biography, but it was not at all what I expected. The main focus of the book was on Longstreet's post-Civil War life during Reconstruction and then the years beyond. There was very little about his childhood, and very little in terms of his personal life. Outside of brief mentions of his wife and children (most who died young), the entire focus of the book was on Longstreet's politics and the fight over the Civil War memory. That is not to say it was not a good book - it is very good for what it does - but not a traditional biography due to the lack of the personal. At least for me.

One other note - more than any history book I can think of from recent years, the author quotes other historians repeatedly throughout the narrative.

[Murphy C · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to most of the audiobook on loan from my local library, but often while driving or before falling asleep, so I'll need to return to the tome in the future. Growing up in the South, I was indoctrinated with the Lost Cause myth early in my childhood, sort of like an insidious cultural computer virus that, once infected, affects all the other complex mental software that constitutes a consciousness. As a result, I had to unlearn a lot of filthy neo-Confederate propaganda in my late teens and early twenties, and I guess I'm still a little resentful of that. And in lieu of the current state of affairs, vis-à-vis neo-Confederate propaganda, I take especial pleasure in the stories of the traitors who saw the light and fought back against their former fellows. 😀

[Jared · Rating 4 out of 5]

A complicated man worth examining in the days of uncertainty we find ourselves. This was a complex man whose views changed so radically that he went from the top confederate general to a fervent supporter of abolition and reconstruction. Not a civil war battle book, but more an examination of the power of change and the persistent struggle versus the head winds of falsehoods/ blind ideology. The author like Longstreet was meticulous in her research.

[Joe Hampton · Rating 5 out of 5]

"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

[Josh Liller · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[Cade Powers · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[Chad Manske · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Brant · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Anne]

"I am established and must live in the U.S., and my children must inherit the good or evil of the condition of the country."

A bit saddening to read in the current climate. There are a lot of parallels.

Also sad to think on how much of the hopes of reconstruction were crushed for decades. Longstreet was not a progressive activist and he did not believe in racial equality -- but he was involved in school board meetings with local black leaders regarding implementing integration in public schools in Louisiana and allocating more resources for these schools back in 1871. The fact that this wasn't achieved for another century and even then it was a painful process says some horrible things about the US. Mob violence and the acts of paramilitary and domestic terrorist groups like the KKK also played no small role in thwarting political hopes for reconstruction. Important to think on what could have been instead.

It was also interesting to read about people in the 1800s opining on how obsessions with the 2nd amendment endangered Americans. Over 150 years later we have made no progress on that...

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Paul Womack · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Joann · Rating 2 out of 5]

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.

[Jennifer J. Dawes · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit more pedantic than I’m accustomed to in biographical detail and style but so enlightening on many levels. More to come.

[Benjamin Baker]

Longstreet was a very complex man…and more interesting than you probably think

[Bj · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Josh · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.