Longstreet: The Confederate General Who Defied the South
- Downloads：1877
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2023-11-24 13:21:34
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Elizabeth Varon
- ISBN：B0BTZY4JLW
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
Reviews
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Courage and principle， betrayed by historyMy 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 thusA 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 symbo Courage and principle， betrayed by historyMy 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 thusA 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 thusWe 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。 。。。more
Beyond the Pages with Eva K
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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 goo 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: 5/5Recommend: YesAudience: GThank 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。 。。。more
JoAnne McMaster （Any Good Book）
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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。 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。 。。。more
Brendan Dowd （History Nerds United）
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