Today in History: General James Longstreet

The St. Louis Republic. (St. Louis, Mo.), 04 Oct. 1903

Today in History–May 6–the Library of Congress features General James Longstreet. On this day in 1864, this officer of the Confederate Army was seriously wounded by his own troops during the second day of fighting at the Battle of the Wilderness near Fredericksburg, Virginia. A career military man who was educated at West Point, was second-in-command to General Robert E. Lee. The Confederate leader affectionately referred to Longstreet as “my old war-horse” and the two surrendered together at Appomattox. Find out more about the General before, during, and after the Civil War by visiting the Today in History section, then click the links below to access related resources.

General James Longstreet image set

General James Longstreet sheet music

General James Longstreet historical newspaper coverage

Topics in Chronicling America – Appomattox (1865-1868)

Make Our Effort Pretty Certain” James Longstreet to Edward Porter Alexander, July 3, 1863, with annotation of Alexander’s reply

Lee and His Generals by Capt. Wm. P. Snow 1867

From Manassas to Appomattox : memoirs of the Civil War in America by James Longstreet 1896

James Longstreet brief bio

James Longstreet background National Park Service

Related resources