The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1896-01-19
GENERAL LoNG.rnrEr,s nnok


There was no better commander Of men
on the field Of battle, when once bat
tie was engaged. ia the Confederate
army, than General Longstroet. and
that was the opinion of him held by the
soldiers during the war. But ne was not
much thought of then in any other
capacity, and the judgment formed OF
him at the time. i'm both particulars, has
been confirmed by the study which has
been given to the records of the war
since it closed.
But General Longstreets conduct since
the was has diminished the affection
for him that the old soldiers had during
the war, and many who thought well OF
him then think very badly of him now.
They have much against him. His worst
enemies. however could never have
framed such an Indictment against him
as he has prepared for himself i'm his
book entitled From Manassas to Apo
mattox." just published. it is written
in the worst possible temper and taste. it
is full of unworthy and ungenerous
charges and insnuations against General
Lee and other of his felow-ofcers. and
it has so mixed together fiction and fact
that II is absolutely worthless as a con-
tribution TO the history Of the war IL is
written TO glorify Longstreet and not to
tell us what actually happened. and
every incident treated is treated from
the standpoint of writer who proposes
10 show that Longstreet was one OF the
greatest of commanders instead Of from
that of a man who wishes TO furnish The
public with a perfectly fair. impartial,
and candid account Of the mighty events
in which Longstreet bore part. lie
says Of General Lee at Gettysburg. j.
sA:
THAT he was excited and off his bal
ancc. was evident on the afternoon OF
the 1st, and he labored under that OPP
preston until enough blood was shed 10
appease him"
Now. We submit that nothing more un-
just or more unworthy than this could
have been said. General Lees impertur-
babe calmness under all circumstances
was proyerbial. lie was never thrown of
his balance. but il would certainly have
been impossible TO keep him off his bal
ance for the three days during which
the battle lasted. But the malignity Of
The statement is its most notable feature.
II suggests that General Lee delighted in
bloodshed, when all the world knows that
he was one of the tenderest and most
humane men that ever lived
Twenty years ago General Longstreet
had difference with General Early about
Longstreet's part in the battle Of Gettys-
burg. and General Early wrote and pub
lisheda most scathing review OF Ii. Hore
is how L6ngsrcet gets even with his
dead critic. In his account Of Gettys-
burg he says at page $40:
There was a man on the left Of the
line who did not care 10 make the bat
tie win. lie knew where ii was. had
viewed il from It's earliest formation, had
orders for his part in IL. but so with
held part of his command from il as 10
make cooperative concert of action i'm
practicable. lie had a pruriency for the
honcrs OF the field OF Mars, was eloquent.
before the fires OF the b!vouac and his
chief Of the glory OF wars cory shield
but when It's envied laurels were dipping
50 the grasp when The heavy field called
for bloody work. ne found the placid
horizon, far and away beyond the cayal-
~ more lovely and Inviting. He wanted