Clarke courier. [volume] (Berryville, Va.) 1869-1997, 1904-01-13

was then out of the service. they
met again. Grant heard that
Longstreet was in town and hunted
him up for the purpose of paying
him 81 which he had lost to his
friend in game of "brag" in the
old days in Texas, and had never
paid. Longstreet used TO finish
this story somewhat as follows: II
peremptorily declined to take the
money. telling Grant that he was
out of the service and needed il
much more than L. You must
take it, said Grant. L can't live
with anything in my possession
that isn't mine. / saw he was in
dead earnest, and TO save mortifica-
ton took the money, and shaking
hands we parted. The next time
we met was at Appomatox. Long
street continued, land the first
thing Grant said to me when he
had drawn me TO one side and
shaken hands was, 'Pete-all. my
best friends used to call me Pete
let's have a game of Drag to
recall the pleasant days in Texas. I"
In 1866 Longstreet had occasion
to visit Washington on business,
and while there made a call of
courtesy on General Grant at his
office. In the evening he accepted
an invitation To make a visit at the
house. When Longstreet left
Grant accompanied him to the hall
way and asked him if he wanted
an amnesty. Longstreet was Who'll
ly unprepared for this. and had no
hope of getting ii. and said so. but
Grant assured him he would ar
range it. \ short time later the
papers were made out and Long
street was relieved of all political
disability. Longstrcet's nominal
ton to be surveyor of the port of
New Orleans was sent to the Senate
by President Grant very shortly
after his first Inauguration.
There was considerable oppOSi-
tion to his confirmation by the Sen
ate. and Longstreet offered to re-
tire and thus relieve Grant of en-
barrasSment. Grants reply was:
No. YOU won't. Those fellows
all want Office from me. and not
one will get there until YOU are
confirmed"
In 1915 he took up his residence
in Georgia. and in 1850 was sent
As minister to Turkey, where he
remained until 1881. He was sub
sequently United States marshal
for the Northern district of Geor-
gia and later national railroad com
missioner,
General Longstreet's wife re-
Gently wrote a defence of her hus-
band from the criticisms of Genera
Gordon. In this letter she said:
1t is significant that not one
word was ever uttered against
Longstreet's military record unit
the man who could forever hav,
silenced the calumny was in hi
grave-until the knightly soul o
Robert Edward Lee had passed
into eternity.
General LOngstreet's opera
tons at Gettysburg were above tn,
suspicion of reproach until he cam,
under the political ban in the South
by meeting. as he saw it, the re
quirements of good citizenship il
the observance of his Appomat
toX parole.
Then the storm broke. He
was heralded as traitor, deserter OF
his people, deserter of democracy
&c. In the fury of this onslaught
originated the cruel SANDER that hC
had disobeyed Lees most vital or,
ders, causing the loss of the Get.
tysburg battle and the ultimate fall
of the Confederate cause.
The sectional complaint that he
deserted democracy, is about as
relevant and truthful as the asser-
ton that he lost Gettysburg. He
was a West Pointer, professional
soldier. He had never cast a ballot
before the civil war; he had no,pol-
itics. Its passions and prejudices
had no dwelling place in his mind.
The war was over, and he quietly
accepted the result, fraternizine
with all Americans. 1t was no
great crime.
But the peculiar circumstan-
ces favored the conspiracy to make
LOngstreet the long-desired scape-
goat for Gettysburg. There was
an Interior and deeper purpose,