Their Names Live On:
A Daughter-In-Law Talks About "Old Pete"

A Brief Sketch of General James Longstreet

Born in Edgefield District, SC 8 January 1821 of Dutch ancestry. Son of James and Mary Ann (Dent) Longstreet. His father was a planter. Received appointment to West Point from State of Alabama at age 16. Met life-long friend U. S. Grant, at the Point. Graduated West Point in 1842. 54th out of a class of 62. Served in Indians Wars and the Mexican War where he was twice brevetted for gallantry. 3 March 1848-Married Marie Louise Garland, daughter of his Mexican War Brigade commander Col. James Garland.
Had ten children by Marie. Five died in infancy, three within one week in early 1862 of scarlet fever. Five children grew to adulthood.
John (oldest son)-an Atlanta architect.
Robert Lee-Born during the Civil War. Named for Longstreet’s commander. Served on Gen. Fitz Lee’s staff in Spanish-American War.
James-Born soon after Appomattox. Also served in Spanish-American War.
Fitz Randolph (youngest son)-A farmer in Gainesville, Georgia
Louise-Married into the Welchel family in Gainesville, Georgia.
Resigned Major’s commission in the U. S. Army 1 June 1861 to join the Confederacy. At the time of his resignation he was a paymaster in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Applied for paymaster, instead appointed brigadier general in the Confederate Army 17 June 1861.
Promoted to major general 7 October 1861, and lieutenant general 9 October 1862. Saw service at First Manassas, the Peninsular Campaign, Second Manassas, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, Chickamauga, and the Wilderness, where he was severely wounded. Returned to service and was with Lee at Appomattox. Considered by many the hardest fighter in the Confederate Army. Brilliant tactician. Largely responsible for the Confederate victory at Chickamauga in September 1863. Many blame him for the loss at Gettysburg. The controversy continues to be debated today.
General Robert E. Lee called Longstreet “My Old War Horse.” After the War he became a Republican and ardent supporter of his friend U. S. Grant. For this reason he was labeled a turncoat by many Southerners.
Post-bellum employment:
1869 Surveyor of Customs of the Port of New Orleans.
1878 Supervisor of Internal Revenue
1879 Postmaster at Gainesville, Georgia.
1880-Appointed U. S. Minister to Turkey by President Hayes.
1881 U. S. Marshall of the Northern District of Georgia.
1897 Appointed U. S. Commissioner of Railroads by President McKinley.
Marie Louise Longstreet died 29 December 1889. The General remarried in 1897 at the age of 76. His new bride was Helen Dortch.
James Longstreet died 2 January 1904, six days before his 83rd birthday.
On January 13, 1898, while James Longstreet was still settling into his new job as U. S. Commissioner of Railroads, a little girl was born to Mr. and Mrs. Alfred C. Stover of Dahlonega, Georgia. They named her Zelia.
Thirty-one years later, Zelia became the daughter-in-law of the General when she married Fitz Randolph Longstreet, the General’s youngest son. Mrs. Longstreet, 85, still lives in Georgia and carries on the Longstreet name in a style that would make the General proud.

BLUE & GRAY contacted Mrs. Longstreet and found her more than willing to discuss her famous father-in-law. Our interview follows:
B&G: Tell us about Fitz Randolph.
MRS: Randolph and I were married in 1929. He passed away in 1951. Randolph was born in the 1870’s and was the youngest boy of the General and his first wife. He was a big hearty eater and nothing ever hurt him that he ate, except once when I fixed him a squirrel in gravy, and that made him sick. He was fond of rabbit. Randolph was most usually healthy and pretty strong, and a little heavy-set. He never had any serious sicknesses, but like all the Longstreets, he had a tendency to have high blood pressure.
He liked to talk about his father, all the children were fond of the General. Now, Louise, Randolph’s sister, played the piano; and she was fond of a piece called the Longstreet March. Helen, the General’s second wife, wanted to know where it came from; she liked to advertise these things, you know. But Louise didn’t. I’ve heard her play it on the piano, but I don’t know what happened to the song. Louise is dead now and I don’t know if the song exists anymore. I haven’t heard it since. I wish I knew where to get hold of it. It was good.
Randolph had a knack for selling things and he sold off a lot of his father’s things even before I met him. But Helen told me to not let him sell anymore.
B&G: How would you describe Helen Longstreet?
MRS: Helen was at our house a good many times. She seemed to like my husband better than she did any of the rest of them. Helen autographed Randolph’s copy of her book about the General, Lee and Longstreet at High Tide. She was a bright woman. She was brilliant. She was concerned about General Longstreet’s welfare, you know, and wrote that book. She deserves more credit than I think they gave her. [Photos of young Zelia and Randolph here] I liked her. She was extravagant, though. By the way, do you know the life-size oil painting of General Longstreet that is at the Chickamauga battlefield? Well, the truth of it is, Helen hired this painter, I believe his name was Christie, to paint this picture of the General. She was to pay him two or three thousand dollars for it. Well, when he finished it she didn’t have the money. This is true because it was told to me by my stepson, William Longstreet. Well, the painting was too good to throw away, so this painter kept it in his belongings until he died; then the Federal government bought it from his estate for five thousand dollars. So they put it in this post office museum in Gettysburg. Later on, they build a new museum there and crated up the painting to move it to the new place. Well, they claimed they didn’t put it up because they didn’t have the room for it. They have one there now. I’ve seen it, but the one I’m talking about wasn’t put up. I believe they were jealous because it was a better painting then General Lee’s! (She laughed) But, that’s just me. There’s always been somewhat of a prejudice with the Virginia crowd about General Longstreet, because he wasn’t a Virginian, and he made himself famous in the war, you know. Well, they finally sent the painting down to Chickamauga, which is fine with me because he made himself known over there too. It’s still there at Chickamauga, and it is one of the best paintings I’ve ever seen.
B&G: What is your opinion of your famous father-in-law?
MRS: He was a great man. His men loved him. And you know, it wasn’t until General Lee died that this business started of other Southerners blaming him for Gettysburg. They knew that General Lee would defend Longstreet’s honor. Even General Lee didn’t blame General Longstreet for the loss at Gettysburg.
The other generals didn’t like it that General Longstreet was friends with General Grant. When he turned Republican and got government jobs through Grant, when he was President, a lot of the South hated Longstreet as a turncoat. I think this hurt him bad, he just wanted to try to help the South the best he could. He was ready to bury the hatchet and be a good citizen.
Longstreet had a high opinion of Grant. They were friends before the war and Longstreet introduced Grant to his cousin, Julia Dent, who Grant later married. Even though they both did their duty in the war, they always remained friends. That was pretty common, you know, for friends to be on opposing sides in that war. You know, the North had a high respect for Longstreet too. Do you remember after Chickamauga when Bragg sent Longstreet away? Well, I read where the Northern general was thankful that Bragg did this. He didn’t want to fight against Longstreet!
B&G: What is your opinion of the Confederate Cause for which the General fought?
MRS: The South would have won the war if it hadn’t been so divided against itself. I had family on both sides. An uncle, on my father’s side, died of measles in camp along the James River. He was fighting with the South. Some others in our family fought with the Yankees. One of my family who fought in the war survived and lived to be 118 years old. When he was about 100, he tried to jump over a mule and broke his hip. I think the old Rebel deserved to break a hip for doing something so foolish at that age!
Well, anyway, the South was divided and there were a lot of Southerners who went and fought for the North. We would have won if we’d all stuck together. The Southern boys who fought in that war were the best fighting men who ever fought from the South. I believe that. Most of the boys didn’t own slaves and were ignorant about politics. They didn’t know what they were fighting for. Probably just because the Yankees were down here. We were poor, my folks, and I’m glad our family never owned any slaves.
There was wickedness on both sides in that war. I remember my mother telling me when I was a little girl about how reconstruction was terrible for the South. That’s all she would say. She wouldn’t talk about it. There’s not much prejudice and hatred anymore. In the last fifty years things have changed, you know. Longstreet is more popular now than ever before, because the ones who criticized him are dead, and young people today study the facts. They separate out the prejudices and find that Longstreet was a great man. But, you know, some old Southern people are still prejudiced.
Even though General Sherman destroyed a lot in Georgia, I think he was doing what he thought was necessary to end the war, quick. Like when Truman dropped the atomic bomb on Japan. May Southerners don’t agree, but I think General Sherman was one of the North’s ablest generals.
B&G: Are there any family stories about the General that have been passed down?
MRS: Well, there’s one that I remember. It’s funny, but also kind of sad because it tells just how poor the South was. For several years after the war, Confederate veterans would come by the General’s house and tell him they’d just shot a Yankee. The General knew what they were up to. They were poor and thought this would win his favor. The General would play along and give them handouts of food.
Another story is about how the General got the nickname Peter. I bet you don’t know this. I read in some book that said his men gave him that name. That’s not true. His father gave him that name when he was a small boy. It comes from the Bible where Peter was told to build the church on a rock so that the gates of Hell couldn’t prevail against it. Peter represented the Rock and that’s where Longstreet got that name—given by his father. Longstreet’s father wanted him to go to West Point, but he died when Longstreet was a small boy.
One more story that’s been passed down happened at the General’s funeral. In Helen’s book it’s mentioned. Well, when they were ready to close the greave, an old veteran of Longstreet’s command came to the gravesite, trembling with emotion. He gave a nice talk; he had served under General Longstreet for four years, and wanted to buy his old gray jacket and his enlistment papers with the General. Well, they let him, of course. The story that’s in Helen’s book is from the Atlanta Constitution and doesn’t mention the man’s name. I know his name. You see, my husband told me about it. The man lived a long time and I even remember seeing him. His name was N. C. Tankersley. He’s buried now in Lumpkin County, Georgia. He was the man who buried his papers and jacket with the General.
B&G: Do you like to read about the Civil War?
MRS: Yes, I do some reading, I like to watch war movies too, about all wars. It’s not that I like war or anything. War is a terrible thing, but there’s something about war pictures that I keep watching them. You can’t forget the men who went and did their duty for their country. In the Civil War, and I truly believe this, Yankees and Rebels were both just fighting for what they thought was best. It was a tragic thing.

The General couldn’t have asked for a more gracious and proud Woman of the South to carry on the name of Longstreet. Her mind is sharp on Civil War history; she quickly recalls names and dates. She has examined the war with an unbiased eye, and, even though raised near Atlanta, holds no animosity toward Billy Sherman.
Mrs. Longstreet has always stood firm on her defense of General Longstreet. She is glad that he is now receiving just credit for his military accomplishments. She feels that the post-war anti-Longstreet sentiments were the rantings of those searching for a scapegoat for the Southern defeat. She recognizes that the General, as an old soldier defending his wounded honor, retaliated in a manner he may have regretted while on his deathbed. His memoirs, From Manassas to Appomattox, written when he was in his 70’s and a bitter man, reflect a work of a self-defense at the expense and discredit of others. Mrs. Longstreet maintains “Let his military record stand on its own!”
Zelia Longstreet likes to tell the story of the Confederate reunion many years after the war. Longstreet was not invited, but showed up anyway. Wearing his old gray uniform, he walked down the aisle and received from the old veterans the largest ovation of the evening, and a tearful greeting from Jefferson Davis.
Mrs. Longstreet is glad that historians are finally discovering what she has known for a long time: James Longstreet was a great general, a tenacious adversary, and one of the first Southerners to “bury the hatchet” and become a model citizen of a reunited nation.

Society note: Many thanks to Mr. David Roth, editor of Blue and Gray Magazine, who graciously gave us permission to publish this article. It was part of Blue and Gray's premiere issue in 1983.

Mrs. Longstreet passed away August 17, 1985 and is buried near Dalonegha, GA. Longstreet's March, the music mentioned by Mrs. Longstreet, was written by Adolphus Brown. It has been located by the Society with the intent of having it recorded by the 37th GA Regimental Band