Lieutenant General James Longstreet: Innovative Military Strategist

The Most Misunderstood Civil War General

F. Gregory Toretta

• Publisher: Casemate
• Year: 2023
• Print ISBN: 9781636241173
• eBook ISBN: 9781636241180
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Military Biographies
• Index: History

A "fascinating and informative" reassessment of the underappreciated Confederate general's achievements and ahead-of-his-time military strategy ( Midwest Book Review).
 
Lieutenant-General James Longstreet, commander of the First Corps of the Army of Northern Virginia, was a brilliant tactician and strategist. Prior to the Civil War there were many technological developments, of which the rifled musket and cannon, rail transport, and the telegraph were just a few. In addition, the North enjoyed a great advantage in manpower and resources. Longstreet adapted to these technological changes and the disparity between the belligerents, making recommendations on how the war should be fought.
 
Longstreet made a mental leap to adjust to this new type of warfare. Many others didn't make this leap, including Lee, Jackson, Bragg, Hood, and Jefferson Davis, and Longstreet's advice went unheeded. In contrast to many southern generals, he advocated for defensive warfare, using entrenchments and trying to maneuver the enemy to assault his position, conserving manpower, resources, and supplies. With the advent of the highly accurate and long-range rifled musket, offensive tactics became questionable and risky. This caused Longstreet to come into conflict with General Robert E. Lee at Gettysburg, and with General Bragg at Chickamauga.
 
Longstreet, a pragmatic and methodical general, was never given full authority over an army in the field. Had his suggestions been utilized there would have been a better outcome for the South. Many historians and biographers have misunderstood Longstreet and his motives, but this work offers a fresh perspective. It takes a new viewpoint of the Civil War and the generals who tailored their designs to pursue the war, analyzes Longstreet's views of the generals and the tactics and strategy they employed, and examines why Longstreet proposed and urged a new type of warfare.

Table of contents

• Front Cover
• Half Title Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Acknowledgments
• Civil War Timeline
• Introduction
• 1 Technological Changes and Comparison of the Antagonists—Advantage North
• 2 “To Stand Behind Our Intrenched Lines”—Chancellorsville
• 3 “Skillful Use of Our Interior Lines”—Prelude to Gettysburg
• 4 Harrison the Spy—Advance to Gettysburg
• 5 “Here’s the Old Bulldog”—Gettysburg, Day One
• 6 “Up the Emmitsburg Road”—Gettysburg, Day Two
• 7 “We Gained Nothing but Glory”—Gettysburg, Day Three
• 8 “A Very Taciturn and Undemonstrative Man”—Gettysburg, Day Four
• 9 Lee’s Old War Horse—Gettysburg Reconsidered
• 10 Precursor to Chickamauga—Western Concentration
• 11 Bull of the Woods—Chickamauga
• 12 “Longstreet Is the Man”—Chickamauga’s Aftermath
• 13 “They Had Few Equals and … No Superiors”—Knoxville
• 14 “Strategic Importance of the Field”—East Tennessee
• 15 The Old Warhorse Is Up at Last!—The Wilderness
• Epilogue: General Longstreet’s Strategy and Tactics
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Plates