CSA General James Longstreet ALS, Fort Bliss, Texas, January 1858 

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• Lot Description
  James Longstreet (1821-1904). Confederate General. 1p cover ALS addressed to Col. Craig, Chief of Ordnance indicating his quarterly return of ordnance is enclosed. Signed as Capt. and Brevet Major. 
   
  James Longstreet was born in South Carolina to plantation owners who were both originally from the Northeast. He was sent to live with an uncle at the age of nine to receive a better education than was available in rural South Carolina. His father died when he was twelve, but he remained with his uncle. His mother and siblings moved to Somerville, AL.
  
  When he came of age, the spot at USMA for his uncle's district was filled, but a relative from Alabama, his mother's home, was able to secure the spot for that state for him. He was not much of a scholar (graduating 54th of 56), but was well liked by his classmates, many of whom would become influential a couple decades down the road. Longstreet graduated in 1842 with the likes of George Henry Thomas, William Rosecrans, John Pope, D.H. Hill, George Pickett and more, and was a friend of Ulysses S. Grant of the following class. He spent his first two years at Jefferson Barracks, MO, joined the second year by his friend, Grant. When Longstreet began courting his first wife, Grant began courting Julia Dent, a distant cousin of Longstreet's. Longstreet definitely attended Grant's wedding, although his role is debated - best man?, groomsman? guest? 
   
  Like so many other Southern graduates of West Point, when the Civil War erupted, Longstreet resigned his commission to take a commission with the Confederacy. Being the ranking USMA graduate in Alabama, his state of appointment, he volunteered from that state and was commissioned Lt. Col. in the Confederate army. Within a couple months we was promoted to Brig. Gen. Even though he had not been much of a scholar, he appears to have been a natural commander. He became Lee's "right hand man," and commanding the 1st Corps of the Army of Northern Virginia. According to later historians, he was possibly the best corps commander on either side. After the surrender of the ANV, he was treated as Lee's equal by the Union. 
   
  After the war, Longstreet served in a number of civil service and diplomatic positions, some engineered by his friend, Grant. Longstreet was the only Confederate general to embrace the Republican party, aiding in these appointments. Hayes, also a Civil War veteran, appointed him ambassador to the Ottoman Empire. He held other positions as Commissioner of Railroads and in internal revenue and the post office. When Democrats returned to power in the South, Longstreet's political career ended. He retired to a farm near where his family plantation had been many years before. He suffered ill health in his later years, and died just days before his 83rd birthday.

  Condition

  Folds as expected. Overall excellent.
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