How did james longstreet die?
JAMES LONGSTREET – Post-War Years. Longstreet was in constant pain with rheumatism and was so deaf that he had to use an ear horn at this point in his life. By the summer of 1903, he was afflicted with an unspecified serious illness. He traveled to Chicago later in that year for X-ray treatment of a cancerous right eye. His weight had dropped from 200 pounds to only 135. By Christmas he and Helen had returned to Gainesville and he had rallied. Then, on the morning of January 2, 1904, he visited his daughter’s home in Gainesville and, while there, became gravely ill with pneumonia. He died on that day, only six days before his 83rd birthday. At the end, he confused his second wife Helen with Louise (his first wife). His final words were, “Helen, we shall be happier in this post.” His mind had wandered back to the pleasant times on the Texas frontier. Death: Jan. 2, 1904, Gainesville, Georgia. General Longstreet is buried in Alta Vista Cemetery in Gainesville, Georgia.
