Who was James Longstreet and what impact did he have on the outcome of the battle?
are the questions that I will try to address in this article. James Longstreet was born in Edgefield District, South Carolina on January 8, 1821, to James and Mary Ann Dent Longstreet, James was the fifth child and third son born to them. They were of Dutch extraction, his ancestor Dirck Stoffels Langestraet had immigrated to the Dutch colony of New Netherland in 1657. The name Langestraet became Anglicized over the generations to Longstreet.[1] His father wanted a military career for him but felt that his education would better be served in Augusta, Georgia, so at the age of nine, James was sent to live with his aunt and uncle. He spent the next eight years on his uncle’s plantation, during that time he attended the Richmond County Academy. In 1838 he was appointed to the United States Military Academy where he graduated in 1842, 54th out of 56 cadets. After graduation, Longstreet was commissioned a brevet second lieutenant in the 4th U.S. Infantry. When the Civil War began, he joined
