James Longstreet's Unfiltered Opinions about Battles and Generals in 1862

James Longstreet was a prolific chronicler of his experience in the American Civil War. He wrote on the topic extensively, from articles in Century Magazine to his own well-known memoir, From Manassas to Appomattox. Thus, many of Longstreet’s postwar thoughts on the events he participated in and the soldiers he led and fought alongside are well-known.

During my research, I stumbled upon an article from the Washington Post in 1893. Newspaper correspondent Leslie J. Perry accompanied Longstreet and other Civil War veterans to the Antietam battlefield, where the old soldiers traveled “to definitely settle the positions of some of the general’s troops during the battle of September 17, 1862.” Perry claimed Longstreet’s mind was still strong in his 73rd year, but his right arm hung limply and useless from the general’s shoulder due to his wound at the Battle of the Wilderness and he had to use a “speaking tube” to hear the conversations around him.

Perry had the privilege to hear Longstreet talk “unreservedly” about many topics related to the war. Perry recognized the value of Longstreet’s words and thankfully for posterity wrote them down. Fortunately, too, Longstreet did not mind them being printed.

The article is quite long, and Perry queried Longstreet’s opinion on topics ranging from battles to leaders to the Confederate prosecution of the war. Since most of my interest is in 1862, I have edited out sections not relevant to that topic. Below are the excerpts of Perry’s conversation with Longstreet related to Antietam, Robert E. Lee, George B. McClellan, Jefferson Davis, Second Manassas, “Stonewall” Jackson, and more.

Note: I have used ellipses to indicate where I skipped transcribing sections of the article to keep the post relevant to 1862 topics.

A postwar image of James Longstreet.

Alfred Pleasonton's Intelligence Contributions to the Battle of South Mountain

Alfred Pleasonton

Brig. Gen. Alfred Pleasonton is rarely thought of as an able intelligence officer. But like any Civil War officer, his share of bad days were occasionally intermixed with good ones. The evening of September 13, 1862 and the morning of the next day was one of his better performances in gathering and effectively utilizing intelligence.

In the hours before dusk of September 13, Pleasonton's cavalrymen drove Confederate cavalry from Hagan's Gap in Catoctin Mountain west of Frederick and then likewise secured Middletown from the gray horsemen. Pleasonton requested support from Ambrose Burnside in his rear. In the meantime, he pushed his troopers to the base of Turner's Gap in South Mountain itself.

At the crossroads town of Bolivar, Pleasonton dismounted some of his cavalry and pushed them up South Mountain north of the National Road. This movement produced minor skirmishing. Standing at the base of Turner's Gap, where the National Road crossed South Mountain, Pleasonton recognized the strength of the position and the difficulty any Federal force would have seizing it. Thus, Pleasonton also authorized reconnaissance efforts while in the area, from which he learned that two roads, one north of and one south of Turner's Gap, reentered the National Road on the west side of South Mountain behind the gap. Pleasonton believed these roads "would assist us materially in turning the enemy's position on both flanks."