Well this doesnt fit into the Longstreet character from Killer Angels; Army before Richmond, June 17, 1862., "Soldiers: You have marched out to fight the battles of your country, and by those dates you must be rescyred from the shame of slavery. Your foes have declared their purpose of bringing you to beggery; and avarice, their natural characteristic, incites them to redoubled efforts for the conquest of the South, in order that they may seize her sunny fields and happy homes. Already has the hatred of one of their great leaders attempted to make the negro your equal by declairing his freedom. They care not for the blood of babes nor carnage of innocent women which servile insurrection thus stirred up may bring upon their heads. Worse than this, the North has sent forth another infamous chief, encouraging lust of his hirelings to the dishonor and violation of those Southern women who have so untireingly labored to clothe our soldiers in the field and nurse our sick and wounded. If ever men were called upon to defend the beloved daughters of their country, that now is our duty. Let such thoughts nerve you up to the most dreadful shock of battle; for were it certain death, death would be better than the fate that defeat would entail upon us all. But remember, though the fiery noise of battle is indeed most terrifying, and seems to threaten universal ruin, it is not so destructive as it seems, and few soldiers after all are slain. This the commanding generals desires particularly to impress upon the fresh and inexperienced troops who now constitute a part of this command. Let officers and men, even under the most formidable fire, preserve a quiet demeanor and self-possessed temper. Keep cool, obey orders, and aim low. Remember while you are doing this, and driving the enemy before you, your comrades may be relied on to support you on either side, and are in turn relying upon you...James Longstreet, Major-General, Commanding."
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I had not read this until I saw it in Glatthaar. You're right, it does show us a whole new side. In the Sharra version, Longstreet comes out blameless; more blameless even than Lee for the defeat. But what is missed entirely in the talk of old West Point buddies, duty, honor, and country (er... state) is what truly lies behind this war.
Longstreet acknowledges that the new recruits the army has gotten at the beginning of '62 aren't slaveowners nor were they motivated by the calls to extend slavery west. They had no vested interest in preserving the South's slave society save protecting their families from the "outrages" that would accompany abolition. They can only be motivated with fear, with the memory of Nat Turner and John Brown, with miscegenation and "negro domination."
How different is this, the words and ideas, from Klan rhetoric after the war, Jim Crow logic in the 1890s, or segregationist speeches in the 1950s?
Well it is most certainly very much like the open letter to the people of North Georgia written by Joe Brown during the secession crisis. It also has a similar sound to some of what Isham Harris wrote during the spring of 1861 while trying to convince non-slaveholding whites to support Tennessee's secessionists. Looks, not surprisingly, like the acorn of the Conderacy's military leadership didn't fall very far from the tree of it's political class.
Yep, Longstreet uses the threat of 'miscegenation' to motivate his men, just as Strom Thurmond or any other staunch segregationist eventually used the specter of miscegenation to defend white rule. The last chapter of "Confederate Emancipation" doesn't bring up gender so much, but it might as well have.
By the way, great blog guys! It really is refreshing. I can be interested in the Confederacy and not have to listen to a bunch of old guys going off on the thousands of loyal slaves who took up arms to defend their loving masters.
Tilley, I understand your thoughts exactly. I love that we're starting to attract a link minded community here. It reminds me that we're not alone...and sometimes it can feel like we are!
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