|
Server : Apache/2.4.62 System : FreeBSD fbsdweb2.web.rcn.net 14.1-RELEASE FreeBSD 14.1-RELEASE releng/14.1-n267679-10e31f0946d8 GENERIC amd64 User : www ( 80) PHP Version : 8.3.8 Disable Function : NONE Directory : /domains/agribiz/ |
Upload File : |
<html>
<head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Language" content="en-us">
<meta name="GENERATOR" content="Microsoft FrontPage 5.0">
<meta name="ProgId" content="FrontPage.Editor.Document">
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=windows-1252">
<title>Search for Longstreet's Honor</title>
</head>
<body>
<span LANG="EN"><b>
<p ALIGN="center" DIR="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 8">
</p>
<p ALIGN="center" DIR="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 8">
</p>
<p ALIGN="center" DIR="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 8">
<font face="Arial">The Search for Longstreet�s Honor: The Power of
Nostalgia</font></b></p>
<p ALIGN="center" DIR="ltr" style="margin-top: -3; margin-bottom: 15">
<font face="Arial" size="2">Nicholas E. Hollis</font></p>
<p ALIGN="center" DIR="ltr" style="margin-top: -3; margin-bottom: 15">
<font face="Arial" size="1">All Rights Reserved</font></p>
<p ALIGN="center" DIR="ltr" style="margin-top: -3; margin-bottom: 15">
</p>
<div align="center">
<center>
<table border="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" bordercolor="#111111" width="605">
<tr>
<td width="603"><span LANG="EN">
<p ALIGN="LEFT" DIR="ltr" style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 10">
<font face="Arial" size="2">Twenty years have passed since Ken Burns� award-winning
Civil War series stirred American spirits, sparking a resurgence of
historical inquiry and nostalgia unmatched since the 1890s when the first
generation of veterans began to fade into eternity. Historical societies
and roundtable forums flourished with renewed vigor while historians
generated a flood of books and articles on virtually every aspect and
personality linked to the War between the States. In the final episode of
the Burns series the last reunions at Gettysburg on the fiftieth (1913)
and seventy-fifth (1938) anniversaries of the epic battle, aging warriors
in blue and grey clasped each other affectionately as comrades-in-arms and
pledged allegiance to the tenants of reconciliation and peace. More than
150,000 participants, including some 1,800 actual veterans of the war, attended in 1938 and heard President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicate the
Eternal Light Peace Memorial.</font></p>
<p ALIGN="LEFT" DIR="ltr" style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 10">
</p>
<p ALIGN="LEFT" DIR="ltr" style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 10">
<b><font face="Arial" size="2">Origins of Longstreet Memorial</font></b></p>
<p ALIGN="LEFT" DIR="ltr" style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 10">
<font size="2" face="Arial">In the vast throng a group of former confederates -- led
by the widow of CSA General James Longstreet (Helen Dortch Longstreet),
Julius Franklin Howell, commander of the United Confederate Veterans (UCV)
and others -- resolved to create an association to memorialize Longstreet and
erect a statue in his memory on the battlefield. This was no small
undertaking, especially for Helen Longstreet, who had campaigned
tirelessly to rehabilitate and defend her husband�s reputation since his
death in 1904. As a consequence of unrelenting attacks, distortions and
degradation of his military record and character � linked with virulent
adherents of the Lost Cause � no statues existed of Lee�s "Old War Horse"
on any Civil War battlefield � North or South. Generations of historians,
relying on published falsehoods fanned from the early 1870s after Lee�s
death, had heaped enormous abuse on Longstreet�s record which had
hardened with time. </font></p>
<p ALIGN="LEFT" DIR="ltr" style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 10">
<font face="Arial" size="2">Helen Longstreet, an exceptionally gifted organizer -- as Georgia�s first female state archivist
-- and a talented writer, was a
natural leader and well suited to the challenge. At the helm of the new
campaign � called the Longstreet Memorial Association (LMA) � Helen
enlisted a Harvard educated history professor and Virginia college
president, Julius Howell, who had also served in the Army of Northern
Virginia under General Ewell in Company K of the 24<sup>th</sup> VA
Cavalry primarily in the defense of Richmond. Howell had been wounded and
captured at Sailor�s Creek a few days before the War ended in April 1865.
Later in life, he became state commander of Tennessee Confederate Veterans
before rising to the national organization (UCV) leadership.</font></p>
<p ALIGN="LEFT" DIR="ltr" style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 10"> </p>
<div align="left">
<table border="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" bordercolor="#111111" width="401">
<tr>
<td width="160">
<p style="margin-bottom: 10"> </td>
<td width="460" align="center" valign="top">
<p style="margin-bottom: 10">
<img border="0" src="images/Helen_Dortch_Longstreet.jpg" width="161" height="383"></p>
<p align="left" style="margin-bottom: 10"><span LANG="EN">
<font size="2">ACTIVIST
WIDOW -- Helen Dortch Longstreet (1863-1962) became General
Longstreet's second wife in 1897 and campaigned relentlessly for his
reputation. Shortly before this photo in 1913, Helen attended
the 50th Gettysburg Anniversary as a journalist. Her columns
were published in the <i>New York Times</i>.</font></span></td>
</tr>
</table>
</div>
<p ALIGN="LEFT" DIR="ltr" style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 10"> </p>
<p ALIGN="LEFT" DIR="ltr" style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 10">
<font face="Arial" size="2"><b>Nostalgia as a Mobilizing Force</b></font></p>
<p ALIGN="LEFT" DIR="ltr" style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 10">
<font face="Arial" size="2">After several years of organizational efforts and
correspondence, just as the fundraising for the statue was poised for
launch -- following a dramatic groundbreaking ceremony at Gettysburg in
July 1941 -- the LMA was forced to suspend its campaign with the U.S. entrance
into World War II. Helen had been meticulous in organizing the Gettysburg
ceremony. She had traveled the country, giving talks, staging exhibits
and publishing articles. Throughout her campaigns, Helen enlisted
supporters and sympathizers. She had also commissioned a renowned
sculptor, Paul Manship, to design an impressive scale model of a
Longstreet equestrian statue and negotiated the approvals and selection of
a plot for its eventual full-sized placement on the battlefield with the
National Park Service (NPS).</font></p>
<div align="center">
<center>
<table border="0" cellspacing="1" style="border-collapse: collapse" bordercolor="#111111" width="200">
<tr>
<td>
<img border="0" src="images/MemorialAssociationLMA.jpg" width="548" height="368"></td>
<td> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p style="margin-bottom: 10"><font size="2">LONGSTREET MEMORIAL ASSOCIATION --
Helen Longstreet (striped dress) with actress Mary Pickford (white
dress) and UCV Commander Julius F. Howell at Gettysburg
groundbreaking ceremony for Longstreet equestrian statue on July 2,
1941. NPS Dr. J. Walter Coleman at left.</font></td>
<td> </td>
</tr>
</table>
</center>
</div>
<p ALIGN="LEFT" DIR="ltr" style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 10">
</p>
<p ALIGN="LEFT" DIR="ltr" style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 10">
<font face="Arial"><font size="2">As Helen developed her national network for LMA, she
admonished her regional coordinators to avoid any hint or appearance of
commercialization which could give enemies of the campaign an opening to
impugn its motives and "attack Longstreet�s memory anew"</font><i><font size="2"> (February 21,
1948 Letter to Carl N. Breihan of Affton, Missouri).</font></i><font size="2"> The warning would
echo decades later (and be ignored) in latter-day Longstreet tributes.
</font>
</font></p>
<p ALIGN="LEFT" DIR="ltr" style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 10">
<font face="Arial" size="2">After the war, Helen, now in her mid-eighties, pinned
her dwindling hopes for a resurgent organizational effort around Julius
Howell and preparations for another Gettysburg reunion (85<sup>th</sup>)
in July 1948. As president of the LMA, Howell had gained considerable
prominence in the intervening years. He had been featured in <i>Life
Magazine (1942)</i> as one of the longest-lived Confederate veterans, and
addressed Congress on the eve of the Normandy Invasion in June 1944. Helen
also maintained the support of Hollywood celebrity Mary Pickford, who held
center stage at the statue dedication and recognized the power of
nostalgia, symbolized in the aftermath of <i>Gone with the Wind
(1939). </i>Unfortunately, after considerable celebrity fanfare greeted
Howell�s 102<sup>nd</sup> birthday, including a <i>New York Times </i>feature in January 1948, the venerable Confederate fell ill and passed
away peacefully in Bristol, Virginia on June 21 � only ten days before the
planned program at Gettysburg.</font></p>
<div align="center">
<center>
<table border="0" cellspacing="1" style="border-collapse: collapse" bordercolor="#111111" width="496">
<tr>
<td width="492">
<img border="0" src="images/Longstreet%20Statue%20Model.JPG" width="467" height="467"></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center" valign="top" width="492">
<p style="margin-bottom: 3" align="left"><font size="2">LONGSTREET EQUESTRIAN
STATUE - Model sculpted by Paul Manship now encased at NPS
Gettysburg Museum. The full-scale statue was not created when
fundraising fell short. A separate design sculpted by Gary
Casteel was erected in 1998. </font>
<p style="margin-bottom: 3" align="left"> <i><font size="2">(Courtesy of
Gettysburg Foundation) </font></i></td>
</tr>
</table>
</center>
</div>
<p ALIGN="LEFT" DIR="ltr" style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 10"> </p>
<p ALIGN="LEFT" DIR="ltr" style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 10"><b>
<font face="Arial" size="2">A House Divided</font></b></p>
<p ALIGN="LEFT" DIR="ltr" style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 10">
<font face="Arial" size="2">Other forces were busy mining the Longstreet legacy
entwined with national fascination surrounding American warriors -- and some
were quite damaging to the General�s reputation. The worst was <i>House
Divided, </i>a novel by Ben Ames Williams, who had used his family links
(Williams was a grandson of one of Longstreet�s sisters, Sarah) to
approach the General�s son, Fitz-Randolph Longstreet and others, including
Helen, ostensibly to gather insights into Old Pete�s personal side.
Released in 1947, the novel became a best seller. However, instead of
defending General�s military honor, Williams relied on Longstreet critics
in developing the novel�s main character- and depicted the General as
willful, insubordinate and wracked with doubts about his loyalty to Lee.
Williams hit a another low with his portrayal of Longstreet in <i>The
Unconquered (1953),</i> a sequel to <i>House Divided,</i> which was also
highly critical of the General. Sadly, the perverse temptation to utilize Longstreet�s fame while betraying trust, including siding with known
detractors for gain, continues into the present.</font></p>
<p ALIGN="LEFT" DIR="ltr" style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 10">
<font face="Arial" size="2">Despite a revival of interest in the Civil War during
the 1950s leading into the centennial years of the sixties, momentum for
Helen Longstreet�s statue campaign never recovered. She died heartbroken
and alone in 1962 in a Georgia sanitarium. Another thirty six years
slipped away before a group of North Carolina�s Sons of Confederate
Veterans erected an tribute statue depicting a mounted Longstreet at
Gettysburg (Sculptor- Gary Casteel) �the culmination of an intense seven
year campaign in 1998.</font></p>
<p ALIGN="LEFT" DIR="ltr" style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 10">
</p>
<p ALIGN="center" DIR="ltr" style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 10">
<img border="0" src="Longstreet2b.jpg" width="230" height="349"></p>
<p ALIGN="center" DIR="ltr" style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0">
<font size="2">LONGSTREET IN OLD AGE</font></p>
<p ALIGN="center" DIR="ltr" style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0">
<font size="2">"Old Pete" attended numerous veteran reunions where he
praised </font></p>
<p ALIGN="center" DIR="ltr" style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0">
<font size="2">former classmates and comrades from the Mexican War </font></p>
<p ALIGN="center" DIR="ltr" style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0">
<font size="2">and the Cilvil War, including
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFJr1gwg_jw">U.S. Grant</a>.
</font></p>
<p ALIGN="center" DIR="ltr" style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 10">
</p>
<p ALIGN="LEFT" DIR="ltr" style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 10">
<b><font face="Arial" size="2">Conclusion</font></b></p>
<p ALIGN="LEFT" DIR="ltr" style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 10">
<font face="Arial" size="2">As a veteran of numerous reunions and anniversary
celebrations after the Civil War, Longstreet knew the power of nostalgia.
Although his voice was impaired due to his neck wound at Wilderness, Old
Pete was always a favorite speaker. His message of reconciliation drew
large audiences and approval, especially in the North. The General
understood the symbolism of an old warrior facing the future with
confidence. We could learn from Old Pete and be stronger for it.</font></p>
<p ALIGN="LEFT" DIR="ltr" style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 10"> </p>
<p ALIGN="LEFT" DIR="ltr" style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 10"></p>
<p ALIGN="center" DIR="ltr" style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 10">
<b>
<font face="Arial" size="2">Nicholas E. Hollis</font></b></p>
<p ALIGN="center" DIR="ltr" style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 10">
<b>
<font face="Arial" size="2">General Longstreet Recognition Project (GLRP)</font></b></p>
<p ALIGN="center" DIR="ltr" style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 10">
<b>
<font face="Arial" size="2">P.O. Box 5565 </font></b></p>
<p ALIGN="center" DIR="ltr" style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 10">
<b>
<font face="Arial" size="2">Washington DC 20016</font></b></p>
<p ALIGN="LEFT" DIR="LTR" style="margin-bottom: 10"></p>
</span>
<p style="margin-bottom: 10"> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="603">
<p style="margin-bottom: 10"><b>Additional Sources</b><p style="margin-bottom: 10">
Piston, William Garrett. <i>Lee's Tarnished Lieutenant: James Longstreet
and His Place in Southern History</i> (1987)<p style="margin-bottom: 10">
<i>Gettysburg Times, </i>July 2-3, 1941<p style="margin-bottom: 10"><i>New
York Times,</i> July 2, 1913<p style="margin-bottom: 10"><i>Atlanta
Constitution, </i>July 4, 1938<p style="margin-bottom: 10"><i>Longstreet
Memorial Association</i>, "The Great American" Pamphlet (1941)</td>
</tr>
</table>
</center>
</div>
<p ALIGN="LEFT" DIR="LTR" style="margin-bottom: 10">　</p>
<p ALIGN="LEFT" DIR="LTR" style="margin-bottom: 10"></p>
<p ALIGN="LEFT" DIR="LTR" style="margin-bottom: 10">　</p>
<p ALIGN="LEFT" DIR="LTR" style="margin-bottom: 10">　</p>
<p ALIGN="LEFT" DIR="LTR" style="margin-bottom: 10">　</p>
<p ALIGN="LEFT" DIR="LTR" style="margin-bottom: 10">　</p>
<p ALIGN="LEFT" DIR="LTR" style="margin-bottom: 10">　</p>
</span>
<p style="margin-bottom: 10">.</p>
</body>
</html>