Longstreet at Gettysburg with Author Cory Pfarr

Originally released on December 11, 2019 on our Patreon feed. Lieutenant General James Longstreet is one of the more controversial figures of the war and, especially, the Battle of Gettysburg. But does the blame for the Confederate defeat at Gettysburg really rest on his shoulders? Author Cory M. Pfarr has had enough of Longstreet getting a bad rap, so he set out to set the record straight in his new book "Longstreet at Gettysburg: A Critical Reassessment". In this episode, Cory and I break down some of the points of contention about General Longstreet so that you can decide for yourself if he is the traitor his former cohorts made him out to be in the postwar years. Cory M. Pfarr works for the Department of Defense and is an American History author whose main interests span America's Revolutionary to Civil War years. He is the author of "John Quincy Adams's Republicanism: 'A Thousand Obstacles Apparently Stand Before Us'" (Massachusetts Historical Society, 2014) and Longstreet at Gettysburg: A Critical Reassessment (McFarland Publishers, 2019). He has also written articles for North & South Magazine and Gettysburg Magazine, and has appeared on the Pennsylvania Cable Network and C-SPAN American History TV. He lives in Pikesville, Maryland with his wife and three kids. We hope you enjoyed this free Patreon episode and decide to join us as a patron. Patrons get these episodes upon release and don't have to wait up to a year. Plus, they get to take part in decisions pertaining to the direction of the show and more! So, come and be a part of the Addressing Gettysburg Community today! Click here

[kenduffy]

I’ve always been a strong General James Longstreet supporter long (no pun intended) before this awesome book was written. imho, it was SO blatantly obvious to me, that his ex-Southern Officers & Southern elites attacked the good General over his post-War Politics and NOT his Generalship during the War. (Yes, he made a few rare blunders. but so did General Grant, they all did) I can recall watching a lecture on YouTube and the lecturer saying that Longstreet’s disagreements with General Lee’s ANV tactics affected his Generalship on the Battlefield at Gettysburg and he (Longstreet) being a professional Soldier should have never let that happen! Well, we FINALLY have a book that gives us Longstreet fans and supporters something that we have always known, but we needed the proof! Thanks to you Mr Pfarr, we now have that proof! One of the greatest American Generals in our American History (some say the greatest American General ever; I disagree. Yes, Eisenhower was a great General but I think General Washington and General Patton were better, but I’m extremely biased towards hands-on Generals) When President Eisenhower was asked why did General Longstreet “drag his feet, ” during the Battle of Gettysburg? The President answered: (paraphrasing) “General Longstreet was too good of a General to let that happen!” The bottom line is simple: General Longstreet was so far ahead in his thinking compared to his Peers (Southern and Northern) subordinates in knowing that reunification was the only way the Country could protect itself from outside threats. While his Peers were too busy “crying” and blaming him for the Southern State's defeat, rather than collectively working together on a productive plan on re-integrating thousands of freed illiterate slaves into a society that didn’t really want them. General Longstreet was an idealist after the War. He knew (whereas most Americans didn’t really know) that the freed slaves needed to be educated, self-supporting, and working, along with joining the Army and Navy as a means to accomplish these things. I think… I know! Yes, he owned a small number of slaves and fought for the Confederacy (God forbid we should mention those two words in a scholarly manner in 2022 Americana! James Longstreet did not talk about how we Americans needed to move forward as a united Country. No, that wasn’t the Longstreet way! Rather than talk about ideas he took action! As he always did in his life! Whether that was in the Mexican-American War, the interwar period or during the
long and bloody 4 years of the War between the States and after the War. Here was a man that would take action & was willing to take chances and would NOT bend for anyone over his convictions! Whatever you may think or however you may feel about Lieutenant General James Longstreet? What the MAN (not the General) was doing after the War. Was something he had been doing his entire life and that was to make a decision and then take action! The War between the States had ended and James Longstreet saw it for what it was. A defeat for his United Confederate States of America lost the war fair and square! Hell, with all of the DISADVANTAGES the South had!! They came within 25 miles in 1961, at the First Battle of Manassas. (That was always the problem for the VERY aggressive General Thomas Jackson. He never had enough men, but time was General Jackson’s worst enemy, not the Bluebelly’s! It was TIME that prevented the General from completely routing the Yankees! It was also time & his aggressiveness that got him killed) the CSA were a blink of an eye away (3-days, the 1st Manassas, the 2nd Manassas and July 1st 1863, where their three strikes to bring Lincoln to the table. If General Ewell takes Culp’s Hill and Cemetery Hill, but he didn’t? General Ewell flinched. (Lol, I’m not a General Ewell fan, at all)
His decision or indecision had cost the ANV a victory but to some extent, it was General Lee’s fault. He had grown so accustomed to the brilliants and imaginative leadership of General Jackson and General Longstreet that he neglected to recognize the need for him to be hands-on with General Ewell! Ewell with all of his aggression was not the type of General, to see, adapt and overcome. In the 4 years imho they had 3 legitimate days that could have changed history (or not) and brought Lincoln and his Administration to the negotiation table, to settle a negotiated peace. That would recognize the 11 United Confederate States of America as a legitimate Sovereign and functioning Government. Had the Union made a tactical withdrawal (let alone a retreat) it was game over! Not that the Union would have lost the War! The Abolitionists and regular Northerners we’re getting extremely war-weary if there had been another Confederate victory and on Union soil! That’s another conversation for a different day. General Meade doesn’t get enough credit for being a fantastic General during those 3 days? General Meade gets slack for not annihilating the Northern Virginia Army after Pickets charge? Which are unfair and ridiculous accusations! General Lee just threw about 13 thousand men at the Union’s centre! How on EARTH or HOW could General Meade possibly know that there weren’t another 15 thousand Confederates ready to engage? He couldn’t be sure, there’s NO WAY he could have been a 110% without a doubt sure that the ANV was spent. It would have been folly and poor Generalship to lead thousands of men to their possible deaths and or capture, he just witnessed one of America's great slaughter of Americans slaughtering Americans! Had General Meade given up those defensive positions on the hunch and or reconnaissance reports saying otherwise, no way! I surely wouldn’t have left those positions to chase General Lee to where? To what end? For what? General Meade gets a bad wrap too, and I just don't get it?! As I write this I read that this Administration are changing the names of Military Forts! This Administration can’t get out of Washington fast enough, and I’m a Democrat!!!

[NDressage]

Thank you for this episode! Aside from Gen. Sherman, Gen. Longstreet has always fascinated me, and I really enjoyed this discussion. I am glad to see these young historians questioning and taking a fresh look at the records. Joe Ryan's well researched videos do that as well.

[MrThebirddog]

I loved hearing Abigail in the background. A preacher friend of mine says when babies cry he just preaches louder.

[timm]

I really enjoyed this. Good to see a young author so interested in continuing the story.

[UrbanCohort]

A question occurs to me: everyone asks "What if Lee had stayed in the Union?"

I now wonder, what if Longstreet had remained in the Union?

[garyziggy]

Enjoyed this broadcast. Having read Mr. Pfars book he is unafraid to ruffle other historians feathers! Thanks again Matt.

[kenduffy]

I received 👍 a little while ago on this channel & I’d like to thank everyone who has! I’m not big on the War between the States. Not for any particular reasons? I just think because I’m an American (proud American) and being taught about the War on Long Island NY it was very much from a Unionist point of view from a young age. Me loving history and knowing that it’s not as simple as the guys in Blue being the good guys and the guys in Grey being the bad guys! I had to do my own honest research on the War! I’m much more interested in WWII. I will say this, after visiting a few Battlefields in Europe. I did feel very guilty for not visiting our own great Battlefields and National Parks. So I made a deal with myself that I wouldn’t go to anymore foreign Battlefields and or Concentration camps/Death camps until I visited our very own wonderful Battlefields! I took Shelby Foot’s advice & visit them during the time of year when the Battles took place! Shelby made it very clear that the Battlefields look completely different depending on the time of the season you go. Winter (was a tough one, because they’re usually closed down) but I got to soak a few in :) Spring Summer and Fall. Lol, there’s a big difference on the Battlefield during the Fall as compared to during the Spring & Summer! Just like Shelby Foot said. The Battlefield’s look totally different when you visit them during the time of year when the Battles were actually fought! Anyways, I recently watched a documentary about Gettysburg (if you want to call it that) on YouTube. It made me want to vomit! In this weird time of Cancel-Culture, history forgetting and history revisionism! This documentary was a horrible representation of the Battle of Gettysburg and the War between the States all together! As a Historian? It was an outright disgrace! It was totally “Blue Washed” in other words: it was unbelievably pro-Union that it made me nauseous! I think they brought up General Lee’s name once! (Not one other General) They didn’t even hint! Let alone, mention the THOUSANDS upon thousands of American Confederates that were killed and buried in mass graves? What really irked me! Was the this Dude with his (I have no idea how he earned it) PhD said the best thing that happened after the Battle was over. That a free black man walked over and picked an apple off his apple tree! Are you kidding me!! WHAT!!! There are THOUSANDS upon THOUSANDS of dead and wounded Americans lying all over the Battlefield and that was the greatest part of the Battle?!?! Yes the Confederates were Americans just as much as the Unionist were! Did this guy, who has his Phd not know Pennsylvania was a truly free State! It wasn’t Maryland or Kentucky! I just found it SO unsettling that he would glaze over all of the Americans that gave their lives, on both sides! Is this what America has come to??!! Of course there was a free black man picking apples! Everyone knows Pennsylvania was a slave free State! I would argue the best part after 3rd day of Americans killing Americans! Would be 1, The Battle was over! 2, The wounded could get medical attention! 3, Americans lives were saved & they could see their families again! 4, The Union eventually won the War! This is how history gets revisionized and the Millennials and generation Z will be taught nonsense about the War between the States! (If they actually teach it anymore) Like I said I’m a New Yorker and in school we were completely biased towards the Union but NOTHING on the level of this “documentary!” Yes, I would have fought with my people (whether I believed in the cause or not) but to totally dismiss the thousands, upon thousands of brave Confederate Soldiers when telling OUR history of the Battle of Gettysburg, is just wrong, sorry!

[reiddillashaw]

I think sometimes we ACW enthusiasts - while beginning to learn about the war, and its battles, begin to gravitate to a given commander, and make the mistake of putting them too high on a pedestal. I certainly made that mistake. However, with enough reading, and a willingness to be honestly objective, it didn't take long to realize I was wrong.
Doing that made studying the war a lot easier.

[edward]

Regarding rebel casualties, and reports of Lee’s surprise at the missing as he addressed the men who were about to walk into Federal hellfire on July 3, did he get roll call reports for the previous two days?

[steveschlackman]

A really interesting perspective. I hope that more people listen to this discussion.

[davewagner]

Ive studied this battle myself, since i was in grade school. Ive read every book i could find on it, and ive always said Longstreet got a bum rap. I'm a fan of Longstreet too.

[dks]

Matt, Oswald aimed dead center with iron he knew zero about scopes. those old military rifles shoot high !!! head shot was luck.

[JFreeze]

McLaws had no power to out command his corps commander. That's malarky.
Secondly, Longstreet was aware that Lee superceded him and spoke with Mclaws, out of military protocol. Longstreet took offense of that.
He possibly had felt as though Lee had said something to the effect to McLaws, " Pete isn't on board with my plans, you do as I am bidding to be done if Pete stays resistant."
Longstreet had a suspicious eye upon McLaws and no way let McLaws choose his path.

[JFreeze]

Longstreet went west because he was hopeful of a larger command status under Joe Johnston. Longstreet had been wanting and working on that previous to Gettysburg. His advancement in the ANV was going no higher.
Longstreet, in my opinion, had the "slows" because he was attempting to put as much daylight behind as possible, saving as many lives as he could possibly save in an attack he had not agreed with.
Lee going around Longstreet to speak personally with McLaws was taken as insult by Longstreet, giving the latter a tool to employ his cause for the "slows."

[tomjones]

Gen. Well lost Gettysburg. Lee also. Not James"Ol' Pete" Longstreet.

[danbendix]

When Lee didn't care for a subordinate he found ways to get him gone. e.g. D.H. Hill, Huger, Holmes, and Magruder.

[tberkoff]

The baby sounds in the background are mildly distracting. Good substance though.

[aisthpaoitht]

The author is a biased Longstreet apologist. The host is not taking the topic with intellectual sincerity - he uses mocking baby voices to imitate the straw man Longstreet critics.

Good talk, but disappointing overall. You should have had someone there to rebut the author.