Dedicated: July 3, 1998.
Location: West Confederate Avenue at Pitzer’s Woods.
Description: Portrait of General Longstreet in his military uniform astride his horse. The site of the monument was chosen in part because of its proximity to Longstreet’s headquarters; the monument site is approximately 0.2 of a mile north of Longstreet’s headquarters on the Pitzer Farm.
About Lieutenant General James Longstreet
James Longstreet, who was known to friends and family as “Pete,” was born on January 8, 1821 in South Carolina but was raised by an uncle in Georgia. He graduated from West Point in 1842 where he became good friends with, amongst others, U.S. Grant. He served in the Mexican War with distinction and was wounded there.
He played a minor role at First Manassas but was quickly elevated to higher command, eventually becoming a favorite of Robert E. Lee and commander of one of the Army of Northern Virginia’s two wings. When the Army was reorganized after Chancellorsville, Longstreet retained command of the I Corps. His service at Gettysburg was controversial, but Lee’s confidence in Longstreet (who he called “My Old Warhorse”) never wavered. Longstreet was severely wounded by friendly fire at the Wilderness and lost the use of an arm and could never speak again above a whisper. Nonetheless, he eventually returned to his old command and was with Lee at Appomattox.
Longstreet supported the Republican Party after the War – something that won him no friends among most of the South – and was a diplomat, civil servant, and administrator. He was by far the longest lived of the Army of Northern Virginia high command and died in Gainesville, Georgia on January 2, 1904, at the age of 82. His reputation suffered greatly from the “Lost Cause,” and his equestrian monument was one of the very last additions to the battlefield, erected in 1998; it is the only equestrian monument at Gettysburg which is not mounted on a tall plinth or pedestal and sits at ground level. Longstreet is also remembered by a bridge named in his honor in Gainesville.
Other Monuments: Equestrian | Headquarters