General James A. Longstreet is one of the most interesting figures emerging from the Civil War. He was Robert E. Lee’s “Warhorse” turned Gettysburg scapegoat. Longstreet was a staunch defender of the southern cause, who seemingly turned against the South after the War’s end. Because of his changed viewpoint, Longstreet was frowned upon by most of the South after the War.

Dr. Varon’s new book, Longstreet: The Confederate General Who Defied the South, focuses upon the important General’s life after the Civil War. She briefly illustrates Longstreet’s foundational years through his illustrious military career. Most Longstreet biographies tend to center most of their attention upon his four years serving as a General in the Confederate Army, understandably so. But as Dr. Varon mentions in our discussion, he had forty more years of life after the War’s end. What did he do with that time?

I trust you’ll find Dr. Varon’s answers to be as interesting as Longstreet’s life.

LINKS TO THE PODCAST:

Elizabeth Varon Books:

• Longstreet: The Confederate General Who Defied the South. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2023.
• Southern Lady, Yankee Spy: The True Story of Elizabeth Van Lew, a Union Agent in the Heart of the Confederacy. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005.
• Armies of Deliverance: A New History of the Civil War. New York: Oxford University Press, 2019.
• Disunion!: The Coming of the American Civil War, 1789-1859 (Littlefield History of the Civil War Era). Chapel Hill, NC: UNC Press, 2008.
• Appomattox: Victory, Defeat, and Freedom at the End of the Civil War. New York: Oxford University Press, 2013.
• We Mean to Be Counted: White Women and Politics in Antebellum Virginia (Gender and American Culture). Chapel Hill, NC: UNC Press, 1998.

All photography used on this site is owned and copyrighted by the author unless otherwise noted. The Featured Image is of Longstreet: The Confederate General Who Defied the South.

Music used for this episode – Louis Armstrong and the Mills Brothers,”Carry Me Back to Old Virginia” available on Apple Music, and Selections from Symphony No. 10 in E Minor, Op. 93: II. Allegro by Dmitri Schostakovich performed by London Symphony Orchestra & Mstislav Rostropovich, also on Apple Music.