James Longstreet Lee's War Horse Author:H. J. Eckenrode, Bryan Conrad James Longstreet was one of the great Confederate generals. He fought from First Manassas through Appomattox and commanded the First Corps of Lee's army from its creation in 1862 to the surrender in April 1865. Lee held him in high regard and relied heavily on him after Stonewall Jackson's death. A courageous fighter who took good care of his... more » men, Longstreet was popular among his soldiers. His record should have secured him a place in history beside Lee and Jackson, but did not. He made the mistake of criticizing Lee's generalship at Gettysburg. Lee's defenders shifted the blame for Gettysburg to Longstreet. They literally cast him out, excluding him from Confederate reunions, making him the scapegoat for their own failure.« less