I know nothing of that for which he was blamed, but it would make too heavy draft on my credulity to believe that he ever departed from what he believed to be just and honorable.
I well remember an expression he made to me. He said, “I conscientiously did what I deemed my duty while the controversy lasted, and when the fate of war compelled surrender, I accepted the situation in good faith.”
His widow must greatly feel the loss of one who was great as a soldier and so lovable as a man.
Allow me, a Northern man and a stranger, to condole with you, and again express the high appreciation I entertained for your illustrious husband.
Very respectfully,
Geo. W. Chamberlain.
Mrs. James Longstreet,
Gainesville, Georgia.
*****
“He taught peace and conservatism.”
United States Circuit Court of Appeals,
New Orleans, Louisiana, January 5, 1904.
Mrs. James Longstreet,
Gainesville, Georgia: