General Longstreet will always live in the great and ennobling example which he set before his fellow-men. He was truly great in war as the brilliant leader of gallant armies, but he was greater in peace as the patriotic citizen loyally dedicating his splendid fame to the cause of his country’s restoration to an harmonious brotherhood.
His conduct since the termination of the mighty struggle in which he bore a distinguished part was prompted by the highest wisdom and by the purest love of country. And his fame can never be dimmed by the failure of the narrow-minded few to appreciate his great qualities of heart and of brain. I rejoice in the fact that he lived to a ripe old age, and was thereby blessed with the privilege of witnessing the good fruits of his noble career.
With profound respect,
I am truly yours,
George Baber.
*****
“His surpassing ability won him admiration as an American soldier.”
Philadelphia, January 3, 1904.
Dear Mrs. Longstreet,—Permit me to express my heartfelt sympathy in your sad loss and unexpected bereavement.
It had never been my good fortune to meet the general, but his surpassing ability and great and earnest devotion to the South won him, as an American soldier, our admiration, and entitled him to the love and thanks of those whose cause was, for so long, the object of his sacrifices.
We in the North, or many of us, rate General Longstreet as among the ablest of those who fought against us, and it was fortunate for us that he did not have command at some critical moments, when his superior judgment would have directed other movements than those which were made.
I am, madam,
Very respectfully yours,