The Confederate who embraced Reconstruction

It was the most remarkable political about-face in American history. During the Civil War, General James Longstreet fought tenaciously for the Confederacy. After the war, Longstreet moved to New Orleans, where he dramatically changed course. He supported Black voting and joined the integrated postwar government in Louisiana. When white supremacists took up arms to oust that government, Longstreet, leading the interracial state militia, did battle against former Confederates. His defiance ignited a firestorm of controversy, as white Southerners branded him a traitor.

Now, Longstreet is being rediscovered in the new age of racial reckoning. This authoritative biography is the first to give proper attention to his long post-war career.

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“At a time when it seems an open question whether human beings have the capacity to learn and to change in politics, the great historian Elizabeth Varon has given us a compelling portrait of a man who did just that: James Longstreet. A Confederate general who became an advocate for justice in the painful aftermath of the Civil War, Longstreet has much to teach us in our own hour of polarization.” —Jon Meacham

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