The Confederates shot from the Wilderness at the Union soldiers.The trees and underbrush made moving hard because of the difficulty the troops faced to move in an orderly fashion and was extremely rough on the cavalry and artillery. Right after 5 am the Union second corps, led by Winfield Scott Hancock, drove back the Confederates nearly a mile. James Longstreet arrived to aid the Confederates helping the fighting to be even more intense than the first day of the battle. Unfortunately for James and many others, the smoke from the canons and guns along with the early morning fog, made it almost impossible to see. This forced soldiers to fire blindly-often hitting people on their own side, which was the case of Longstreet. James Longstreet was shot by one of his own soldiers leaving his right arm completely paralyzed and left him recovering for over five months. Amazingly, Longstreet returned to duty in October 1864, protecting valuable railroad lines while he commanded troops entrenched between Richmond and the James River. This is the battle known as the Battle of the Wilderness. The Battle of the Wilderness lasted two days from May fifth to May sixth in 1864.The Union lost 17,666; 2,246 of those were dead, 12,037 wounded, and 3,383 missing or captured. The Confederates lost 11,125; 1,495 were killed, 7,690 wounded, 1,940 missing or captured. The Battle of the Wilderness was named from the fact that Ulysses S. Grant gave the order to move 115,000 Union troops across the Rapidan River through a bunch of woodland known as the Wilderness. Longstreet showed extreme bravery and determination when he was hit by his own side. James Longstreet was raised primarily in Augusta, Georgia and Somerville, Alabama- although he was born in Edgefield, South Carolina on January 8, 1821.
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Longstreet had no middle name. He was a student at West Point from 1838 to 1842 he was in the same class as Ulysses S. Grant and George Pickett. James finished his class in fifty-fourth out of fifty-six. After he finished West Point James became a brevet second lieutenant in the 4th U.S. Infantry. He was stationed in Jefferson Barracks, Missouri for two years, where he met Maria Louisa Garland his soon to be wife in 1848. James and Maria had ten children but only five survived past childhood. James saw combat in the Mexican-American War in the battles of Palo Alto, Monterrey, and Vera Cruz. He spent the next several years after his leg injury with no sight of combat. In the beginning of the Civil War James quit the Army and became a brigadier general under the command of Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard. In October 1861 he was promoted to major general after his command of his brigade in the First Battle of Bull Run.His first major action as major general came during the Peninsula Campaign. In the second Battle of Bull Run, James’ forces did a flank attack that was devastating to General John Pope’s Army of Virginia. After the Battle of Antietam where he managed to defensively withstand a Union force nearly twice its size. On October 9, 1862 Jefferson Davis promotes James to lieutenant general, on the recommendation of Robert E. Lee. Longstreet’s promotion was one day earlier than Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jefferson, meaning Longstreet outranked Jackson. On November 6, 1862 General Lee reorganized his Army of Northern Virginia, putting Longstreet in control of the First Corps and Jackson in charge of the Second Corps. In December 1862 at the Battle of Fredericksburg, Longstreet’s defense managed to withstand the Union’s repeated offensive attacks. Longstreet was reluctant to obey Lee’s orders to oversee Pickett's Charge. Later on he wrote that he endorsed Lee’s strategy only after confirming that it would be based around defensive fighting. After Pickett’s Charge Longstreet got permission to move the majority of his corps to back up General Braxton Bragg. His nicknames in the civil war were “Old Pete,” “My Old War Horse”(by Robert E. Lee), “Bull of the Woods”(by his soldiers after Chickamauga), and the “Old Bulldog.” After Gettysburg many Yankees feared very little of the Rebels and believed they could beat all of them. On the 17th of September the Yankees got word that Longstreet was at or
Longstreet had no middle name. He was a student at West Point from 1838 to 1842 he was in the same class as Ulysses S. Grant and George Pickett. James finished his class in fifty-fourth out of fifty-six. After he finished West Point James became a brevet second lieutenant in the 4th U.S. Infantry. He was stationed in Jefferson Barracks, Missouri for two years, where he met Maria Louisa Garland his soon to be wife in 1848. James and Maria had ten children but only five survived past childhood. James saw combat in the Mexican-American War in the battles of Palo Alto, Monterrey, and Vera Cruz. He spent the next several years after his leg injury with no sight of combat. In the beginning of the Civil War James quit the Army and became a brigadier general under the command of Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard. In October 1861 he was promoted to major general after his command of his brigade in the First Battle of Bull Run.His first major action as major general came during the Peninsula Campaign. In the second Battle of Bull Run, James’ forces did a flank attack that was devastating to General John Pope’s Army of Virginia. After the Battle of Antietam where he managed to defensively withstand a Union force nearly twice its size. On October 9, 1862 Jefferson Davis promotes James to lieutenant general, on the recommendation of Robert E. Lee. Longstreet’s promotion was one day earlier than Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jefferson, meaning Longstreet outranked Jackson. On November 6, 1862 General Lee reorganized his Army of Northern Virginia, putting Longstreet in control of the First Corps and Jackson in charge of the Second Corps. In December 1862 at the Battle of Fredericksburg, Longstreet’s defense managed to withstand the Union’s repeated offensive attacks. Longstreet was reluctant to obey Lee’s orders to oversee Pickett's Charge. Later on he wrote that he endorsed Lee’s strategy only after confirming that it would be based around defensive fighting. After Pickett’s Charge Longstreet got permission to move the majority of his corps to back up General Braxton Bragg. His nicknames in the civil war were “Old Pete,” “My Old War Horse”(by Robert E. Lee), “Bull of the Woods”(by his soldiers after Chickamauga), and the “Old Bulldog.” After Gettysburg many Yankees feared very little of the Rebels and believed they could beat all of them. On the 17th of September the Yankees got word that Longstreet was at or