The Monument

"Born on this site on January 8, 1821 in the home of his father's parents. He was educated in nearby Augusta. An 1842 graduate of West Point he served in the United States Army until June 1, 1861 joining the Confederate States army. He became its senior Lieutenant General commanding the First Corps in General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. Known to his men as "Old Pete" he was seriously wounded in May 1864 yet returned to command through Appomattox in April 1865. His excellent record, devotion to duty, personal courage, and unquestioned loyalty to the Confederacy were best appraised by Lee himself who called Longstreet My Old War Horse. He died on January 2, 1904 and was buried in Gainesville, Georgia.