Was General Longstreet a Person of Faith?
It is impossible to answer a question as complex as “Was General Longstreet a Person of Faith in the context of The Killer Angels?” with a simple “Yes” or “No” answer. No man that has a shred of intelligence would be entirely faithful in everyone and everything. At the same time, no man as successful as a general in the Confederate army could rise to that level despite never having faith in anyone. Rather, I believe Longstreet was more a man of faith than not, as he had great faith in some and absolutely no faith in a select few.
Longstreet had no doubt in his opinions while the battle of Gettysburg went on. Through disagreement from everyone else, Longstreet trusted his interpretations of the battle, and had confidence that what he foresaw would occur. By the end of the novel, he was proved correct.
Lee was among the generals that Longstreet disagreed with throughout the novel. “‘General, it is my considered opinion that a frontal assault would be a disaster,’” Longstreet told Lee on pg. 286 after Lee suggested Pickett’s charge.
Longstreet had enough faith in both Lee’s decision and in the Confederate army that he agreed to give the order to attack, even while believing the attack would fail miserably.
Longstreet voiced confidence in the Confederate army despite his doubts about Pickett’s charge: “‘If the line can be broken… those boys can do it,’” Longstreet told Lee on pg. 294.
Longstreet’s lack of faith only showed up when he was confronted with people that did not deserve his faith.
The cavalry commander, Jeb Stuart, was one of these men. Longstreet’s suspicions of the proud Stuart throughout the novel proved to be correct. Stuart had been joyriding with his cavalry throughout Pennsylvania, virtually leaving the entire Southern army blind to the movements of the Army of the Potomac. With the eyes of cavalry to help Lee make decisions, the entire war could have unfolded much differently.
However, just because Longstreet didn’t trust in the men that didn’t deserve his trust doesn’t mean Longstreet was a doubtful man. Rather, if he trusted those men, he would be over trustworthy, if not ignorant and reckless. One can certainly be too trusting and faithful. Longstreet had faith in those that had earned it, and didn’t have faith in those that didn’t. This does not make him a faithful man. This does not make him an unfaithful man. It makes him a man that allowed his judgment to tell him who to have faith in, a judgment that was proved correct more often than not.