Armistead Lindsay Long (September 13, 1825 – April 29, 1891) was a brigadier general for the

Confederate States of America The Confederate States of America (CSA), also known as the Confederate States (C.S.), the Confederacy, or Dixieland, was an List of historical unrecognized states and dependencies, unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United State ...

, and the author of the 1886 book ''Memoirs of Robert E. Lee''.

Early life and career

Long was born in

Campbell County, Virginia Campbell County is a United States county situated in the south central part of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Located in the Piedmont region of Virginia, Campbell borders the Blue Ridge Mountains. The county seat is Rustburg. Grounded on a to ...

, to Armistead Long and Calista Rosser Cralle. He was an 1850 graduate of the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

.Confederate Military History, Vol. III, pp. 630-632. He was appointed second lieutenant June 30, 1851,Biographical detail
: ''AotW'' website. and served for two years at

Fort Moultrie Fort Moultrie is a series of fortifications on Sullivan's Island, South Carolina, built to protect the city of Charleston, South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina. The first fort, formerly named Fort Sullivan, built of Cabbage Pal ...

before being assigned to frontier duty in

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

. After two years on the frontier, he was moved back to

Fort McHenry Fort McHenry is a historical American Coastal defense and fortification, coastal bastion fort, pentagonal bastion fort on Locust Point, Baltimore, Locust Point, now a neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland. It is best known for its role in the War ...

and Barrancas Barracks and promoted to

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a se ...

on July 1, 1854. In 1855 he was sent back for five more years of frontier-duty, this time serving in

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

and

Indian Territory Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the Federal government of the United States, United States government for the relocation of Native Americans in the United States, ...

with a brief stint at

Fort Monroe Fort Monroe is a former military installation in Hampton, Virginia, at Old Point Comfort, the southern tip of the Virginia Peninsula, United States. It is currently managed by partnership between the Fort Monroe Authority for the Commonwealth o ...

Civil War

Long was stationed at Augusta Arsenal when tensions began between the Northern and Southern states. He was among the garrison that was surrendered to state authorities. He was transferred to serve an aide-de-camp to General Sumner, and ended up marrying Sumner's daughter, Mary Heron Sumner, in 1860. They had their first child, Virginia Tunstall, on March 5, 1861. When Sumner was summoned to lead the

Department of the Pacific The Department of the Pacific or Pacific Department was a major command ( Department) of the United States Army from 1853 to 1858. It replaced the Pacific Division, and was itself replaced by the Department of California and the Department of O ...

in California on June 10, 1861, Long resigned his commission in the United States Army the same day, and accepted a rank of major and chief of artillery in the Provisional Army of the Confederate States in

western Virginia Western Virginia is a geographic region in Virginia comprising the Shenandoah Valley and Southwest Virginia. Generally, areas in Virginia located west of, or (in many cases) within, the piedmont region are considered part of western Virginia. T ...

. He was later promoted to colonel dating from March 1861. Long accompanied its commander General William Loring in the Trans-Allegheny. During the summer and autumn of 1861, he acted as Inspector General, in addition to his regular duties. He was summoned to appear before General

Robert E. Lee Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a general officers in the Confederate States Army, Confederate general during the American Civil War, who was appointed the General in Chief of the Armies of the Confederate ...

at the end of the year, and the two of them would foster a close friendship over the coming years. Long was transferred to the southern coast as chief of artillery for both Generals John C. Pemberton and

. When Lee became the military adviser to CSA President

Jefferson Davis Jefferson F. Davis (June 3, 1808December 6, 1889) was an American politician who served as the only President of the Confederate States of America, president of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865. He represented Mississippi in the Unite ...

in early 1862, he appointed Long as his military secretary with the rank of colonel.Freeman, Douglas S., ''R.E. Lee'' When on May 31, 1862, Lee took command of the

Army of Northern Virginia The Army of Northern Virginia was a field army of the Confederate States Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was also the primary command structure of the Department of Northern Virginia. It was most often arrayed agains ...

, Long assumed his military secretary position on Lee's staff. He served Lee through the Seven Days,

Northern Virginia Campaign The Northern Virginia Campaign, also known as the Second Bull Run Campaign or Second Manassas Campaign, was a series of battles fought in Virginia during August and September 1862 in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. Confederate ...

of August 1862, Antietam Campaign,

Fredericksburg Campaign The Battle of Fredericksburg was fought December 11–15, 1862, in and around Fredericksburg, Virginia, in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. The combat between the Union Army of the Potomac commanded by Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnsi ...

, the campaign culminating in the

Battle of Chancellorsville The Battle of Chancellorsville, April 30 – May 6, 1863, was a major battle of the American Civil War (1861–1865), and the principal engagement of the Chancellorsville campaign. Confederate General Robert E. Lee's risky decision to divide h ...

, and the Gettysburg Campaign. Long was considered a valuable asset with "vigor and unfailing judgment". On September 23, 1863, Long was promoted to brigadier general and placed in command of the artillery in Lieutenant General Richard S. Ewell's Second Corps. He was present at both the Bristoe Campaign and the subsequent

Mine Run Campaign The Battle of Mine Run, also known as Payne's Farm, or New Hope Church, or the Mine Run campaign (November 27 – December 2, 1863), was conducted in Orange County, Virginia, in the American Civil War. An unsuccessful attempt of the Union ...

. Long commanded the artillery through the

Overland Campaign The Overland Campaign, also known as Grant's Overland Campaign and the Wilderness Campaign, was a series of battles fought in Virginia during May and June 1864, towards the end of the American Civil War. Lieutenant general (United States), Lt. G ...

, including the battles of the

Wilderness Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plurale tantum, plural) are Earth, Earth's natural environments that have not been significantly modified by human impact on the environment, human activity, or any urbanization, nonurbanized land not u ...

, Spotsylvania Court House, and

Cold Harbor The Battle of Cold Harbor was fought during the American Civil War near Mechanicsville, Virginia, from May 31 to June 12, 1864, with the most significant fighting occurring on June 3. It was one of the final battles of Union Army, Union Lieuten ...

. During Early's 1864 Shenandoah Valley Campaign he served intermittently as artillery chief for the Army of the Valley, but was often absent due to illness. He returned with the rest of the army to rejoin Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia around Petersburg and Richmond. Suffering from facial Neuralgia, he surrendered with the remnants of Lee's army at Appomattox Court House in April 1865. In 1864, his wife gave birth to their second child, Edwin Vose.

Postbellum career

Following the war, Long was appointed Chief Engineer at the

James River and Kanawha Canal The James River and Kanawha Canal was a partially built canal in Virginia intended to facilitate shipments of passengers and freight by water between the western counties of Virginia and the coast. Ultimately its towpath became the roadbed for ...

from 1866 to 1869.Johnson, Rossitor. The Biographical Dictionary of America, 1906. On April 12, 1869, his wife gave birth to their third child, Eugene Mclean. The following year Long went blind, ostensibly from his exposure during military service. On October 28, 1875, Long was elected to a post of Vice President of the Association of the Army of Northern Virginia along with Robert Ransom,

Henry Heth Henry Heth ( not ) (December 16, 1825 – September 27, 1899) was a senior Officer (armed forces), officer of the Confederate States Army who commanded infantry in the Eastern theater of the American Civil War, Eastern Theater of the American ...

, and William R. Terry, under the association's president W.H.F. "Rooney" Lee. Long was also an important member of the

Southern Historical Society The Southern Historical Society was an American organization founded to preserve archival materials related to the government of the Confederate States of America and to document the history of the American Civil War.Lost Cause of the Confederacy The Lost Cause of the Confederacy, known simply as the Lost Cause, is an American pseudohistory, pseudohistorical and historical negationist myth that argues the cause of the Confederate States of America, Confederate States during the America ...

movement. President

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was the 18th president of the United States, serving from 1869 to 1877. In 1865, as Commanding General of the United States Army, commanding general, Grant led the Uni ...

appointed Long's wife as postmistress for

Charlottesville, Virginia Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia, United States. It is the county seat, seat of government of Albemarle County, Virginia, Albemarle County, which surrounds the ...

. Although entirely blind, Long moved to Charlottesville and began writing ''Memoirs of Robert E. Lee''. The lengthy biographical compendium of the service of the Army of West Virginia was published in 1886. Long had written two other manuscripts: A reminiscence of his army life and a biographical contrast between Stonewall Jackson and "Old Hickory" (Andrew Jackson). Long's manuscripts were sold in April 2015 at his Great-grandnephew, Charles Andrews', estate auction. Long's ''Old Hickory and Stonewall Jackson'' was subsequently edited by Frederick J. Reber II and published on Amazon.com. As of 2019, Long's manuscript on his own army life remains unpublished. Following three years of ill healthWelsh, Jack D. ''Medical Histories of Confederate Generals'', 1995. after the death of his eldest son, Long died in Charlottesville after requesting that his daughter build a fire in his room and bring him

coffee Coffee is a beverage brewed from roasted, ground coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content, but decaffeinated coffee is also commercially a ...

. By the time she returned, he had slipped from

consciousness Consciousness, at its simplest, is awareness of a state or object, either internal to oneself or in one's external environment. However, its nature has led to millennia of analyses, explanations, and debate among philosophers, scientists, an ...

and died shortly thereafter. He is buried in Maplewood Cemetery, Charlottesville.

Notes

References

* Eicher, John H., and

David J. Eicher David John Eicher (born August 7, 1961) is an American editor, writer, and popularizer of astronomy and space. He has been editor-in-chief of ''Astronomy'' magazine since 2002. He is author, coauthor, or editor of 23 books on science and American ...

, ''Civil War High Commands.'' Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001. . * Evans, Clement A., ed
''Confederate Military History: A Library of Confederate States History''
12 vols. Atlanta: Confederate Publishing Company, 1899. . Retrieved January 20, 2011. Volume 3. Hotchkiss, Jed; Virginia. Online version: Evans, Clement A. (Clement Anselm), 1833–1911. Confederate military history. Atlanta, Ga., Confederate Pub. Co., 1899. (OCoLC)560915765. * Freeman, Douglas S.br>''R. E. Lee, A Biography''
4 vols. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1934–35. . * Sifakis, Stewart. ''Who Was Who in the Civil War.'' New York: Facts On File, 1988. . * Warner, Ezra J. ''Generals in Gray: Lives of the Confederate Commanders.'' Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1959. . * Welsh, Jack D. ''Medical Histories of Confederate Generals''. Kent, OH: Kent State University Press, 1999. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Long, Armistead Lindsay 1825 births 1891 deaths American non-fiction writers Confederate States Army brigadier generals People of Virginia in the American Civil War United States Army officers United States Military Academy alumni Southern Historical Society members

Early life and career

Civil War

Postbellum career

See also

Notes

References