Lt. Gen. James Longstreet quotes

View Quote I don't like going in without Pickett. It's like going in with one boot off. I'll wait as long as I can before sending my boys in.

View Quote We should've freed the slaves, then fired on Fort Sumter.

View Quote I guess we Southerners and you English have at least one thing in common. We'd rather lose the war than admit to the mistake. No fifteen thousand men, ever made, can take that ridge.

View Quote If they get batteries up there, we're gonna need buckets to catch the lead.

View Quote Place the guns! Bring up the guns!

View Quote I must tell you now, I believe this attack will fail. No fifteen thousand men, ever made, can take that ridge.

View Quote [to his spy, Harrison, just before Pickett's Charge] You know what's gonna happen? I'll tell you what's gonna happen. Troops are now forming behind the line of trees. When they come out, they'll be under enemy long-range artillery fire. Solid shot. Percussion. Every gun they have. Troops will come out under fire with more than a mile to walk. And still, within the open field, among the range of aimed muskets. They'll be slowed by that fence out there, and the formation - what's left of it - will begin to come apart. When they cross that road, they'll be under short-range artillery. Canister fire. Thousands of little bits of shrapnel wiping the holes in the lines. If they get to the wall without breaking up, there won't be many left. A mathematical equation... But maybe, just maybe, our own artillery will break up their defenses. There's always that hope. [he sighs] That's Han**** out there, and he ain't gonna run. So it's mathematical after all. If they get to that road, or beyond it, we'll suffer over fifty percent casualties. But, Harrison...I don't believe my boys will reach that wall.