James Longstreet, son of James and Mary Ann Dent Longstreet, was born in Edgefield District, South Carolina, on January 8, 1821. An 1842 graduate of the United States Military Academy, Longstreet was commissioned a brevet second lieutenant. During service in the Mexican-American War, he was promoted to first lieutenant, then breveted a captain and, finally, a major, before being wounded in the Battle of Capultepec. Still recuperating at the war's end, Longstreet married Louise Garland (1827-1889) on March 8, 1848; the couple would have 10 children (three of whom would die during an 1862 scarlet fever epidemic). Longstreet returned to active peacetime service in the army, then resigned his commission at the outbreak of the American Civil War. He joined the Confederate Army as a lieutenant colonel but by June 22, 1861 had been named a brigadier general. On October 7, he was promoted to major general and assumed command of a division within the Army of Northern Virginia. He served in the war's eastern theater and became a chief subordinate of Robert E. Lee, commander of the Army of Northern Virginia. Following the Confederate loss at Gettysburg, and at his own request, Longstreet was transferred to the war's western theater. Longstreet returned with his forces to the Army of Northern Virginia in February, 1864. He was seriously wounded at the Battle of the Wilderness three months later but returned to serve during the final months of the war. Following the war, Longstreet, a Republican, served in various roles within the federal government. His cooperation with former enemies and his criticisms of Lee's wartime performance led to Longstreet's loss of popularity among southerners. He published his memoirs,  in 1896. In 1897, he married Helen Dortch (1863-1962), a social advocate, librarian, and newspaper woman. James Longstreet died in Gainesville, Georgia, on January 2, 1904, and was buried in Alta Vista Cemetery, Gainesville.