74 CONFEDERATE PORTRAITS

occupied. . . . He, however, did not seem to abandon

And they attacked and failed all along the line, be- cause Longstreet's heart was not in it, say his ene- mies, because success was impossible, says Longstreet himself.

And the scene was renewed again the day following, Lee deciding, ordering, Longstreet protesting, with im- perturbable confidence in his own judgment, and snubbed in a fashion made tenfold more dramatic by its being Lee who did it and Longstreet who recorded it, apparently without the dimmest perception of what it meant [italics mine] : ** I said : ' General, I have been a soldier all my life. I have been with soldiers engaged in fights by' couples, by squads, companies, regiments, divisions, and armies, and should know as well as any one what soldiers can do. It is my opinion that no 15,000 men ever ar- rayed for battle can take that position,' pointing to Cemetery Hill. General Lee in reply to this ordered 7ne to prepare Picketf s division for the attack^ ^^

When everything was over, Lee declared, with divine humility, that it was all his fault. "■ Fine," says Long- street, in effect, especially as it was."

In the autumn of 1863 Longstreet went West. He had long felt that he was needed there and he finally pre- vailed on Davis and Lee to let him go. It would be im- possible to surpass the serene confidence with which he viewed this undertaking. Note also that he disclaims.

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