Lieutenant General James Longstreet was a superb on the field of battle, though history has James Longstreet treated him very poorly.  My goal in portraying General Longstreet is to set the historical records straight and provide an accurate historical presentation . As a Living Historian, my goal is to be as accurate as possible, in appearance, knowledge, and mannerisms of the General.  My personal background is as a 20 year military veteran of the Marine Corps, with a love for the understanding of the War for Southern Independence.

I have been seriously studying the war since 1985 but was first introduced to it by a schoolteacher at the age of 12 when I discovered that the war was not about slavery but many other issues. Since 1985 my focus on reading has been with the Official Records, multiple books on the conflict, but in the past four years my concentration has not only been on the General but also the teachings of West Point during his time there as a cadet. Books that have most interested me from West Point are Monsieur De Vattel's Law of Nations (A document our Founding Fathers used to help write the Constitution) and William Rawls View of the Constitution of the United States of America. These two teachings have brought the focus of the war into better perspective for myself concerning all of the issues surrounding the conflict.

Through my years of research as a living historian and specific research performed concerning Lieutenant General James Longstreet, I have run across various books and documents. General Longstreet has much controversy around him during the battle of Gettysburg and of late I have been focusing a lot of effort to reviewing this controversy. Through this research I have begun to write a series of articles that can be accessed through the reports and correspondence part of the menu. The first writing covers the controversy of the so called Dawn attack on July 2nd, 1863. The sources used in these papers are only the first person accounts of the happenings at Gettysburg this the most prominent sources. At the end of each of these documents surrounding the controversy, you will be able to view the sources where the information to support the document was located through the bibliography.

My progression to becoming a Living historian started first as a infantry soldier, then into artillery with 1st Stuart Horse Artillery, and finally into living history. I am currently with an organization named Lee's Lieutenants, Headquarters Army of Northern Virginia. With this organization I travel to North Carolina, Virginia, Ohio, Maryland, and West Virginia portraying Lieutenant General James Longstreet. I also attend additional events that not all members attend.