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Hailing from Georgia, Lafayette McLaws and Longstreet were childhood friends, but grew hostile towards one another during the war. Their relationship deteriorated over time due to various reasons, but the relationship tore completely in the desperate fall and winter of 1863 when Longstreet made a questionable decision and relieved McLaws from duty.
Lafayette McLaws is most widely known as one of James Longstreet's division commanders. At Gettysburg, McLaws's division smashed into the Peach Orchard and Wheatfield and suffered heavy casualties. After the war, the two old warriors would reconcile their relationship, and McLaws's post-war commentary has been instrumental to historians in gaining a more balanced view of Longstreet's actions at Gettysburg. |
| Photo courtesy Library of Congress. |
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