"Genl. Longstreet is one of the kindest, best hearted men I have ever known. Those not well acquainted with him think him short and crabbed, and he does appear so except in three places: 1st, when in the presence of ladies; 2d, at the table; 3rd, on the field of battle. At any one of these places he has a complacent smile on his countenance, and seems to be one of the happiest men in the world."
Source: Lee's Tarnished Lieutenant, by William Piston
Commentary
T.J. Goree, in a letter home to his family in 1861, gave the following brief description of Longstreet and his demeanor.
After the war, one of Longstreet's greatest liabilities in the often overly sensitive Southern society was his gruff "back-woods" manner. This letter gives some indication of the origins of this perception of Longstreet. He wasn't, at heart or by his rearing, a Southern gentleman by the standard definition, but when the situation called for it, he could be as polite and proper as anyone.