Digital Project PR #2

TJ Goree #2 - Thomas Jewett Goree was born on November 14, 1835 in Marion, Alabama. When he was 15, Thomas, or better known as TJ, moved with his family to Huntsville, Texas. At the age of 18, he attended Baylor & earned a law degree, and by 1858, he formed a law partnership (Goree). In 1861, at the beginning of the Civil War, he left everything behind to join the Confederate Army. “The military service career of T. J. began July 1, 1861 as a volunteer with a small band referred to as the Texas Rangers” (Longstreet). On a ship headed from Galveston to New Orleans, Goree met Major James Longstreet, who had just resigned from the U.S. Army (Antietam). From this point on, the two became close friends, and TJ fought in almost every battle alongside General Longstreet. “Goree, who was eventually promoted to captain, served as Longstreet's aide-de-camp throughout the war and was involved in almost every battle in which Longstreet's division took part. He was never wounded, though he had several horses shot out from under him, and his clothing was riddled with bullet holes” (Handbook). “[Goree] served under General James Longstreet from the first battle of Manassas until the final curtain at Appomattox, nearly four years later” (Longstreet).
As a young officer in the Confederate Army, T.J. was very informed of the situation both on the battlefield, on civil matters, and on the international stage. He wrote several letters during his time as a Confederate soldier during the Civil War. He wrote to his brother in Huntsville concerning possible alliances with England. He even gave advice on what crops his brother should grow with the threat of the Union blockade and the possibility of a long war (Goree L). Furthermore, as expected from personal letters, his opinion was not always professional. T.J. often spoke poorly of Union soldiers and generals, but he had even harsher words for lackluster Confederate generals and Confederate President Davis himself. Many of the words he devoted to his letters described the condition of the Confederate soldiers while on the battlefield, and how the soldiers’ morale was affected by victory and defeat.
In several of his letters to his relatives and close friends, T.J. gave details on the strategies and conditions of his unit & other units. In today’s armed forces, this would be considered a major security breach. Luckily for the South, letters such as these were not easily intercepted by Union intelligence. But these descriptions laid out by T.J. in his letters gave insight on the conditions of the Confederate soldiers on the ground. T.J. described how the climate and seasons greatly affected the soldiers’ performance and ability to make war. In one letter to his mother, T.J. explained how physically difficult it was to write to her because of the extreme winter cold.
After the war, T.J. went back home to Texas, where he oversaw the Raven Hill Plantation near Huntsville. “His mother had purchased [the plantation] from Sam and Margaret M. L. Houston in 1858… On June 25, 1868, Goree married Elizabeth Thomas Nolley who was head of Andrew Female College at Huntsville” (Handbook). In 1870, the couple relocated to Madison County, Texas, where T.J. formed another law partnership. In 1877, T.J. was appointed superintendent of the Texas State Penitentiary at Huntsville, an office he held for fourteen years (Longstreet). He later moved to Galveston, where he survived the devastating Hurricane of 1900. On March 5,1905, Thomas Jewett Goree died of pneumonia in Galveston, Texas at the age of 69.

Sources:
Antietam on the Web. “Thomas Jewett Goree.” Antietam on the Web,http://aotw.org/officers.php?officer_id=1090.
Goree, L. “Goree, Thomas Jewett Family” in Walker County History. Tides at Stephen F. Austin State University, http://tides.sfasu.edu:2006/cdm4/document.php?CISOROOT=/Huntsville&CISOPTR=1169&REC=2.
Goree, L. “The Thomas Jewett Goree Letters, Vol. 1: The Civil War Correspondence.” Bryan,Texas: Family History Foundation, 1981. Print.
The Handbook of Texas. “Goree, Thomas Jewett.” The Handbook of Texas Online,http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/GG/fgo17.html.
Longstreet’s Command. “Thomas Jewett Goree.” Living History Association,http://www.longstreetscommand.org/Goree.html.