Helen Dortch Longstreet

Helen Dortch Longstreet (April 20, 1863 – May 3, 1962), known as the "Fighting Lady," was the second wife of Confederate General James Longstreet. She earned her nickname from being a champion of causes such as preservation of the environment and civil rights. She is also remembered for her work as a Confederate memorialist and postmistress.

Helen Dortch was born in Carnesville, Georgia, and attended Georgia Baptist Female Seminary (now Brenau College) and the Notre Dame Convent in Maryland. Having met Longstreet through her roommate, she married him on September 8, 1897, when she was just 34 and he was 76. She was widowed in 1904, childless.

Prior to marrying Longstreet, she was the first woman in Georgia to serve as Assistant State Librarian in 1894. She also authored the "Dortch Bill" (which became law in 1896) to allow a woman to hold the office of State Librarian.

Before and after becoming a widow, Helen Dortch Longstreet devoted much time to ensure that General Longstreet was accurately portrayed by history. In 1905, she documented her husband’s account of the Civil War by publishing the book Lee and Longstreet at High Tide. Another important cause that she took up about 1911 was the creation of a state park at Tallulah Gorge. Helen Longstreet was opposed to a plan by Georgia Power to build a series of hydroelectric dams along the original course of the Tallulah River and particularly concerned about the potential impact on the Tallulah Gorge. Although unsuccessful, her campaign was one of the first conservation movements in Georgia.

During World War II she was a Rosie the Riveter at the Bell Aircraft plant in Atlanta. She said, "I was at the head of my class in riveting school. In fact I was the only one in it."

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