TJ Goree

Thomas Jewett Goree
Thomas Jewett Goree
Nickname(s)	TJ
Born	(1835-11-14)November 14, 1835 Marion, Alabama
Died	March 5, 1905(1905-03-05) (aged 69) Galveston, Texas
Place of burial	Oakwood Cemetery Huntsville, Texas
Allegiance	Confederate States of America
Service/branch	Confederate States Army
Years of service	1861-1865
Rank	Major
Unit	First Corps, Army of Northern Virginia
Other work	lawyer, superintendent of penitentiaries

Thomas Jewett "TJ" Goree (November 14, 1835 – March 5, 1905) was a Confederate Captain in the First Corps, Army of Northern Virginia during the American Civil War. By the end of the War he was promoted to the rank of Captain. He was one of Lt. General James Longstreet's most trusted aides.

Thomas J. Goree was born on November 14, 1835 in Marion, Alabama. At age 15, he and family moved to Huntsville, Texas. At age 18, he attended Baylor College, from which he graduated with a Law degree. With other partners, he formed a law firm in Montgomery, Texas in 1858, later moving it to Houston. At the start of the American Civil War in 1861 he left his law firm and headed for Virginia to volunteer for the Confederacy.

On the boat from Galveston, Texas to New Orleans, he met Maj. James Longstreet, who had resigned his commission in the United States Army and was also traveling to Virginia to offer his services to the Confederate states. Lt. Goree, who was eventually promoted to captain, served as Longstreet's aide throughout the war and was involved in almost every battle in which Longstreet's division took part, from Blackburn's Ford to Appomattox. He was never wounded, although he had several horses shot out from under him and his clothing was riddled with bullet holes.

After Appomattox, Goree accompanied Longstreet home to Alabama. Goree returned to Texas in 1865 and took over operations at the Raven Hill Plantation near Huntsville, which his mother had purchased in 1858. He ran the plantation and continued to practice law until 1869.