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Much to the chagrin of the soldiers he commanded. Gary Busey played Wheeler in a movie about the Rough Riders. He looked nothing like him, and the character wasn't exactly right, but I thought it was wonderful irony. A maniac playing a maniac.
After the close of operations in Cuba, Wheeler went on to the Phillipines where he commanded a brigade under General Arthur MacArthur against the so-called "insurrectionists" (shades of Iraq there and a lot of lessons to be learned).
He died in New York City, unapologetic about his association with the Confederacy, always declared that unilateral secession was a basic right of the states or the people and that slavery was the best condition under which blacks could live. In short, he never stopped being an incompetent ass.
He also hated Longstreet, who returned the favor. :-) At the start of the Spanish American war, Wheeler was chomping at the bit to get into the fight and put "those people" in their place. It had been the dream of many former Confederates to invade and occupy Cuba, and even if the basic principles upon which the Confederacy were founded were gone, Wheeler saw this as a chance at redemption. He was an old fool (as opposed to a young fool) at the time of the war, but he was a military politician who had friends and had worked his way into high positions.
Meanwhile, Longstreet wrote:
"As the evening hours draw near, the bugle calls of the eternal years sound clearer to my understanding than when drowned in the hiss of musketry and the roar of cannon. By memory of battle-fields and prophecy of coming events, I declare the hope that the present generation may witness the disbandment of standing armies, the reign of natural justice, the ushering in of the brotherhood of man. If I could recall one hour of my distant but glorious command, I would say, on the eve of battle with a foreign foe, 'Little children, love one another.'"
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