Editing George Pickett (section)

==Legacy==
[[File:Pickett's Grave.jpg|thumb|Pickett's grave site at Hollywood Cemetery]]
Decades after Pickett's death, his widow LaSalle (also known as "Sallie" and "Mother") became a well-known writer and speaker on "her Soldier," eventually leading to the creation of an idealized Pickett who was the perfect Southern gentleman and soldier. Much controversy attends LaSalle Pickett's lionizing of her husband. LaSalle was the author of ''Pickett and His Men'', a history of her husband's military campaigns, which was published in 1899.<ref>[[Lesley J. Gordon|Gordon, Lesley J.]] "[http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Pickett_LaSalle_Corbell_1843-1931 LaSalle Corbell Pickett (1843–1931)]" ''Virginia Encyclopedia.'' October 27, 2015. Web. Retrieved March 7, 2016.</ref> She published two other books in her deceased husband's name, ''The Heart of a Soldier, As Revealed in the Intimate Letters of Gen'l George E. Pickett'' (published in 1913) and ''Soldier of the South: General Pickett's War Letters to His Wife'' (1928). While "Pickett and His Men" has remained a historically valuable document, the latter two writings have been described as "unreliable works that were fictionalized by Pickett's wife."<ref>Eicher, p. 429.</ref> As a result, General Pickett has become a figure partially obscured by "[[Lost Cause of the Confederacy|Lost Cause]]" mythology.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.uncpress.unc.edu:8080/browse/book_detail?title_id=23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130224114356/http://www.uncpress.unc.edu:8080/browse/book_detail?title_id=23 |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 24, 2013 |title=Book Review: General George E. Pickett in Life and Legend |publisher=UNC Press |access-date=June 30, 2016 }}</ref>

Pickett today is widely perceived as being a tragic hero of sorts—a flamboyant officer who wanted to lead his troops into a glorious battle, but always missed the opportunity until the disastrous charge at Gettysburg.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://scienceviews.com/parks/pickett.html |title= The Fame of Pickett's Charge |publisher=Science Views |access-date=June 23, 2016}}</ref> Historian [[John C. Waugh]] wrote of Pickett, "An excellent brigade commander, he never proved he could handle a division." He quotes [[George B. McClellan]], the Union general, as saying: "Perhaps there is no doubt that he was the best infantry soldier developed on either side during the Civil War."<ref>Waugh, p. 507. The McClellan quote is from remarks he wrote for Pickett's funeral, as reported by LaSalle Pickett in her hagiographic ''The Heart of a Soldier''.</ref>

Pickett's grave is marked by a memorial in Hollywood Cemetery, which was placed there in 1888.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://vaudc.org/pickett.html |title= Pickett Monument Undergoing Restoration Work |publisher= Virginia Division: United Daughters of the Confederacy |access-date= June 23, 2016 |archive-date= October 21, 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20161021050850/http://vaudc.org/pickett.html |url-status= dead }}</ref> A monument to Pickett also stands in the American Camp on [[San Juan Island]], [[Washington (state)|Washington]], erected by the Washington University Historical Society on October 21, 1904.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pickettsociety.com/perpetuity.html |title= In Perpetuity: U.S. Army Quartermaster Museum |date=February 5, 2010 |publisher=George Pickett Society |access-date=June 22, 2016}}</ref>

[[Fort Barfoot]] in [[Blackstone, Virginia]], was named in his honor, before being renamed on March 24, 2023. It was completed in 1942 and served as an active U.S. Army training facility in [[World War II]] and is currently occupied by the [[Virginia National Guard]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://vko.va.ngb.army.mil/fortpickett/mtc/Garrison/History/historyreadmore.htm |title=Fort Pickett |publisher=Virginia National Guard |access-date=June 20, 2016 |archive-date=July 4, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160704075612/http://vko.va.ngb.army.mil/fortpickett/mtc/Garrison/History/historyreadmore.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/24/us/politics/army-base-pickett-barfoot.html |title=Army Base Renamed for Native American War Hero, Replacing Confederate |last=Cameron |first=Chris |date=March 24, 2023 |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=April 4, 2023}}</ref>