Edward Johnson

Background

Edward Johnson was born on April 16, 1816, in Salisbury, Chesterfield County, Virginia, United States. He was the son of Dr. Edward Johnson. His family later moved to Kentucky.

Education

Edward graduated thirty-second in a class of forty-five from the United States Military Academy in 1838.

Career

Edward Johnson began a career in the army by fighting Indians in Florida from 1838 to 1841, when he was transferred to the Southwest. During the Mexican War, he was breveted captain for his gallantry at Molino del Rey and breveted major for his gallantry at Chapultepec. He later saw frontier duty and was promoted to captain in 1851.

In June 1861, Johnson resigned from the United States Army and entered service in the Confederate Army. During the early days of the Civil War, he went as a lieutenant colonel of the 12th Georgia Regiment to Virginia. Promoted to brigadier general on December 13, 1861, he fought at McDowell's' in "Stonewall" Jackson's Valley campaign of May 1862.

On February 28, 1863, he was promoted to major general, and he commanded a division of the 2nd Corps under General Richard S. Ewell in the attack on Culp’s Hill during the Battle of Gettysburg in July. He fought in the Wilderness in May 1864 and was captured while defending the "bloody angle" at Spotsylvania Court House. Later he was exchanged, and in September 1864, he joined the Army of Tennessee as a division commander under John B. Hood.

After making a desperate charge during the Battle of Franklin in November, Johnston was again captured at Nashville and was not released until after the war ended. After the war, he was a farmer in Chesterfield County.

Achievements

• Edward Johnson was awarded a ceremonial sword by the state of Virginia for his bravery. He commanded an oversized brigade of six regiments during Battle of the Allegheny Mountain in western Virginia, for which he was promoted to brigadier general and received the nicknamed "Allegheny" Johnson. He led a brigade in the 1862 Shenandoah Valley Campaign. Promoted to major general in February 1863, Johnson led "Stonewall" Jackson's old division at Gettysburg.

Personality

Although Johnson was a heavy-set, rough-looking, rude character, who was still a bachelor at age 47, he had the reputation of a ladies' man. Due to a wound he received in Mexico, he was afflicted with an eye that winked uncontrollably, causing many women to believe he was flirting with them. He caused enough attention that he rated mentions in the famous diary of Mary Chesnut.

Quotes from others about the person

• "He seems to have commanded attention by his strong personality and loud voice, rather than by physical good looks... he winked without ceasing because of a disorder of one eye, and to literally top it all off, his skull was cone-shaped in layers, described by Mary Chesnut as resembling an antique beehive, or the Pope's tiara. Between his three-tiered skull and his gimpy leg was a bulky, bearlike body that projected a powerful roar, a voice that penetrated every corner of a room." - Thomas Power Lowry

Connections

Father:

Edward Johnson

colleague:

Richard S. Ewell

References

• OLD ALLEGHANY The Life and Wars of General Ed Johnson
  2004
• Civil War High Commands
  2002
• Who Was Who in the Civil War
  1988
• Generals in Gray Lives of the Confederate Commander
  1959
• Biographical Dictionary of the Confederacy
  1977