Background
JOHNSTON, Robert Daniel was born on March 19, 1837 in Lincoln County, North Carolina, United States, United States. Son of Dr. William Johnston and his wife Nancy (Forney).
banker editor General lawyer military
JOHNSTON, Robert Daniel was born on March 19, 1837 in Lincoln County, North Carolina, United States, United States. Son of Dr. William Johnston and his wife Nancy (Forney).
Brother of Joseph Forney J. Bachelor of Arts, University of North Carolina, 1857. Bachelor of Laws, University of Virginia.
Served private, Second lieutenant, Lieutenant-colonel and brig.-general C.S.A., 1861-1865. Participated in all battles of Army of Northern Virginia.
Wounded at Seven Pines (twice), Spottsylvania C.H., Gettysburg and Hare’s Hill, Virginia.
He was first cousin to future Confederate generals William H. Forney and John Horace Forney. Before the war, Johnston practiced law. Johnston joined the Confederate States Army where he was appointed captain and given command of Company K, 23rd North Carolina Infantry on July 15, 1861.
On April 16, 1862, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel of the regiment and on May 5 saw his first action at the Battle of Williamsburg, on the Peninsula.
He succeeded to the command of the regiment following the Battle of Seven Pines, where he had been wounded. He returned to duty in time to participate in the Maryland Campaign and fought at the Battle of South Mountain and the Battle of Antietam.
At Chancellorsville, Johnston was given command of the 12th North Carolina Infantry, after that unit had lost all of its field officers. He returned to the 23rd for the Gettysburg Campaign and was wounded at the Battle of Gettysburg.
He was promoted to brigadier general on September 1, 1863, and was given command of the brigade that Brigade
General Alfred Iverson, Junior., had commanded at Gettysburg. He commanded the brigade through the Overland Campaign in the spring of 1864 until he suffered his third wound at Spotsylvania.
He returned to the brigade in August during Lieutenant
General Jubal A. Early"s Shenandoah Valley Campaign. In that campaign he saw action at the Third Battle of Winchester, the Battle of Fisher"s Hill, and the Battle of Cedar Creek.
Along with the rest of Early"s army, he returned to the St. Petersburg trenches to rejoin General
Robert East. Lee"s Army of Northern Virginia. During his time at St. Petersburg, Johnston briefly commanded the division and served on detached duty attempting to catch deserters. Following the war Johnston resumed his law practice in North Carolina and eventually became a banker in Alabama.
Johnston married Elizaebth Johnston "Johnsie" Evans, who founded the Alabama Boys Industrial School.
They had nine children.
"Peculiar institution" of slavery was not only expedient but also ordained by God and upheld in Holy Scripture.
Stands for preserving slavery, states' rights, and political liberty for whites. Every individual state is sovereign, even to the point of secession.
Married Lizzie Johnston Evans, g.d.