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Edward Johnson | |
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| Nickname(s) | "Allegheny" Johnson "Old Clubby" |
| Born | (1816-04-16)April 16, 1816 Midlothian, Virginia, U.S. |
| Died | February 2, 1873(1873-02-02) (aged 56) Richmond, Virginia, U.S. |
| Buried | |
| Allegiance |  United States of America Confederate States of America |
| Service |  United States Army Confederate States Army |
| Years of service | 1830–1861 (USA) 1861–1865 (CSA) |
| Rank |  Major (USA)Major General (CSA) |
| Unit | 6th U.S. Infantry |
| Commands | 12th Georgia Infantry Army of the Northwest Johnson's Division |
| Battles / wars | |
Edward "Allegheny" Johnson (April 16, 1816 – March 2, 1873) was aUnited States Army officer andConfederategeneral in theAmerican Civil War. Highly rated by Robert E. Lee, he was made a divisional commander underRichard S. Ewell. On the first evening of the Battle of Gettysburg (July 1, 1863), Ewell missed his opportunity to attack Cemetery Hill, and Johnson opted against attacking Culp's Hill, for which he had a discretionary order, though he attempted this on the second and third days. Ewell and Johnson are blamed by many for the loss of this decisive battle.
Johnson was born onSalisbury Plantation near current-dayMidlothian inChesterfield County, Virginia, but his family soon moved toKentucky. He attended theUnited States Military Academy and graduated (after five years of study) in 1838. He was commissioned abrevetsecond lieutenant in the6th U.S. Infantry and was promoted tofirst lieutenant in less than a year. He served in theSeminole Wars in Florida and then in the West. In theMexican–American War, Johnson distinguished himself for action atVeracruz,Cerro Gordo,Churubusco,Molino del Rey, andChapultepec. He received two brevet promotions, tocaptain andmajor, during the war and was awarded a ceremonial sword by the state of Virginia for his bravery. Johnson returned to duty on the Western frontier, serving in theDakota Territory, California,Kansas, and on theUtah Expedition.
After the outbreak of the Civil War, Johnson resigned hisUnited States Army commission and received the rank ofcolonel in the 12th Georgia Infantry on July 2, 1861. The 12th Georgia fought in Gen.Robert E. Lee's first campaign in western Virginia, at theBattle of Greenbrier River. He was promoted tobrigadier general on December 13, 1861. He was ordered to defend Allegheny mountain, where a route from Cheat Mountain passed southwards then east over the mountain and to Shenandoah valley. His position was strong but still overextended. He was eventually ordered to retreat to a better position on Valley Mountain, but before making the move his forces (six regiments) were struck on their position by a surprise attack of Union forces who were based on Cheat Mountain, some distance northwards. This force was commanded by union generalRobert Milroy, who would become Johnson's nemesis. (This brigade-sized force was given the grandiose name "Army of the Northwest".)
In the winter of 1861–62, Johnson's army cooperated withMaj. Gen.Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson in the early stages ofJackson's Valley Campaign. While Jackson marched his army into the mountains of the present-dayEastern Panhandle of West Virginia to conduct raids on theBaltimore and Ohio Railroad, Johnson was tasked with protecting against a Union invasion of the "upper," more elevated areas of the Shenandoah Valley nearStaunton, Virginia. His Army of the Northwest constructed a series of breastworks and trenches atop Shenandoah Mountain which they named simplyFort Edward Johnson. At theBattle of McDowell, Johnson was severely wounded with a bullet to the ankle, which took a long time to heal. He returned toRichmond for his convalescence and remained there for nearly a year, active in the social scene. 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 ofMary Chesnut.
In 1863, following the reorganization of theArmy of Northern Virginia to compensate for the death of Stonewall Jackson after theBattle of Chancellorsville, Johnson was promoted tomajor general and given command of the "Stonewall Division" inLt. Gen.Richard S. Ewell's Second Corps. Robert E. Lee had become dissatisfied with the previous commander at the battle and summoned Johnson back from medical leave to take the command.
By May 1863, Johnson had recovered enough to lead his division in theGettysburg Campaign. He still needed a heavy hickory stick to move around on foot (and was known to use it against men he believed were shirking battle) and his men nicknamed him "Old Clubby". On the way north intoPennsylvania as part of the left wing (under command of Ewell) that passed across the Shenandoah valley, Johnson's command participated in defeatingUnion troops fortified at the city ofWinchester, commanded by Johnson's old nemesis Maj. Gen.Robert H. Milroy at theSecond Battle of Winchester. Johnson arrived at theBattle of Gettysburg on the evening of the first day, July 1, 1863. In a move that is still controversial, Ewell did not take advantage of Johnson's division and attackCemetery Hill immediately that evening, when it might have been decisive. Johnson controversially declined to attackCulp's Hill that evening, for which he had a discretionary order. Instead, Johnson's division was the primary force that attacked Culp's Hill on the second and third days, suffering considerable casualties assaulting this impregnable position multiple times with no lasting success. In the fall of 1863, Johnson played a prominent role in theMine Run Campaign.
In theOverland Campaign of 1864, Johnson fought well at theBattle of the Wilderness and when Lt. Gen.James Longstreet was seriously wounded there, Robert E. Lee considered Johnson as a replacement corps commander. During theBattle of Spotsylvania Court House, on May 12, 1864, at the "Bloody Angle" section of the Confederate "Mule Shoe" defensive line, Johnson was captured along with Brig. Gen.George H. Steuart, and most of Johnson's division. He was imprisoned for months atMorris Island, off the coast ofCharleston, South Carolina, and was exchanged on August 3, 1864. He was sent west to join Lt. Gen.John Bell Hood'sArmy of Tennessee, where he commanded a division in the corps of Lt. Gen.Stephen D. Lee. During theFranklin-Nashville Campaign, Johnson was captured again at theBattle of Nashville on December 16, 1864. He again spent months in a Union prisoner of war camp atJohnson's Island, inLake Erie. At the end of the war, Johnson was moved to theOld Capitol Prison in Washington, D.C., where he was accused of being somehow complicit in the assassination ofAbraham Lincoln. Nothing came of the accusation and he was paroled on July 22, 1865.
After the war, Johnson was a farmer in Virginia. He was active in Confederate veterans affairs, including early efforts to construct a monument to Robert E. Lee in Richmond. He died in Richmond and his body lay in state in the state capital until he was buried atHollywood Cemetery.
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