Albert Sidney Johnston

• 1. West Point And The Black Hawk War

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  Albert Sidney Johnston graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1826. He finished eighth out of forty-one cadets in his class and received a commission as a brevet second lieutenant in the 2nd U.S. Infantry. His early service included an expedition to capture Red Bird, a Winnebago chief who rebelled against American authority. Johnston later wrote that he considered Red Bird one of the noblest men he had ever seen. Red Bird stated during their encounter that he had offended his people and sacrificed himself to save his country.

  Johnston served as chief of staff to Brevet Brigadier General Henry Atkinson during the brief Black Hawk War of 1832. Atkinson praised Johnston for possessing talents of the first order and being a gallant soldier by profession and education. The commander described him as a gentleman of high standing and integrity. This period established Johnston's reputation among senior officers before he resigned from the army in April 1834 to care for his wife who contracted tuberculosis.

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• 2. Duel And Defense Of Texas

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  On the 5th of February 1837, Albert Sidney Johnston fought a duel with Texas Brigadier General Felix Huston. Huston felt offended by Johnston's promotion to senior brigadier general in command of the Texas Army. During the confrontation, Johnston was shot through the hip and severely wounded. He required time to recover before he could relinquish his post.

  Johnston explained years later that he fought Huston as a public duty because the safety of the republic depended on the efficiency of the army. He believed discipline could only be secured through obedience to legal commanders. Huston later called the event a shameful piece of business that blackened all his good actions. He stated he would not do it again under any circumstances but noted he could not challenge Congress or President Houston due to their higher rank. Johnston eventually accepted that one act had ruined his legacy while acknowledging he did not kill his opponent.

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• 3. Utah Expedition And Frontier Policy

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  During the harsh winter months, Johnston maintained the effectiveness of his army despite difficult conditions. The Salt Lake City Deseret News reported that it took a cool brain and good judgment to keep a contented army healthy during a stormy winter in the Wasatch Mountains. In late June 1858, Johnston led the army through Salt Lake City without incident before establishing Camp Floyd fifty miles away. He later provided carers, wagons, and an armed escort for eighteen children who survived the Mountain Meadows Massacre so they could return east.

  On the 6th of May 1861, the War Department accepted Albert Sidney Johnston's resignation from the United States Army. This decision came shortly after he heard Confederate states had declared secession. Johnston traveled across the southwestern deserts to Texas, crossing the Colorado River into Confederate territory on the 4th of July 1861. His escort was commanded by Alonzo Ridley until Ridley died during the

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• 4. Resignation And Western Command Failures

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  journey.

  Johnston assumed command of the Confederacy's western armies on the 10th of September 1861. He faced fewer than forty thousand men spread throughout Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, and Missouri. Political constraints prevented him from calling on state governors for new troops effectively. He conducted raids to make his forces appear larger than they actually were. U.S. Brigadier General William Tecumseh Sherman became paranoid about these rumors and wrote to his wife that he felt like riding a whirlwind unable to guide the storm. The situation deteriorated further when Confederate forces lost Fort Henry and Fort Donelson in early 1862.

  At approximately 2:30 pm, Johnston led a charge near the Peach Orchard and took a bullet behind his right knee. The projectile clipped part of his popliteal artery and filled his boot with blood. No medical personnel were present because Johnston had sent his personal surgeon to treat wounded Confederate troops earlier. Staff officers observed him nearly fainting as his face turned deathly pale.

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• 5. Battle Of Shiloh And Death

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  Governor Isham G. Harris asked if he was wounded and received a weak reply stating fear of serious injury. Johnston died from blood loss within minutes before a doctor could be found. His body remained in his tent throughout the rest of the battle while P.G.T. Beauregard assumed command.

  In 1829, Albert Sidney Johnston married Henrietta Preston, sister of Kentucky politician William Preston. They had three children at Jefferson Barracks, two of whom survived to adulthood. Their son William Preston Johnston became a colonel in the Confederate States Army. Their daughter Henrietta Preston never married. Johnston resigned his commission in April 1834 to care for his dying wife who succumbed to tuberculosis two years later.

  He married Eliza Griffin in 1843, his late wife's first cousin. The couple had six children including Albert Sidney Jr., Hancock McClung, Margaret Strother, Griffin, and Eliza Alberta. Johnston owned four slaves in Texas in 1846 but refused physical punishment when one stole from the army payroll. He sold that slave for $1,000 to recoup losses instead. Another enslaved man named Randolph Hughes accompanied Johnston throughout the Civil War until his death. Johnston's eldest son Albert

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• 6. Family And Personal Life

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  Sidney Jr. was killed in an accident on a ferry in 1863 after taking home leave in Los Angeles.

  Forty years after his burial, the state appointed sculptor Elisabet Ney to design a monument and sculpture of him. This installation occurred in 1905. The University of Texas at Austin recognized several Confederate veterans with statues on its South Mall in 1916. On the 21st of August 2017, Johnston's statue was taken down as part of a wave of Confederate monument removals. Plans were announced to add it to the Briscoe Center for American History. Johnston was inducted into the Texas Military Hall of Honor in 1980. Schools named after him in Dallas and Houston were renamed Cedar Crest Elementary and Meyerland Middle School respectively in 2018.

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