Robert Daniel Johnston

Infobox Military Person
name=Robert Daniel Johnston
lived= birth date|1837|3|19 – death date and age|1919|2|1|1837|3|19
placeofbirth= Lincoln County, North Carolina
placeofdeath= White Post, Virginia
placeofburial=


caption=
nickname=
allegiance=Confederate States of America
branch= Infantry
serviceyears=1861 – 1865
rank= Brigadier General
commands=
unit=
battles=American Civil War
awards=
laterwork=

Robert Daniel Johnston (March 19, 1837–February 1, 1919) was a Brigadier General for the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War.

Biography

Johnston was born in Mt. Welcome, Lincoln County, NC to William and Nancy Forney Johnston. Before the War, Johnston practiced law. He 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 to the brigade that Alfred Iverson, Jr. 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 General Jubal A. Early's Shenandoah Valley Campaign. In the Valley 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 Petersburg trenches to rejoin Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. During his time at Petersburg, Johnston briefly commanded the division and served on detached duty attempting to catch deserters. Following the war he resumed his law practice in North Carolina and eventually became a banker in Alabama. [cite book | last=Sifakis | title=Who Was Who in the Confederacy: A Comprehensive, Illustrated Biographical Reference to More Than 1,000 of the Principal Confederacy Participants in the Civil War | first=Stewart | publisher=Facts on File | year=1988 | isbn=0816022046 | oclc=19921710 |location=New York]

Johnston married Elizaebth Johnston "Johnsie" Evans and they had nine children. He was the father of decorated soldier Col. Gordon Johnston. [cite news | work=The New York Times | publisher=The New York Times Co. | format=PDF, fee required | url=http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F50817F73459177A93CBA91788D85F408385F9 | title=Col. Johnston Dies of Injury at Polo | date=March 9, 1934 | accessdate=2008-04-04 | page=19]

References

External links

* [http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=10677 | Robert Daniel Johnston(1837–1919) at findagrave.com]