Overview
Bushrod Rust Johnson (1817–1880) was a soldier and educator from Ohio. Born into a Quaker and Abolitionist family, Johnson attended the U.S. Military Academy and graduated in 1840. He served in the U.S. Army during the Seminole and Mexican-American Wars before resigning when he was caught trying to sell government property. Afterward, he became an educator and administrator before joining the Confederacy during the Civil War. Johnson commanded troops in major battles, including Fort Donelson, Shiloh, and Chickamauga, achieving significant success. Post-war, he became co-chancellor of the University of Nashville and retired to Illinois.
Personal Facts
- Full Name: Bushrod Rust Johnson
- Born: October 7, 1817, Belmont County, Ohio
- Parents: Noah and Rachel (Spencer) Johnson
- Education: United States Military Academy (1840)
- Occupation: Military officer, College Professor, Administrator
- Positions: First Lieutenant (USA), Major General (CSA)
- Spouse: Mary Hatch (1852)
- Died: September 12, 1880, Brighton, Illinois
- Buried: Old Nashville City Cemetery, Nashville, Tennessee
Overview
Early Life and Education
Bushrod Rust Johnson was born in Belmont County, Ohio on October 7, 1817. He was the son of Noah and Rachel (Spencer) Johnson. Johnson and his family were Quakers and abolitionists who actively took part in the Underground Railroad.
Despite his family’s pacifist beliefs, Johnson secured an appointment to the United States Military Academy, where he was a classmate of future Union generals William T. Sherman and George Thomas. Johnson graduated from the academy in 1840, twenty-third in his class of forty-two cadets.
U.S. Army Officer and Controversy
After graduating from West Point, the army commissioned Johnson as a second lieutenant in the 3rd U.S. Infantry and sent him to Florida, where he took part in the Second Seminole War (1835 to 1842). Later, he also served in Kansas, Louisiana, Texas, and Missouri. In 1844, army officials promoted Johnson to first lieutenant.
Like many future Civil War officers, Johnson gained valuable combat experience in the Mexican-American War (1846 to 1848). He served under General Zachary Taylor at the Battles of Palo Alto, Resaca de la Palma, and Monterrey. He also served under General Winfield Scott as acting assistant commissary during the Veracruz campaign.
While serving as a commissary officer, Johnson hatched a scheme to sell government property for his personal gain. When officials discovered his plan, Johnson resigned from the army in 1847.
Educator
With his army career ruined, Johnson received a teaching position at the Western Military Institute in Georgetown, Kentucky, in 1851. He eventually became the headmaster and part-owner of the school.
Marriage
In 1852, Johnson married Mary Hatch. One year later, the couple had a mentally and physically challenged son named Charles, who remained an invalid throughout his life. That same year, WMI closed because an epidemic claimed the lives of two students. In 1854, Johnson moved to Nashville and merged WMI with the University of Nashville. Bad luck followed him, however, as his wife died in 1858.
Civil War
When the Civil War began, Johnson received a commission as a colonel in the Provisional Army of Tennessee on June 28, 1861. One week later, officials commissioned him as an engineer in the Confederate Army.
Confederate leaders assigned Johnson to northern Tennessee, where he was instrumental in the construction of Fort Donelson on the Cumberland River. On January 24, 1862, Johnson received a promotion to brigadier general. Two weeks later, on February 7, officials placed him in charge of Fort Donelson until Brigadier General Gideon J. Pillow took command two days later. During the Battle of Fort Donelson (February 11-16, 1862), Johnson led a successful assault on the Union right flank. When Union forces took the fort, Johnson was captured, but he escaped.
A few weeks after his escape, officials placed Johnson in command of a brigade in the Army of the Mississippi, comprising the 17th, 23rd, 25th, 37th, and 44th Tennessee Infantry Regiments, and the Jefferson Artillery from Mississippi. While leading his brigade during the Battle of Shiloh (April 6-7, 1862), a concussion caused by an artillery shell severely wounded Johnson.
After Johnson recovered from his injury, officials assigned him to the Army of Tennessee, serving under General Braxton Bragg. He led his brigade at the Battle of Perryville (October 8, 1862) and the Battle of Stones River (December 31, 1862-January 2, 1863). Johnson also took part in the Tullahoma Campaign (June 24-July 3, 1863), during which Union Major General William S. Rosecrans‘ Army of the Cumberland drove Bragg’s army out of middle Tennessee.
Johnson achieved his greatest military success at the Battle of Chickamauga (September 19-20, 1863). Six days prior to the battle, officials placed Johnson in command of a provisional division in the Left Wing of the Army of Tennessee. On the second day of fighting, Johnson’s division spearheaded a Rebel assault that smashed through the Union right just as it was withdrawing. The panic-stricken Yankees fled in disorder, creating a quarter-mile-wide gap in the federal lines. Johnson’s men took hundreds of prisoners and captured nineteen guns and a federal store train.
After the Confederate victory at Chickamauga, Confederate officials disbanded Johnson’s provisional division. They returned Johnson to the command of his Tennessee brigade. During the autumn of 1863, Johnson led his brigade during General James Longstreet‘s unsuccessful Knoxville Campaign.
When Longstreet returned to the Army of Northern Virginia in the spring of 1864, Johnson was detached to command a division in the Department of North Carolina and Southern Virginia under P. G. T. Beauregard. During the Bermuda Hundred Campaign (May 1864), Johnson’s division blocked a Federal advance at the Battle of Swift Creek prompting Southerners to hail his men as the saviors of Petersburg. Cited for his performance, Confederate officials promoted Johnson to major general, effective May 21.
As the Union Army of the Potomac closed in on the Army of Northern Virginia in 1864, Johnson’s division served in the trenches surrounding Petersburg, Virginia. On July 30, 1864, federal troops detonated an underground mine beneath Johnson’s section of the Rebel defenses. The explosion created a huge crater and a temporary hole in the Confederate line. Following some immediate confusion, Johnson’s men quickly recovered, killing and capturing hundreds of northern soldiers while filling the gap in the Rebel lines. Following the Battle of the Crater, Confederate officials transferred Beauregard to command the Military Division of the West on October 7, 1864 and reassigned Johnson to Anderson’s 4th Corps in the Army of Northern Virginia. Johnson and his men spent the next seven months manning the trenches during the Siege of Petersburg.
When the Confederate defenses around Petersburg and Richmond began to crumble in 1865, Johnson led his division during the Rebel defeats at the Battle of White Oak Road (March 31, 1865) and the Battle of Five Forks (April 1, 1865). Five days later, federal forces mauled the Army of Northern Virginia at the Battle of Sailor’s Creek (April 6, 1865), prompting Robert E. Lee to exclaim, “My God! Has the army been dissolved?” The Rebel army suffered over 7,500 casualties, including the capture of nine generals. Johnson and several other Confederate generals who took part in the battle managed to save themselves. Displeased with Johnson’s performance during the action, Lee relieved Johnson of his command on April 8, one day before Lee surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House.
Post-War Life
Following the war, Johnson returned to Nashville and resumed his career in education. He and fellow Confederate General Kirby Smith secured a contract to operate Montgomery Bell Academy and the collegiate department of the University of Nashville. He became co-chancellor of the University of Nashville in 1870. Johnson’s failing health, coupled with the university’s financial problems, prompted him to retire to an Illinois farm in 1875.
Death
Johnson died on September 12, 1880, and he was buried at Miles Station Cemetery in Macoupin County, Illinois. In 1975, his remains were re-interred beside the grave of his wife at the Old Nashville City Cemetery in Tennessee.
Significance
Bushrod Johnson was significant because he was an American soldier and educator who was notable for his service in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War. Johnson graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1840 and later served in the Second Seminole War and the Mexican-American War. He was dismissed from the U.S. Army in 1847, for illegally selling government property while serving as a commissary officer. In 1851, Johnson received a teaching position at the Western Military Institute in Georgetown, Kentucky. He eventually became the headmaster and part-owner of the school. When the Civil War began, Johnson joined the Confederate Army and served in the Eastern and Western Theaters, eventually reaching the grade of major general in 1864. Following the war, Johnson returned to Nashville and resumed his career in education, and became a co-chancellor of the University of Nashville in 1870.
Accomplishments and Milestones
- 1817, October 7 — Bushrod Rust Johnson was born in Belmont County, Ohio, into a Quaker and abolitionist family.
- 1835 — Johnston secured an appointment to the United States Military Academy despite his family’s pacifist beliefs.
- 1840 — He graduated from West Point, ranking 23rd in his class, alongside future Union generals William T. Sherman and George Thomas.
- 1840–1842 — Johnson served as a second lieutenant in the 3rd U.S. Infantry during the Second Seminole War.
- 1846–1848 — He participated in the Mexican-American War.
- 1847 — Johnston resigned from the U.S. Army after being implicated in a scheme to sell government property for personal gain.
- 1851 — He began teaching at the Western Military Institute in Georgetown, Kentucky, eventually becoming headmaster and part-owner.
- 1852 — Johnson married Mary Hatch.
- 1853 — His son Charles, born with severe disabilities, was cared for throughout his life.
- 1858 — Johnston’s wife, Mary Hatch Johnson, passed away.
- 1861, June 28 — He was commissioned as a colonel in the Provisional Army of Tennessee and later became an engineer in the Confederate Army.
- 1862, January 24 — Johnston was promoted to brigadier general.
- 1862, February 11–16 — He escaped capture during the Battle of Fort Donelson.
- 1862, April 6–7 — Johnston was severely wounded at the Battle of Shiloh.
- 1862–1863 — He commanded a brigade in the Army of Tennessee, participating in the Battle of Perryville, Battle of Stones River, and the Tullahoma Campaign.
- 1863, September 19–20 — Johnston achieved his greatest success at the Battle of Chickamauga.
- 1863, Autumn — He served under General James Longstreet during the Knoxville Campaign.
- 1864, May — Johnson played a pivotal role in blocking a Union advance during the Bermuda Hundred Campaign.
- 1864, May 21 — He was promoted to major general.
- 1864–1865 — Johnston commanded a division in the Army of Northern Virginia, including at the Battle of the Crater.
- 1865, March 31–April 6 — He led his division during Confederate defeats at White Oak Road, Five Forks, and Sailor’s Creek.
- 1865, April 6 — Johnson was relieved of command by Robert E. Lee after the Battle of Sailor’s Creek.
- 1870 — He became co-chancellor of the University of Nashville.
- 1875 — Johnston retired to a farm in Illinois, dedicating his time to caring for his son.
- 1880, September 12 — He died in Brighton, Illinois, and was buried at Miles Station Cemetery in Macoupin County, Illinois.
- 1975 — Johnson was re-interred next to his wife at Old Nashville City Cemetery, Tennessee.
