Angling for a Star: How George D. Johnston Became a Brigadier

Three-star collar insignia of a brigadier general in the Confederate States Army. About one in five of the men who achieved this rank were killed in battle, a casualty rate twice that of brigadiers in the Union army. 


It was the summer of 1864. As the Confederate army under General Joseph E. Johnston retreats towards the outskirts of Atlanta, a command scramble ensued when it suspected among the officers of Brigadier General Zachariah Deas’ Alabama brigade that their commander was leaving the service.

Deas’ brigade, consisting of the 19th, 22nd, 25th, 39th, and 50th Alabama regiments, had seen service with the Army of Tennessee going back to the days before Shiloh. General Deas, who had raised the 22nd Alabama at the outset of the war and armed it at his personal expense, was wounded at Shiloh and subsequently commissioned brigadier on December 13, 1862. Deas missed Murfreesboro due to illness, but led his brigade through Tullahoma, Chickamauga, Chattanooga, and the initial stages of the Atlanta campaign. Originally part of Withers’ Division of Polk’s Corps, by the time of the Atlanta campaign the Alabamians were part of General Thomas C. Hindman’s division of General John Bell Hood’s corps.

In mid-June, General Deas went on sick leave. At least that was the official story. Braxton Bragg, visiting the army in his official capacity that July, spilled the beans on the real reason for Deas’ absence. “Brigadier General Deas tendered his resignation in March last first because he was about to be prosecuted for drunkenness and second because he was not recommended for promotion vice Hindman, he being the senior brigadier in the division. He was permitted to go on leave and has never returned and is supposed never will,” Bragg messaged Adjutant General Samuel Cooper on July 14, 1864. With Deas absent, Colonel John G. Coltart of the 50th Alabama was in temporary command of the brigade, a move Bragg wholeheartedly endorsed, calling Coltart the “best man.”

Brig. Gen. Zachariah C. Deas

However, Colonel Coltart occupied the command only as a temporary measure. It would be up to President Jefferson Davis to commission a permanent replacement. And this is what set the wheels in motion for Colonel George Doherty Johnston of the 25th Alabama Infantry. A native of Hillsboro, North Carolina, he moved to Alabama in 1834, he attended private schools and studied law at Cumberland University. Setting up practice in Marion, Alabama, he served a term in the state legislature as well as mayor.

At the outbreak of the war, he was commissioned as second lieutenant of Co. G of the 4th Alabama and fought at First Manassas before being commissioned major of the newly raised 25th Alabama Infantry in January 1862. Promoted successively to lieutenant colonel then colonel, Johnston led his regiment at Stones River where he was wounded on his thigh by a shell on the morning of December 31, 1862, near the Gresham House. He also led his regiment through the Tullahoma, Chickamauga, Chattanooga, and Atlanta campaigns. Johnston had served with Deas’ brigade from the beginning and was a well-known and competent field commander.

A letter writing campaign landed numerous letters in Richmond making the case for Colonel Johnston's promotion. Brigadier General Edmund W. Pettus, brother of Governor John Pettus of Alabama, wrote to Secretary of War James Seddon on July 6th attesting to Colonel Johnston’s “strong will, great energy, and good mind.” While averring that he had never been with Johnston under fire, “I know he is reputed to be a skillful commander and a most gallant officer.” Ex-governor John Gill Shorter weighed in from Eufala, Alabama on July 9th also attesting to Colonel Johnston’s merits.

Another politician who recommended Johnston for a brigadier’s star was Congressman John McQueen of South Carolina. McQueen served seven consecutive terms in the U.S. Congress and only left upon the secession of his state from the Union. Writing directly the President Jefferson Davis, McQueen could say nothing of Johnston’s military talents but knew him from years before in South Carolina. “He is married to a daughter of an old friend of mine and moved from this district to Alabama many years ago. I know that he is a gentleman of firm character and high qualifications as well as great promise in his profession (the law).”

Brig. Gen. George D. Johnston 

Johnston’s divisional commander recommended Johnston for the appointment as early as June 16, 1864. Noting that General Deas was absent sick and likely to apply for permanent relief from command, General Thomas C. Hindman recommended Johnston for the appointment. “In my opinion, the service would be much benefitted by the appointment of Colonel Johnston. He is more capable than any other officer of the brigade, though third in rank. Colonel Coltart (now commanding the brigade) and Colonel [Samuel King] McSpadden (19th Alabama, a prisoner in the hands of the enemy) being his seniors. I give it as my opinion also that very few officers of the grade of brigadier general are in any valuable respect superior in capacity of usefulness to Colonel Johnston.”

Thomas Herndon of the 36th Alabama addressed Assistant Secretary of War John Campbell on July 8th and noted Johnston’s merits. “He entered the army at the inception of the war as a private in the 4th Alabama Regt. and was promoted to major for gallantry on the field and assigned to his present regiment. For more than two years he has been in command of it and has been in action in every battle in which the Army of the Tennessee has been engaged. He is a superior officer and for services rendered deserves as much as any officer of his rank. By reference to the files of the War Department, you will see that he has been recommended for promotion by his division commander Major General [Thomas C.] Hindman and endorsed by both Lieutenant General [John Bell] Hood and General Johnston.”

Deas’ absence led to General Cooper questioning army commander Joseph E. Johnston as to what was going on. On July 8, General Johnston responded stating “General Deas applied to be relieved from command in this army; the corps and division commander think his removal necessary. The case was explained by mail. The tender of his resignation was not connected with the matter I believe.”

On July 14, General Cooper messaged Braxton Bragg who was in Atlanta. “Please let me know what is the true position of Brigadier General Deas. General Johnston telegraphed that his case was explained by mail but no such explanation has been received here. The President cannot appoint a successor to temporary rank without something more definite on General Deas.”

Colonel John G. Coltart, 50th Alabama
Courtesy of Stan Hutson 

The following day, Bragg replied stating, “Brigadier General Deas as I learn tendered his resignation in March last first because he was about to be prosecuted for drunkenness and second because he was not recommended for promotion vice Hindman, he being the senior brigadier in the division. He was permitted to go on leave and has never returned and is supposed never will. I have informed General Johnston that the proper disposition of the case now is by examining board. In case of an appointment, Colonel [John] Coltart the senior and oldest soldier is the best man.”  A copy of Bragg's message was sent to both President Davis and Secretary of War James Seddon.

Despite Bragg’s endorsement of Coltart, Colonel Johnston’s letter writing campaign worked. On July 26, 1864, he was commissioned as brigadier general. The ink was scarcely dry upon his commission when he was severely wounded in the leg on July 28, 1864, during the Battle of Ezra Church while leading his regiment. Colonel Coltart retained command of Deas’ brigade until General Deas’ returned in August.

But George D. Johnston had obtained his star. Hobbling about on crutches, he joined Hood’s army as it marched into Tennessee that fall and was tapped to lead William Quarles’ brigade at Franklin after General Quarles was wounded.

Sources:

Civil War Service Record of George D. Johnston, M311, NARA courtesy of Fold3.

Warner, Ezra J. Generals in Gray: Lives of Confederate Commanders. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1959. 

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