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General Joseph Eggleston Johnston had attended the funeral of his old adversary William T. Sherman in New York as an honorary pallbearer. At the ripe old age of 84 funerals of old colleges and foes had become the norm for him. After the war he entered the insurance business, served in Congress and became a railroad commissioner.
Sherman's funeral took place on a cold and wet February afternoon and the elderly Johnston stood at the graveside with his hat in his hand. A fellow mourner urged him to put his hat on or risk getting sick. Johnston refused and replied "If I were in his place and he were standing in mine he would not put on his hat".
Johnston did get sick. He caught a cold which got worse. He spent the final weeks of his life in his sick bed, his condition getting worse as it evolved into full blown pneumonia. Johnston died on March 21 1891 of that illness.
Johnston and Sherman had negotiated the surrender of Johnston's army in 1865.
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SteveAt the beginning of the Union's Peninsula campaign, Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston was wounded. While he recovered, Confederate President Jefferson Davis appointed Robert E. Lee to command the troops defending Richmond.
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Which former enemies united for the first time during the Spanish American War?
Strangely enough, the US Cavalry Division was under the Command of former Confederate Lieutenant General Joseph Wheeler whose boss Commanding V Corps was former Union Brigadier General William Rufus Shafter.
What Confederate General Joseph Johnston's plan for controlling Missouri?
Confederate President Jefferson Davis promised in his speech in December 1862 to capture the border state of Missouri. This objective became the main goal of General Johnston when he was assigned to command the Western Department. The Union obstacle to bring Missouri into the Confederacy was the army of Union General US Grant. His forces lay east of the Mississippi River and divided Confederate armies west, south and east of him. Johnston's plan was to defeat Grant by using troops from Vicksburg and the Trans-Mississippi Department and his own, to advance on Grant from two directions and defeat him. If that could be accomplished, he believed the way would be open for Confederate General Holmes to advance into Missouri. Missouri being a slave owning border state was filled with Southern sympathizers, including its former governor. Controlling Missouri and controlling the Mississippi River city of St. Louis would cripple Union war efforts in the West immensely.
What army had the troop advantage in General Sherman's drive into Georgia in 1864?
As Union General William T. Sherman drove his forces into Georgia in 1864, he had the advantage in troop numbers. Sherman commanded three Union armies led by generals Thomas, McPherson and Scofield. The former two armies were the Army of the Cumberland and the Army of the Tennessee. The latter army was led by General Scofield.Sherman had 100,000 troops under his command versus Confederate Joseph Johnston who led 60,000 troops. Sherman clearly had a 10 to 6 advantage. Sherman's advantage was hampered by the fact that Johnston was fighting a series of defensive battles in the Southeast.
What were the early assignments made by Jefferson Davis to protect Richmond in 1861?
Confederate Jefferson Davis knew that Virginia and Richmond would be Union targets. He therefore did his best to protect the state and Richmond by making military assignments to generals he knew the best. With that said, he called on Major General Joseph Johnston, the Union's former quartermaster general, to take control of forces gathering around Richmond. Johnston soon relieved Jackson from Harper's Ferry, promoted him to a full general and assigned Jackson to guard the Shenandoah Valley. Davis also assigned General PT Beauregard to guard the city of Alexandria. For the time being, Robert E. Lee had no position of importance. Counting Davis, Jackson, Johnston and Beauregard were all West Point graduates and had served in the Mexican War.
What caused former Confederate General Braxton Bragg to die?
He collapsed while walking down a street in Texas, and died of an apparent stroke or brain hemorrhage.
