Bushrod Johnson

Bushrod Rust Johnson (October 7, 1817 – September 12, 1880) was a teacher, university chancellor, and Confederate general in the American Civil War.

Johnson was born in Norwich, Ohio. He graduated from West Point in 1840 and fought in the Mexican War and the Seminole War. He was forced to resign from the Army in 1847 and became a teacher after being accused of selling contraband goods.

In 1861, he joined the Confederate Army and as a brigadier general fought at the Battle of Fort Donelson, Battle of Shiloh, Battle of Perryville, Battle of Stones River, Battle of Chickamauga, and Battle of Knoxville.

Promoted to Major General in 1864, Johnson commanded the section of trenches manned by the South Carolinian troops in the Battle of the Crater. They captured three stands of colors and 130 prisoners that day. His men spent the remainder of the siege in the lines, ending up at the Battle of White Oak Road and Battle of Five Forks. His division was shattered at Battle of Sayler's Creek on April 6, 1865, and he was paroled at Appomattox Court House without a command.

Johnson returned to teaching to become a professor and chancellor of the University of Nashville. He then retired to a farm in Brighton, Illinois, where he died in 1880. He is buried in Old City Cemetery, Nashville, Tennessee.

References

• Eicher, John H., & Eicher, David J.: Civil War High Commands, Stanford University Press, 2001, ISBN 0–8047–3641–3