Civil War Confederate Major General. Nicknamed "Old Allegheny," he was a native of the commonwealth of Virginia. Born at Salisbury Plantation in Chesterfield County (near present-day Midlothian), Johnson soon moved with his family from the "Old Dominion" and settled in Kentucky. He was accepted to the United States Military Academy on July 1, 1833 and was ranked 32nd out of the 45 cadets who graduated on July 1, 1838. Customary to his class ranking, he was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in the 6th United States Infantry. Stationed at various frontier posts in the West, Johnson assisted in the actions against the Seminoles in Florida before distinguish service in the Mexican War, where he acknowledged honorary promotions of Brevet Captain and Brevet Major for "gallant and meritorious conduct". Promoted to the full rank of Captain on April 15, 1851, the professional trained soldier remained in the United States Army until his fateful decision to resign on June 10, 1861. Following the resignation, he entered the Confederate Army at the rank of Colonel and was placed in command of the 12th Georgia Infantry. His promotion to Brigadier General, C.S.A. was dated December 13, 1861. His ardent defense of the crest of the Allegheny Mountains during the Cheat Mountain Campaign garnered him the "Thanks of Congress" on January 10, 1862. During the May, 1862 Battle of McDowell, he received a dangerous wound to the ankle that necessitated a year to convalesce. It was during this recuperation that his February 28, 1863 promotion to Major General, C.S.A, was commissioned. On his return to the re-organized Army of Northern Virginia, he was assigned to Lt. General Richard Ewell's 2nd Corps and placed in direct command of General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson's old division. He subsequently led the Division through the maelstrom battles of Gettysburg and the Wilderness. The former battle he was wounded and had a horse killed beneath him. At the height of the May 12, 1864 Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, his command weakened during its defense of the "Bloody Angle" which resulted in his and the majority of his command becoming prisoners of war. Exchanged on August 3, 1864, he transferred to the western theater of the war and was assigned a division in Lt. General John Bell Hood's Army of Tennessee. At the Battle of Nashville, he was captured on December 15, 1864 and remained imprisoned until his release from the Old Capital Prison in Washington, DC on July 22, 1865. Returning to his native Virginia, he renewed his life as a farmer at his birthplace, Salisbury. He died in Richmond in 1873. General Johnson's marker in Hollywood Cemetery is a cenotaph. His true burial site is unknown within the section.