CDV of Rare Salt Print Bust View of Confederate General Bushrod Johnson

CDV of Rare Salt Print Bust View of Confederate General Bushrod Johnson
 
Bushrod R. Johnson was born in Belmont County, Ohio, on October 7, 1817. His Quaker family members were active in the Underground Railroad. In spite of his religious beliefs, Johnson received an appointment to West Point and graduated in 1840. He served in the Second Seminole War in Florida and in the War with Mexico. In 1847, after the Mexican War, he resigned from the U.S. Army and four years later he accepted a teaching position at Western Military Institute, Georgetown, Kentucky. On April 15, 1852, in Georgetown, he married Mary E. Hatch (1825-1858), daughter of Daniel Gilman and Mary R. Hatch. When Western Military merged with the University of Nashville in 1855, Johnson, his wife and their two year old son Charlie moved to Nashville. Only six years after they were married, Mary died in Nashville in May 1858 and was buried at City Cemetery. With the outbreak of the Civil War, Johnson enlisted in the Confederate Army. He took his son north to live during the war years. Johnson saw action in many battles including Fort Donelson, Shiloh, Perryville, Murfreesboro and Chickamauga. He was promoted to Major General on May 21, 1864 and served under General Robert E. Lee during the siege of Petersburg. After the war he returned to Nashville and, with Confederate General Edmund Kirby Smith, operated Montgomery Bell Academy, the college preparatory school of the University of Nashville. Ill health caused his resignation from the Academy in 1875. He moved to Macoupin County, Illinois, where he and his son Charlie were listed as “Farmers” on the U.S. Census of 1880. Charlie’s wife Ida and their one month old son Alonzo were also listed. Ida and Charlie Johnson had been married in Jerseyville, Illinois on April 10, 1879. On September 12, 1880 General Johnson died and was buried in Miles Station Cemetery, Brighton, Macoupin County, Illinois.