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Bradley Tyler Johnson
Bradley Tyler Johnson (September 29, 1829 – October 5, 1903) was an American lawyer, soldier, and writer. Although his home state of Maryland remained in the Union during the American Civil War, it was still considered a Southern state and Confederate sympathies were common, and Johnson served as a brigadier general in the Confederate States Army, leading efforts to raise a Maryland Line in the CSA, and rising to command the 1st Maryland Infantry, CSA. Early lifeJohnson was born in Frederick City, Maryland, a son of Charles Worthington Johnson and Eleanor Murdock Tyler.[1] He graduated from Princeton in 1849, read law with William Ross of Frederick, and finished his legal degree at Harvard. He was admitted to the bar in 1851. On June 23, 1851, he married Jane Claudia Saunders of North Carolina (a daughter of Hon. Romulus Mitchell Saunders and granddaughter of Judge William Johnson).[1] Their son, Bradley Saunders Johnson was born on February 14, 1856. Johnson was a delegate to the National Democratic Convention at Baltimore in 1860 and joined the majority of his delegation when they withdrew from the convention and united with the Southern wing of the party, which supported Breckinridge and Lane. Civil WarWhen the Civil War began, Johnson organized and equipped a company at his own expense, and he took an active part in forming the 1st Maryland Infantry, CSA, of which he became major and subsequently colonel, meanwhile declining a lieutenant colonel's commission in a Virginia regiment because of his belief that his strongest obligation was to his own state. By early May 1861 around 500 Marylanders had begun to assemble at Harper's Ferry, Virginia, under Johnson's command, forming 8 companies of Maryland infantry. Johnson preferred not to join the newly forming Virginia regiments, arguing that Marylanders should fight under their own flag. However, other former members of the Maryland militia did not agree; many members of the elite Maryland Guard and Independent Greys from Baltimore went to Richmond, where they were mustered into the service of Virginia.[2] Mutiny and the Battle of Front RoyalOn May 17, 1862, the initial 12-month term of duty of C Company, 1st Maryland Regiment, expired, and the men began to clamor for their immediate discharge. By this time the regimental commander George H. Steuart had been promoted brigadier general, assigned with the task of forming the Maryland Line, and Johnson had been promoted to colonel and succeeded to command of the regiment. Johnson reluctantly agreed with the men, but he could not disband the entire regiment in mid-campaign, and discontent began to spread.[3] By May 22, on the eve of the Battle of Front Royal, discontent became open mutiny. Steuart and Johnson argued with the men to no avail, though news of the rebellion was kept secret from General Jackson. When given orders to engage the enemy, Johnson addressed his soldiers:
Johnson's speech seems to have worked where threats had failed, and the Marylanders rallied to the regimental colors, seizing their weapons and crying "lead us to the enemy and we will prove to you that we are not cowards"[4] At the Battle of Front Royal, May 23, 1862, the 1st Maryland (CSA) was forced into battle with their fellow Marylanders, the 1st Regiment Maryland Volunteer Infantry (USA) commanded by Colonel Kenly.[5] This is the only time in United States military history that two regiments of the same numerical designation and from the same state have engaged each other in battle.[6] Battle of WinchesterJust two days later, on May 25, 1862, the 1st Maryland fought again at the First Battle of Winchester, and at the Battle of Cross Keys on June 8, where the 1st Maryland were placed on General Ewell's left, successfully fighting off three assaults by Federal troops.[5] After the Confederate victory at the First Battle of Winchester, Johnson, who was described by J. J. Goldsborough as "one of the handsomest men in the First Maryland", was the recipient of some not entirely welcome female attention. According to Goldsborough:
Peninsular Campaign Johnson saw service in the Seven Days Battles in 1862, part of the Peninsula Campaign, a series of six major battles over the seven days from June 25 to July 1, 1862, near Richmond, Virginia, in which Confederate General Robert E. Lee drove the invading Union Army of the Potomac, commanded by Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan, away from Richmond and into a retreat down the Virginia Peninsula. Johnson's 1st Maryland Infantry regiment was mustered out at Richmond, on August 17, 1862, at the end of its term of service. The Maryland men immediately began re-organizing into the 1st Maryland Infantry Battalion. In the meantime, the Northern Virginia Campaign had begun. Following Battle of Cedar Mountain, Johnson succeeded T.S. Garnett as commander of the Second Brigade in the Stonewall Division. The Second Brigade had fought under John R. Jones during the Seven Days Battles prior to that officer being wounded. Johnson led the Second Brigade at the Second Battle of Manassas. John R. Jones returned and reassumed command of the Second Brigade for the subsequent Maryland Campaign, and Johnson returned to Richmond to sit on the Confederate military court for court-martials for 1862-1863. Johnson was advanced to the rank of brigadier general of cavalry in 1864. As commander of the post at Salisbury, N.C., he used his influence to lessen the suffering among the prisoners of war and finally obtained their parole. Postbellum careerIn 1875, Johnson and William Elam Tanner successfully ran as Democrats for the Virginia State Senate. Johnson initially maintained support from African Americans. "Johnson clubs" were political organizations of African-American voters. Johnson quickly lost their support. William Carter Knight and Patrick Henry Starke declared their run for the Virginia Senate on the Sunday before election day. They ran as Independents and declared an aggressive fight for civil rights. All African-Americans quickly abandoned the Democratic candidate for Knight and Starke. In one precinct, eighty-five Johnson supporters switched to Knight and Starke.[8][9] After the war, Johnson practiced law in Richmond until 1879, when he moved to Baltimore. After the death of his wife, he moved to Amelia, Virginia, where he died, but his remains were interred back in Baltimore in Loudon Park Cemetery. Selected works
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