Symonds - Joseph E. Johnston A Civil War Biography Craig L. Symonds

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JOSEPH E.
JOHNSTON

A Civil War Biography

CRAIG L. SYMONDS

W W NORTON & COMPANY

New YorkLondon

The author gratefully acknowledges permission of the following archives and libraries to publish selections from their collections:

U.S. Army Military History Research Collection, Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania Special Collections Department, William R. Perkins Library, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina

Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio

The Henry E. Huntington Library, San Marino, California

The Earl Gregg Swem Library, College of William & Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia

The West Point Museum, U.S. Military Academy, West Point, New York

The Maryland Historical Society Library, Baltimore, Maryland

Southern Historical Collection, Manuscripts Division, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Copyright 1992 by Craig L. Symonds.

All rights reserved.

First published as a Norton paperback 1994

The Library of Congress has cataloged the printed edition as follows:

Symonds, Craig L.

Joseph E. Johnston : a Civil War biography / Craig L. Symonds.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

1. Johnston, Joseph E. (Joseph Eggleston), 18071891.

2. GeneralsConfederate States of AmericaBiography. 3. GeneralsUnited States
Biography. 4. ConfederateStatesofAmerica.ArmyBiography.
5. United StatesHistoryCivil War, 18611865Campaigns. I. Title.
E467.1.J74S95 1992
973.73092dc20
[B] 91-17899

ISBN 0-393-31130-9

ISBN 978-0-393-31130-3

ISBN 978-0-393-28560-4(e-book)

W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 500 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10

W.W. Norton & Company Ltd., 10 Coptic Street, London WC1A 1PU

www.wwnorton.com

For Marylou

Contents

Like any author, I owe many debts to individuals who provided help, advice, or encouragement.

First nod must go to Barbara Manvel, Barbara Breeden, and the rest of the staff of the Nimitz Library at the U.S. Naval Academy who helped me with my many interlibrary loan requests. I also want to thank Ellen Strong and the staff of the Manuscripts and Rare Books Room at the Earl Gregg Swem Library at the College of William & Mary; Linda McCurdy and the staff of the William R. Perkins Library at Duke University; Marie Capps and Suzanne Christoff of the U.S. Military Academy Library; Frances McClure of the Walter Havinghurst Special Collections at Miami (Ohio) University; Anna K. Sindelar at the Western Reserve Historical Association; Anne Armour of the Jesse Ball duPont Library at the University of the South; Richard Sommers at the U.S. Army Military History Collection at the Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania; and Harriet McLoone at the Henry E. Huntington Library in San Marino, California. Mary M. Ison, Head of the Prints and Photographs Reading Room at the Library of Congress, was very helpful in identifying illustrations. I was the recipient of cheerful and efficient service from the staffs of the Pennsylvania Historical Society in Philadelphia, the New York Public Library, the always-helpful Manuscripts Reading Room staff at the Library of Congress, and the staff of the National Archives.

I was enriched by a day spent with Mr. L. C. Angle, Jr., president of the Washington County Historical Society, for the insight he provided about the early history of Abingdon, Virginia, during a tour of that charming city, and I am indebted to him as well for his help in obtaining photos of both Panecillo and Peter Johnston. Thanks, too, to Polly Boggess, Executive Director of the Crown Gardens & Archives in Dalton, Georgia. I am indebted to Gary Gallagher for allowing me prepublication access to the Porter Alexander manuscript which became Fighting for the Confederacy, to Richard M. McMurry for lending me his transcription of the original Thomas B. Mackall Journal, and to Steven Newton of Clarion University for allowing me access to his manuscript on Johnstons campaign on the Yorktown peninsula. Thanks, too, to Joseph S. Johnston for permission to examine family papers, and to Lynn and Anne Krause for the etching of Joe Johnston.

Several Civil War scholars have read portions of the manuscript and offered invaluable advice. James L. Morrison read the chapter on West Point; Larry Daniel looked at the chapters on Vicksburg; Steven Newton read the chapters on the peninsular campaign and Seven Pines; Richard McMurry examined the chapters on the campaign in North Georgia; both Gary Gallagher and Archer Jones read the entire manuscript. This book is much improved by their suggestions, but of course the interpretations, right or wrong, are my own.

My colleagues in the History Department at the Naval Academy have encouraged me and offered helpful advice and thoughtful criticism. In particular, the members of the Works-in-Progress faculty seminar group read portions of the manuscript and made useful suggestions. Working in a community of scholars was both inspiring and fulfilling.

I am again indebted to Bill Clipson for his superb rendering of the twenty maps in the book. Thanks, too, to my editor at Norton, Steve Forman, who continually encouraged me to expand the scope of the narrative and place Joe Johnston in a broader context, and to Ann Adelman who tried to control my tendency to overwrite.

And, finally, I offer my thanks and gratitude to my wife, Marylou, who listened patiently to drafts of the manuscript, travelled with me to archives and battlefields, and to whom this book is dedicated.

Craig L. Symonds

Annapolis, Spring 1991

JOSEPH E. JOHNSTON