Joseph E, Johnston: A Civil War Biography

by Craig L. Symonds

Book Overview

General Joseph E. Johnston was in command of Confederate forces at the South's first victory--Manassas in July 1861--and at its last--Bentonville in April 1965. Many of his contemporaries considered him the greatest southern field commander of the war; others ranked him second only to Robert E. Lee.

But Johnston was an enigmatic man. His battlefield victories were never decisive. He failed to save Confederate forces under siege by Grant at...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0393311309
• ISBN13: 9780393311303
• Release Date: June 1994
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Length: 466 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 6.1" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Well done biography of a Civil War General

Craig Symonds provides one of the more balanced views on one of the most contested generals in the Civil War. While the debate still rages about Johnston as either tactically inept or a military genius, Symonds steps around it to look at the strengths and weaknesses of the man and points more in the direction of genius than inept. Johnston fought well during the Peninsula campaign and one the first battle of Bull Run. He was the most senior military man to leave the Union to join the confederacy and Davis political choices started a rift that would plague the confederacy throughout the war. His wounding at the battle for the Peninsula removed him from command of the Army of Northern Virginia and set the stage for Robert E. Lee's ascension. Johnston in order to avoid the political debates in Richmond was sent by Davis to the west and placed in the command of the scattered armies where although the Confederates mocked and complained of his command decisions that lost Vicksburg and Murfreesboro his enemies praised his decisions to Washington that Johnston kept the war going years longer than it should have in the west. The Confederates did not have enough men to properly defend the vast territory they were trying to. Johnston would face a rearguard action from Tennessee to Georgia where he would continue to check Sherman's famous march to the Sea. He was relieved by the confederacy before the assault on Georgia and stayed without a command through the fall of Savannah. Finally as options ran out he took command of forces in North and South Carolina to check Sherman's ability to meet up with Grant. Here he was successful in slowing Sherman down and continued fighting three days after Lee surrendered making him the last confederate Army to surrender. Overall this is an excellent biography about a complex solider who was in many of the important campaigns of the civil war. This book also details his time at west point, in Mexico, and fighting Indians before moving on to the Civil war. For those interested in Civil War history this is one not to miss.

Joe don't get no respect.........

During the Civil War, General Joseph Johnston was viewed as one of the South's three greatest Generals; today, he is essentially forgotten....he has exactly one monument [in Georgia], while Lee and Jackson have an untold number. And yet....he was never defeated on the field of battle...he won the first AND last major battles of the war...Generals Grant and Sherman each said that he was the toughest commander they faced [Lee said the same about McClellan; interesting]...maybe there was more to Joe than we realize.... Like many Civil War officers, Joe Johnston was the child of a Revolutionary War officer, though he was raised with niether the vast wealth of Polk, or the crushing poverty that afflicted Lee. He followed a life pattern typical of the breed....West Point....service as an engineer. Joe resigned from the Army due to low pay and lack of promotion, but didn't stay out long....while a civilian engineer with a group of inexperienced troops in Florida, he saved the day when the unit was attacked by Seminoles. Distinguished service in Mexico....eventually he became Quartermaster General of the US Army; this fact was to cause profound problems later, as Joe was the only General Officer to follow the South. [His portrait hangs in the main auditorium at Ft. Lee, VA, along with all the other Quartermasters General]. Joe Johnston could be a vain, difficult man; touchy about his dignity, he forever resented not being made the senior full General of the CSA [he was fourth]. He hated for his equals to call him "Joe", yet any of his soldiers was free to do so. The profound dislike of Joe Johnston and Jeff Davis for each other was a disaster for the South. Davis resented that Joe wouldn't communicate with him, and Joe knew that communicating a secret to the President's office was equivalent to printing it in a newspaper. After Joe was wounded at Seven Pines [Davis was properly supportive of his injured General], Lee took over the Army of Northern Virginia, and Joe was relegated to a series of assignments that involved cleaning up the messes of others... Johnston was a General loved by his troops...they knew he wouldn't waste their lives. He had the "common touch"...Symonds relates an incident where Joe jumps down in the mud to help free a stuck cannon...reminds me of the scene in "Patton" where Patton plays traffic cop, getting jeeps out of the mud. He was criticized as being too "defensive", and was replaced in command of the Army of Tennessee by John Bell Hood [whom I consider a great General]...US Grant later said that the South might have won the war by leaving Joe in place, as he would have simply outlasted the North's desire to fight. Sort of like the US in Viet Nam; we could have nuked the North Vietnamese into submission anytime, but....... After the war, Joe served one term in Congress [he headed the committee that cleared the name of Fitz John Porter], and was a US Railroad Commissioner. He and Davis continued to hate each other, and put t

A Great Biography of a Controversial General

Whatever your opinion of Joseph Johnston, in my humble opinion, Craig Symonds has written a fabulous biography that is easy to read and seems to be fair in its treatment of Johnston. Symonds comprehensively covers several areas of Johnston's life: 1. Early life in Virginia. 2. Years at West Point. 3. Service in Mexican War. 4. Army service between the Mexican War and the Civil War. 5. Civil War service - First Bull Run, early part of the Peninsula Campaign, Vicksburg, Atlanta Campaign, Bentonville, and surrender to Sherman. 6. Relationships with various Civil War generals and politicians. 7. Family life. 8. Post-Civil War years and death. Symonds is fair and objective by pointing out Johnston's weaknesses (temper, sometimes a little touchy, prone to fight a defensive war), and his strengths (cared deeply for his troops, managed to win some battles while not suffering major defeats, ability to get along with Robert E. Lee, etc.). The writing style is fine and flows freely throughout the book. After reading this title and the biography of Patrick Cleburne, I have concluded that Symonds is one of the best Civil War biographers around. Read and enjoy the book and form your own opinion of one of the most controversial Civil War generals. Highly recommended!

misunderstood

If you ever wanted to know anything about Joseph E. Johnston than this is the book to read. After finishing it you can't but feel sorry for Johnston. He spent most of the post war years trying to set the record straight as to the part he played in the war, why he attacked when he did, and why he chose not to attack, his unconsuming hate and blame for the loss of the confederacy on Davis and others but never takes blame himself for any mistakes.I found the man an interesting figure of the war but also a sad one.

A Great Civil War Bio

Symonds, who also wrote a great bio of Patrick Cleburne, weaves a tremendous story of Johnston's life. This book is one of the few on Johnston and it is easily the best. This book delves into Johnston's personal life, his time in the military before the Civil War and during the war, his famous feud with Jefferson Davis, his association with Senator Louis Wigfall (a hater of Davis), and many other things. It seems Symond believes Johnston was a good general who has gotten somewhat of a bum rap, but he doesn't take sides in any battles or any of Johnston's disputes with Davis. To make a long story short, this is one of the best bios of any Confederate general and certainly the best on Johnston.