Person Record
Metadata
Name |
Johnston, Robert Daniel |
Born |
5/19/1837 |
Birthplace |
Lincoln County, North Carolina |
Notes |
Johnston graduated from the University of North Carolina in 1857 and studied law at the University of Virginia in 1860 and 1861. He was a 2nd Lt. in "Beattie's Ford Rifles" when the war started; his company was mustered into service as Co. K, 23rd North Carolina State Troops. Johnston was elected Capt. on June 22. He was then elected Col. of the unit after the 1862 reorganization, effective May 21. Johnston was badly wounded at the Battle of Seven Pines on May 31 in the arm, face, and neck, with his recovery lasting until September, just in time to participate in Sharpsburg at "Bloody Lane." He briefly commanded also the 12th North Carolina State Troops in May 1863 at Chancellorsville. Johnston was severely wounded on July 1 at Gettysburg and remained out of service for two months; the battle that day shattered his unit. He was promoted to Brig. Gen., to rank from September 1, 1863 and assigned a brigade comprised of 5th, 12th, 20th, and 23rd North Carolina State Troops and the 2nd North Carolina Battalion. Johnston directed his brigade at both Wilderness and Spotsylvania Courthouse battles. During Spotsylvania, he seized the 23rd's flag and led his men forward at Mule Shoe on May 12; he planted the flag on the Federal breastworks and fell wounded. Once he recovered, Johnston and his brigade participated in the Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1864, came back with the II Corps to Petersburg in November, and then to the Roanoke River in North Carolina in March 1865. Johnston was paroled in Charlotte, North Carolina in May 1865. After the war, he stayed in Charlotte and practiced law for twenty years. He moved to Birmingham, South Carolina in 1887, to be President of the Birmingham National Bank and Register of the U. S. Land Office. Johnston moved, once more, to Winchester, Virginia later in life. He died and was buried there on February 1, 1919. |
