Stovepipe Johnson

Infobox Military Person
name= Adam Rankin Johnson
born= birth date|1834|2|8
died= death date and age|1922|10|20|1834|2|8


caption=
nickname= "Stovepipe"
placeofbirth= Henderson, Kentucky
placeofdeath= Burnet, Texas
placeofburial=
allegiance= Confederate States of America
branch= Confederate Army
serviceyears= 1861–65
rank= Colonel (Brigadier General appointment not confirmed)
unit=
commands=
battles= American Civil War
*Newburgh Raid
*Morgan's Raid
awards=
relations=
laterwork=

Adam Rankin "Stovepipe" Johnson (February 8, 1834 – October 20, 1922) was an antebellum Western frontiersman and later an officer in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. Although permanently blinded during a battle, Johnson in 1887 founded the town of Marble Falls, Texas, which became known as "the blind man's town."

Early life

Johnson was born in Henderson, Kentucky, the son of Thomas J. and Juliet (Rankin) Johnson. Educated in the common schools, at the age of twelve he went to work in a local drugstore for the next eight years. In 1854 he moved to Hamilton Valley in Burnet County, Texas, and soon found employment as a surveyor on the West Texas frontier. He was an Indian fighter and provided supplies and animals for the Butterfield Overland Mail stations. On January 1, 1861, he married Josephine Eastland of Austin, who would bear him nine children.

Civil War

As the Civil War erupted and his native Kentucky struggled to maintain neutrality, Johnson returned home and joined the cavalry of Nathan B. Forrest as a scout. He managed to escape capture from the circling Union lines at Fort Donelson. He later received a promotion to colonel in recognition for his exploits as commander of the Partisan Rangers, a unit that often operated deep within Federal lines in Kentucky. Johnson's men harassed Union supply lines and isolated garrisons. In July 1862, in his Newburgh Raid, he captured the town of Newburgh, Indiana, despite a sizable Union militia presence, with only twelve men and two joints of stovepipe mounted on the running gear of an abandoned wagon to simulate a cannon. His men nicknamed him "Stovepipe" for his ingenuity.

In 1863, Johnson assumed command of a brigade in the cavalry division of Brig. Gen. John Hunt Morgan. He participated in Morgan's Raid, and, following the Confederate disaster at the Battle of Buffington Island, Johnson led nearly 350 men across the rain-swollen Ohio River to safety. The rest of Morgan's brigade eventually surrendered or were captured.

Johnson was appointed brigadier general on June 1, 1864; this appointment was not confirmed by the Confederate Congress. [Eicher, p. 601.] On August 21, he was blinded by an accidental shot from one of his own men during an attack near Canton, Kentucky. He was subsequently captured by the Federals and imprisoned for much of the rest of the war in Fort Warren.

Postbellum

Johnson returned to Texas after being exchanged and paroled in 1865. Despite being sightless, he founded a town, established a company, and worked to harness the water power of the Colorado River.

Johnson died in Burnet, Texas, and is interred at the Texas State Cemetery in Austin, Texas. He rests beside Josephine and near his grandson, Judge George Christian, Sr., and great-grandson, former White House Press Secretary George Christian, Jr.

References

* Eicher, John H., and Eicher, David J., "Civil War High Commands", Stanford University Press, 2001, ISBN 0-8047-3641-3.
* Johnson, Adam R., "The Partisan Rangers of the Confederate Army". Louisville, Kentucky: George G. Fetter, 1904.
* Warner, Ezra J., "Generals in Gray: Lives of the Confederate Commanders", Louisiana State University Press, 1959, ISBN 0-8071-0823-5.

Notes

External links

* [http://www.cemetery.state.tx.us Texas State Cemetery Official Website]

Persondata
NAME = Johnson, Adam Rankin
ALTERNATIVE NAMES = Johnson, "Stovepipe"
SHORT DESCRIPTION = Confederate Army colonel
DATE OF BIRTH = 8 February 1834
PLACE OF BIRTH = Henderson, Kentucky, United States
DATE OF DEATH = 20 October 1922
PLACE OF DEATH = Burnet, Texas, United States