Bradley Tyler Johnson (September 29, 1829 – October 5, 1903) was an American lawyer, soldier, and writer. Although his home state of

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

remained in the Union during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

, Johnson owned and traded slaves, and accordingly served as a brigadier general in the

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...

, leading efforts to raise a

Maryland Line The "Maryland Line" was a formation within the Continental Army, formed and authorized by the Second Continental Congress, meeting in the "Old Pennsylvania State House" (later known as "Independence Hall") in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in June ...

in the CSA, and rising to command the

1st Maryland Infantry, CSA The 1st Maryland Infantry, CSA was a regiment of the Confederate army, formed shortly after the commencement of the American Civil War in April 1861. The unit was made up of volunteers from Maryland who, despite their home state remaining in the U ...

Early life

Johnson was born in Frederick City,

, a son of Charles Worthington Johnson and Eleanor Murdock Tyler.Hanson, p. 57. He graduated from

Princeton Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ni ...

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). 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 In road transport, a lane is part of a roadway that is designated to be used by a single line of vehicles to control and guide drivers and reduce traffic conflicts. Most public roads (highways) have at least two lanes, one for traffic in each ...

Civil War

When the Civil War began, Johnson organized and equipped a company at his own expense, and he took an active part in forming the

, of which he became major and subsequently colonel, meanwhile declining a lieutenant colonel's commission in a

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

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 Harpers Ferry is a historic town in Jefferson County, West Virginia. It is located in the lower Shenandoah Valley. The population was 285 at the 2020 census. Situated at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers, where the U.S. stat ...

, 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.Field, Ron, et al., p.36, ''The Confederate Army 1861-65: Missouri, Kentucky & Maryland''
Osprey Publishing (2008), Retrieved March 4, 2010

Mutiny and the Battle of Front Royal

On 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

, 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.Goldsborough, J. J., p.45, ''The Maryland Line in the Confederate Army''
Retrieved May 13, 2010 By May 22, on the eve of the

Battle of Front Royal The Battle of Front Royal, also known as Guard Hill or Cedarville, was fought on May 23, 1862, during the American Civil War, as part of Jackson's Valley campaign. Confederate forces commanded by Major General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson w ...

, 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 Jackson may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jackson (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname or given name Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Qu ...

. When given orders to engage the enemy, Johnson addressed his soldiers:

You have heard the order, and I must confess are in a pretty condition to obey it. I will have to return it with the endorsement upon the back that "the First Maryland refuses to meet the enemy", despite being given orders by General Jackson. Before this day I was proud to call myself a Marylander, but now, God knows, I would rather be known as anything else. Shame on you to bring this stigma upon the fair name of your native state - to cause the finger of scorn to be pointed at those who confided to your keeping their most sacred trust - their honor and that of the glorious Old State. Marylanders you call yourselves - profane not that hallowed name again, for it is not yours. What Marylander ever before threw down his arms and deserted his colors in the presence of the enemy, and those arms, and those colors too, placed in your hands by a woman? Never before has one single blot defaced her honored history. Could it be possible to conceive a crime more atrocious, an outrage more damnable? Go home and publish to the world your infamy. Boast of it when you meet your fathers and mothers, brothers, sisters and sweethearts. Tell them it was you who, when brought face to face with the enemy, proved yourselves recreants, and acknowledged yourselves to be cowards. Tell them this, and see if you are not spurned from their presence like some loathsome leper, and despised, detested, nay abhorred, by those whose confidence you have so shamefully betrayed; you will wander over the face of the earth with the brand of 'coward', 'traitor', indelibly imprinted on your foreheads, and in the end sink into a dishonored grave, unwept for, uncared for, leaving behind as a heritage to your posterity the scorn and contempt of every honest man and virtuous woman in the land.

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"Goldsborough, J. J., p.49, ''The Maryland Line in the Confederate Army''
Retrieved May 13, 2010 At the

, 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.2nd Maryland Infantry at www.2ndmdinfantryus.org
Retrieved May 13, 2010 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.

Battle of Winchester

Just two days later, on May 25, 1862, the 1st Maryland fought again at the

First Battle of Winchester The First Battle of Winchester, fought on May 25, 1862, in and around Frederick County, Virginia, and Winchester, Virginia, was a major victory in Confederate Army Maj. Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson's Campaign through the Shenandoah Valle ...

, 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. After the Confederate victory at the

, 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:

having dismounted from his horse in an unguarded moment, ewas espied and singled out by an old lady of Amazonian proportions, just from the wash tub, who, wiping her hands and mouth on her apron as she approached, seized him around the neck with the hug of a bruin, and bestowed upon him half a dozen kisses that were heard by nearly every man in the command, and when at length she relaxed her hold the Colonel looked as if he had just come out a vapor bath.Goldsborough, J. J., p.59, ''The Maryland Line in the Confederate Army''
Retrieved May 13, 2010

Peninsular Campaign

Johnson saw service in the

Seven Days Battles The Seven Days Battles were a series of seven battles over seven days from June 25 to July 1, 1862, near Richmond, Virginia, during the American Civil War. Confederate General Robert E. Lee drove the invading Union Army of the Potomac, comman ...

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 Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

General Robert E. Lee drove the invading

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

Army of the Potomac The Army of the Potomac was the principal Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was created in July 1861 shortly after the First Battle of Bull Run and was disbanded in June 1865 following the surrender of the Confede ...

, commanded by

Maj. Gen. Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

George B. McClellan George Brinton McClellan (December 3, 1826 – October 29, 1885) was an American soldier, Civil War Union general, civil engineer, railroad executive, and politician who served as the 24th governor of New Jersey. A graduate of West Point, McCl ...

, away from Richmond and into a retreat down the

Virginia Peninsula The Virginia Peninsula is a peninsula in southeast Virginia, USA, bounded by the York River, James River, Hampton Roads and Chesapeake Bay. It is sometimes known as the ''Lower Peninsula'' to distinguish it from two other peninsulas to the n ...

. After the

Battle of Cedar Mountain The Battle of Cedar Mountain, also known as Slaughter's Mountain or Cedar Run, took place on August 9, 1862, in Culpeper County, Virginia, as part of the American Civil War. Union forces under Maj. Gen. Nathaniel P. Banks attacked Confederate ...

, Johnson succeeded T.S. Garnett in command of the Second Brigade. The Second Brigade had fought under John R. Jones during the

prior to that officer being wounded. Johnson led the Second Brigade in the

Second Battle of Manassas The Second Battle of Bull Run or Battle of Second Manassas was fought August 28–30, 1862, in Prince William County, Virginia, as part of the American Civil War. It was the culmination of the Northern Virginia Campaign waged by Confederat ...

, under division commanders William B. Taliaferro and William Starke. In the subsequent Maryland Campaign, Johnson's brigade was under the division command of Jones, now returning. Johnson was advanced to the rank of

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

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 career

In 1875, Johnson and William Elam Tanner successfully ran as Democrats for the

Virginia State Senate The Senate of Virginia is the upper house of the Virginia General Assembly. The Senate is composed of 40 senators representing an equal number of single-member constituent districts. The Senate is presided over by the lieutenant governor of Virg ...

. Johnson initially maintained support from African Americans. "Johnson clubs" were political organizations of African-American voters. Unfortunately, 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 Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life o ...

. All African-Americans quickly abandoned the Democratic candidate for Knight and Starke. In one precinct, eighty-five Johnson supporters switched to Knight and Starke. 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

* ''Reports of Chase's Decisions on the Fourth Circuit'' (1875) * ''Memoir of Joseph E. Johnston'' (1891) * ''Foundation of Maryland and the Maryland Act Concerning Religion'' (1883) * ''Life of General Washington'', in "Great Commanders Series" (1894) * ''Maryland in Confederate Military History'' (Atlanta, 1899)

References

: * Hanson, George Adolphus, ''Old Kent: the Eastern Shore of Maryland, Notes Illustrative of the Most Ancient Records of Kent County'', 1876. {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Bradley Tyler American legal writers Princeton University alumni Harvard Law School alumni Confederate States Army generals People of Maryland in the American Civil War 1829 births 1903 deaths People from Frederick, Maryland 19th-century American lawyers Burials at Loudon Park Cemetery Maryland lawyers American male non-fiction writers Writers from Maryland 19th-century American writers 19th-century American male writers American lawyers admitted to the practice of law by reading law People from Richmond, Virginia People from Amelia, Virginia American slave owners American slave traders 19th-century American businesspeople