John Alexander Johnston (22 February 1858 – 5 January 1940) was an American military officer and commissioner of the District of Columbia born in

Allegheny, Pennsylvania Allegheny City was a municipality that existed in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania from 1788 until it was annexed by Pittsburgh in 1907. It was located north across the Allegheny River from downtown Pittsburgh, with its southwest border formed by ...

. He served as a brigadier general during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Military career

Johnston graduated from the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...

in 1879, graduating twenty-third out of sixty seven.Davis, Henry Blaine Jr. ''Generals in Khaki'' (Raleigh, NC: Pentland press, 1998), p. 205 He was commissioned into the cavalry and performed frontier duty in Texas from 1879 to 1882. In 1883, he was an honor graduate from the Infantry and Cavalry School at

Fort Leavenworth Fort Leavenworth () is a United States Army installation located in Leavenworth County, Kansas, in the city of Leavenworth, Kansas, Leavenworth. Built in 1827, it is the second oldest active United States Army post west of Washington, D.C., an ...

, Kansas, after which he became an instructor there, instructing on the art of war and engineering until 1885.''Who Was Who in American History – The Military'' (Chicago, IL: Marquis Who's Who, Inc., 1975) p. 292 In 1886, Johnston was promoted to first lieutenant and would alternate between frontier duty in South Dakota multiple times, from 1886–87, 1891–93 and 1895–97. Between his tours of frontier duty in South Dakota, Johnston taught history, law and tactics at the U.S. Military Academy from 1887–91, and horsemanship at the Jefferson Barracks Cavalry Depot, Missouri, from 1893–1895. Johnston would spend the remainder of his career in the Adjutant General's Department in Washington, D.C., mustering in and out all the volunteers of the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (clock ...

and the

Philippine Insurrection The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, being promoted to brigadier general in 1901 and ultimately resigning on January 15, 1903. Johnston would remain in Washington D.C. after his resignation, working as a commissioner for the District of Columbia from 1910–1913. On August 5, 1917, Johnston was promoted to brigadier general and placed in command of the Northeastern Department in Boston. In June 1918, he succeeded

Frederick Emil Resche Frederick Emil Resche (April 1, 1866 – September 3, 1946) was an American law enforcement official and military officer from Duluth, Minnesota. A longtime member of the Minnesota National Guard, he was a veteran of the American Indian Wars, Sp ...

as commander of the 68th Infantry Brigade, a unit of the 34th Division. In October 1918, he was assigned to command the division, and he received the

Army Distinguished Service Medal The Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a military decoration of the United States Army that is presented to soldiers who have distinguished themselves by exceptionally meritorious service to the government in a duty of great responsibility. Th ...

at the end of the war.Davis Jr., Henry Blaine. ''Generals in Khaki'' (Raleigh, NC: Pentland press, 1998), p. 206 The citation for the medal reads:

Personal life

Johnston married Henrietta V. Vandergrift in 1888.

Death and legacy

He died on January 5, 1940, at the age of 81. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.Arlington National Cemetery
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnston, John Alexander 1858 births 1940 deaths United States Military Academy alumni United States Military Academy faculty United States Army generals Burials at Arlington National Cemetery United States Army generals of World War I Military personnel from Pennsylvania