Born February 3, 1807
Cherry Grove, Virginia
Died March 21, 1891
District of Columbia

Confederate general

Led Army of Tennessee against Union
general William T. Sherman's forces during
Atlanta campaign

Joseph Johnston's reputation as a Civil War general is a mixed one. On the one hand, he became known as one of the Confederacy's most sensible and intelligent military leaders. Careful and crafty, he never sent his troops into battle rashly. This reluctance to commit troops to battle without good cause understandably made Johnston very popular with many of the soldiers under his command. But critics of Johnston argued that he avoided conflict on too many occasions, such as during the 1863 Vicksburg Campaign and the 1864 Atlanta Campaign. This criticism, coupled with his bitter feud with Confederate president Jefferson Davis (1808–1889; see entry)...