Albert Sidney Johnston: Soldier of Three Republics

Family Tragedy

Family Tragedy WITH THE SUCCESSFUL ENDING of the Black Hawk War, Johnston looked forward to a period of sunshine in his own life. His conduct in the struggle had earned the praise of superior and subordinate alike, and he had weathered the campaign without a wound. Afterward, at Fort Crawford, according to his son's narrative, he survived both an onset of cholera and the barbarous drenchings and dosings prescribed to cure it.1 A joyous family awaited his return from the field; his wife felt grateful relief that he had been spared in the lottery of war; his young son was growing rapidly in mind and stature; an infant daughter increased the gladness of his home. When he returned to Jefferson Barracks in mid-autumn rich years seemed ahead. But the seeds of tragedy had fallen unawares into the Johnston circle within the brief months of the Black Hawk War. His father 1 Johnston, Life of Johnston, pp. 45-48. Johnston may have been among a group of soldiers who, according to General Atkinson, suffered light attacks of cholera during the early days of September, 1832. Atkinson did not, however, mention johnston's name among them, which would have been a strange omission, considering the close relationship between the two.. Henry Atkinson to General Winfield Scott, September 16, 1832, Atkinson Letter Book (May 26-September 13, 1832), Black Hawk War Papers. Albert Sidney Johnston died in October; during the war his wife had undergone physical and emotional trials from which she never recovered. In the summer she and both of her children had become seriously ill of what was probably influenza, and in July the baby daughter of three months weakened and, to all appearances, died. Mrs. Johnston wrote, "Supposed to be dead, [she] was, by God's mercy, restored to us." According to family account, the infant was actually in her coffin when an aunt, Mrs. Thomas Hart Benton, detected signs of life and revived her with hot baths and other stimulation. The effects of such an experience for a young wife, unsupported by the presence and consolation of her husband, are beyond telling. Sickness continued to afHict the entire household. Between physical fatigue and mental anxiety for my children, for you, and for my good husband, I am scarcely myself [Henrietta wrote to her mother in despair]. I try to be cheerful. God alone knows how it will all terminate. . . . I have so bad a: cold that I can't be heard when I speak, and I am often fatigued and sick. She had tuberculosis.2 Johnston's safe return from the Indian campaign seemed to restore the felicity of his fireside. The children mended quickly, a~d Mrs. Johnston appeared to grow stronger. Yet she was not content. Shaken by her trials during her husband's absence, yearning for permanent tranquillity, and possibly sensing the nature of her malady, she began to urge Johnston to resign his commission and take up life in a country home. It was much to ask of a young officer who appeared headed for an illustrious career in the service. His son records the struggle that went on within Johnston as he groped for the wise decision. To resign would be to cast aside the training, experience , and associations of a decade, to reject the obligation for his West Point education, to deny his own sense of personal destiny. On the other hand, he was financially pressed because of expenses incurred during the Black Hawk campaign and believed that he could earn more as a civilian than as a soldier; he enjoyed the out-of-doors and admired plantation life. Finally, a husband's love and his anxiety over his wife's health and happiness weighed heavily upon him. At year's end he reached his choice: he would leave the Army.1I 2 Johnston, Life of Johnston, pp. 45-48. S Johnston to Edward D. Hobbs, January 13, 18!!!!, Tohnston Papers, Barret Collection. Family Tragedy 49 As he had so often done in the past, Johnston asked for advice from his brother, Senator Josiah Stoddard Johnston.4 Josiah Stoddard replied with optimism, saying that Albert Sidney could retire at that time under the most favorable and flattering circumstances, and that if he should aspire to political life, his military reputation would greatly aid him. "Wherever you go and whatever you do," wrote Josiah Stoddard, "you will find that...