The Johnston and Brent Diaries: A Problem of Authorship

THE JOHNSTON AND BRENT DIARIES: A Problem of Authorship June I. Goto Two diaries have been attributed to Josiah Stoddard Johnston of Kentucky. One of these is in die Stoddard Johnston Papers belonging to the Filson Club of Louisville, Kentucky; die other is in the Wilh'am P. Palmer Collection of Braxton Bragg Papers at the Western Reserve Historical Society in Cleveland. Each diary has been used by scholars writing on the Confederate Army of Tennessee, and one author has cited both.1 It is surprising, in the case where both diaries were used, that a contradiction involving their authorship did not immediately become obvious. It is true that the diaries are similar. Both cover the period 1862-1863, and both were written by an officer in the Army of Tennessee who served on the staff of General Bragg. Comparison of the manuscripts, however, reveals that they were written by different hands,2 and internal evidence supports the conclusion that diese are the diaries not of one man, but of two. There can be no doubt that the author of the diary in the Filson Club was Josiah Stoddard Johnston. The known connection of Johnston with the Club, of which he was vice-president from 1891 to 1898,3 makes it the logical depository for his papers. A letter written and signed by Johnston in 18984 is in the same handwriting as the Filson Club's diary of the Civil War period. Johnston's military career, established from sources other than the diary, matches that of the diary's ? The diary in the Palmer Collection has been used by Nathaniel Cheairs Hughes, Jr., General William J. Hardee (Baton Rouge, 1965), pp. 125-127, 132134 , 148, 169, 172; and by Grady McWhiney, "Controversy in Kentucky: Braxton Bragg's Campaign of 1862," Civil War History, VI (1960), 16, 25-27, 30, 32-38. Both diaries are cited in Thomas Lawrence Connelly, Army of the Hearthnd : The Army of Tennessee, 1861-1862 (Baton Rouge, 1967), pp. 208, 221, and passim. 2 The Filson Club's diary is part manuscript, part typescript. This paper will examine only those peculiarities of the diaries which appear relevant to the problem of authorship. 3 Otto A. Rothert, The Filson Club and Its Activities, 1884-1922: Fihon Club Publications, No. 32 (Louisville, 1922), pp. 28, 42. I am indebted for this reference to Professor Grady McWhiney. 4 J. Stoddard Johnston to Marcus J. Wright, Louisville, Sept. 9, 1898, James W. Eldridge Collection, Henry E. Huntington Library, San Marino, Calif. 46 staff officer—both men were Kentuckians; both visited General Breckinridge at Baton Rouge in August, 1862, with a message from General Bragg; both returned to the Army of Tennessee and on September 1 were appointed lieutenant-colonel and volunteer aide-de-camp on Bragg's staff, serving in the Kentucky and Murfreesboro campaigns; both were transferred to Breckinridge's staff in late 1863, and left the Army of Tennessee with him early in 1864.5 The conclusion is inescapable that Stoddard Johnston and the audior of die Filson Club's diary are one and the same man. It is equally clear that die diary in the Palmer Collection was not Johnstons. Not only is the handwriting different, but so was the author 's military career. The writer served, not as an aide on Bragg's personal staff, but as assistant adjutant-general on the general staff of the Army of Tennessee.8 His record, unlike Johnston's, was not one of continuous service. He was absent on leave from mid-February to midMarch , 1863, and was relieved about six weeks later at his own request . He spent the period from May to August in Virginia, and then rejoined the army. His identity is revealed through the use, unusual in tins diary, of the first person, in the entry for November 20, 1862, which reads: Gen Duncan has been assigned to duty as Chief of Staff to the General, Col Garner as Chief of Department No 2 and myself as Chief of the Forces in the Field. This entry can be compared with a general order issued on the same day from Bragg's Tullahoma headquarters, announcing certain staff...