Joseph johnston biography

He began issuing direct orders to some of the forces under Johnston's ostensible command. On the Northern side, McClellan was publicly embarrassed when it was revealed that the Confederate position had not been nearly as strong as he had portrayed. But more importantly, it required him to replan his spring offensive, and instead of an amphibious landing at his preferred target of Urbanna , he chose the Virginia Peninsula , between the James and York Rivers, as his avenue of approach toward Richmond.

Johnston's plan for the defense of the Confederate capital was controversial. Knowing that his army was half the size of McClellan's and that the U. Navy could directly support McClellan from either river, Johnston attempted to convince Davis and Lee that the best course would be to concentrate on fortifications around Richmond. He was unsuccessful in persuading them and deployed most of his force on the Peninsula.

Following lengthy siege preparations by McClellan at Yorktown, Johnston withdrew and fought a sharp defensive fight at Williamsburg May 5 and turned back an attempt at an amphibious turning movement at Eltham's Landing May 7. By late May, the U. Army was within six miles of Richmond. Realizing that he could not defend Richmond forever from the U.

Army's overwhelming numbers and heavy siege artillery and that McClellan's army was divided by the rain-swollen Chickahominy River , Johnston attacked south of the river on May 31 in the Battle of Seven Pines or Fair Oaks. His plan was aggressive but too complicated for his subordinates to execute correctly, and he failed to ensure they understood his orders in detail or to supervise them closely.

The battle was tactically inconclusive, but it stopped McClellan's advance on the city and would be the high-water mark of his invasion. More significant, however, was that Johnston was wounded in his shoulder and chest by an artillery shell fragment near the end of the first day of the battle. Smith commanded the army during the second day of the battle before Davis quickly turned over command to the more aggressive Robert E.

Lee, who would lead the Army of Northern Virginia for the rest of the war. Johnston was prematurely discharged from the hospital on November 24, , and appointed to command the Department of the West, the principal command of the Western Theater , which gave him titular control of Gen. Braxton Bragg 's Army of Tennessee and Lt. John C. Pemberton 's Department of Mississippi and East Louisiana.

The other major force in this area was the Trans-Mississippi Department, commanded by Lt. Theophilus H. Holmes , stationed principally in Arkansas. Johnston argued throughout his tenure that Holmes's command should be combined with Pemberton's under Johnston's control, or at least to reinforce Pemberton with troops from Holmes's command, but he was unable to convince the government to take either of these steps.

The first issue facing Johnston in the west was the fate of Braxton Bragg. The Confederate government was displeased with Bragg's performance at the Battle of Stones River , as were many of Bragg's senior subordinates. Jefferson Davis ordered Johnston to visit Bragg and determine whether he should be replaced. Johnston realized that if he recommended Bragg's replacement, he would be the logical choice to succeed him.

He considered a field army command more desirable than his current, mostly administrative post. Still, his sense of honor prevented him from achieving this personal gain at Bragg's expense. After interviewing Bragg and several of his subordinates, he produced a generally positive report and refused to relieve the army commander.

Davis ordered Bragg to a meeting in Richmond and designated Johnston to take command in the field, but Bragg's wife was ill, and he was unable to travel. Furthermore, in early April, Johnston was forced to bed with lingering problems from his Peninsula wound, and the attention of the Confederates shifted from Tennessee to Mississippi, leaving Bragg in place.

The major crisis facing Johnston was defending Confederate control of Vicksburg, Mississippi , which was threatened by U. Ulysses S. Grant , first in a series of unsuccessful maneuvers during the winter of —63 to the north of the fortress city, but followed in April with an ambitious campaign that began with Grant's army crossing the Mississippi River southwest of Vicksburg.

Catching Lt. Pemberton by surprise, the U. On May 9, the Confederate Secretary of War directed Johnston to "proceed at once to Mississippi and take chief command of the forces in the field. Army corps were advancing on the city and that only 6, Confederate troops were available to hold it. Johnston ordered a fighting evacuation the Battle of Jackson , May 14 and retreated with his force north.

Grant captured the city and then faced to the west to approach Vicksburg. The survivors retreated to the fortifications of Vicksburg. Johnston urged Pemberton to avoid being surrounded by abandoning the city and to join forces with Johnston's troops, outnumbering Grant. Still, Davis had ordered Pemberton to defend the city as his highest priority.

Grant launched two unsuccessful assaults against the fortifications and settled in for a siege. The soldiers and civilians in the surrounded city waited in vain for Johnston's small force to rescue them. By late May, Johnston had accumulated about 24, men but wanted additional reinforcements before moving forward. He considered ordering Bragg to send these reinforcements but was concerned that this could result in the loss of Tennessee.

He also bickered with President Davis about whether the order sending him to Mississippi could be construed as removing him from theater command; historian Steven E. Woodworth judges that Johnston "willfully misconstrued" his orders out of resentment of Davis's interference. Pemberton's army surrendered on July 4, Along with the capture of Port Hudson a week later, the loss of Vicksburg gave the United States complete control of the Mississippi River and cut the Confederacy in two.

President Davis wryly ascribed the strategic defeat to a "want of provisions inside and a general outside [Johnston] who would not fight. The relationship between Johnston and Davis, difficult since the early days of the war, became bitter as recriminations were traded publicly about who was to blame for Vicksburg. That Johnston never wanted this theater command in the first place, difficulty in effectively moving troops due to lack of direct rail lines and the vast distances involved, lack of assistance from subordinate commanders, Pemberton's refusal to abandon Vicksburg as suggested, and President Davis' habit of communicating directly to Johnston's subordinates which meant Johnston was often not aware of what was going on all contributed to this defeat.

Louis Wigfall. Instead, Bragg's army was removed from Johnston's command, leaving him in control of only Alabama and Mississippi. The President detests Joe Johnston for all the trouble he has given him, and General Joe returns the compliment with compound interest. His hatred of Jeff Davis amounts to a religion. With him it colors all things. While Vicksburg was falling, U.

William S. Rosecrans was advancing against Bragg in Tennessee, forcing him to evacuate Chattanooga. Grant defeated him in the Battles for Chattanooga in November. Bragg resigned from his command of the Army of Tennessee and returned to Richmond as military adviser to the president. Davis offered the position to William J. Hardee , the senior corps commander, who refused.

He considered P. Beauregard, another general with whom he had poor personal relations, and Robert E. Lee, reluctant to leave Virginia, first recommended Beauregard, but sensing Davis's discomfort, he changed his recommendation to Johnston. Faced with Maj. William T. Sherman 's advance from Chattanooga to Atlanta in the spring of , Johnston conducted a series of withdrawals that appeared similar to his Peninsula Campaign strategy.

He repeatedly prepared strong defensive positions, only to see Sherman maneuver around them in expert turning movements , causing him to fall back in the general direction of Atlanta. Johnston saw the preservation of his army as the most crucial consideration and conducted a very cautious campaign. He handled his army well, slowing the U.

Sherman began his Atlanta Campaign on May 4. Johnston's Army of Tennessee fought defensive battles against the Federals at the approaches to Dalton , which was evacuated on May 13, then retreated 12 miles south to Resaca and constructed defensive positions. However, after a brief battle , Johnston again yielded to Sherman and retreated from Resaca on May Johnston assembled the Confederate forces for an attack at Cassville.

A skirmish ensued, forcing the corps commander, Lt. John Bell Hood , to halt his advance and reposition his troops to face the threat. Faced with this unexpected threat, Johnston abandoned his attack and renewed his retreat. On May 20, they again retreated 8 miles further south to Cartersville. The month of May ended with Sherman's forces attempting to move away from their railroad supply line with another turning movement, but became bogged down by the Confederates' fierce defenses at the Battle of New Hope Church on May 25, the Battle of Pickett's Mill on May 27, and the Battle of Dallas on May In June, Sherman's forces continued maneuvers around the northern approaches to Atlanta.

The Battle of Kolb's Farm ensued on June 22, followed by Sherman's first and only attempt at a massive frontal assault in the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain on June 27, which Johnston vigorously repulsed. However, U. Johnston had yielded over miles of mountainous, and thus more easily defensible, territory in just two months, while the Confederate government became increasingly frustrated and alarmed.

All All. Sign In. Play trailer Dave Stevens: Drawn to Perfection Contact info Agent info Resume. Add to list. View contact info at IMDbPro. Photos Known for. Captain America: The First Avenger. The Rocketeer. Raiders of the Lost Ark. Visual Effects visual effects, ILM. October Sky. Johnston made his directorial debut in with hit comedy adventure Honey, I Shrunk the Kids , starring Rick Moranis.

He followed it with comic-book adaptation The Rocketeer The film was a commercial failure, as was his next, the animated and live-action The Pagemaster , starring Macaulay Culkin. Johnston rebounded, directing the family hit Jumanji , starring Robin Williams. Johnston was set to direct Hulk , [ 11 ] but dropped out in July Johnston then switched gears from effects-driven action films to the more personal October Sky , starring a teenage Jake Gyllenhaal as a s West Virginia high school student who dreams of being a rocket scientist for NASA against his father's wishes.

Johnston followed it with western Hidalgo , starring Viggo Mortensen. Johnston then took a six-year directorial break before signing on at a month's notice to take over the remake of horror classic The Wolfman. Contents move to sidebar hide. Article Talk. Read Edit View history. Tools Tools. Download as PDF Printable version. In other projects.

Joseph johnston biography

Wikimedia Commons Wikidata item. American film director and effects artist born This article is about the film director. For similar names, see Joseph Johnston disambiguation. Johnston at the San Diego Comic-Con. Austin, Texas , U. Film director film producer effects artist art director writer. Early life [ edit ]. Career [ edit ]. Johnston had been the most senior U.

Army officer to join the Confederacy, and he viewed his new position as a personal insult from Davis. Despite his tumultuous relationship with the Confederate high command, Johnston was placed in charge of the Confederate Army of the Potomac later called the Army of Northern Virginia in early His first major service in this capacity came during the Peninsula Campaign in the spring of , when Union general George B.

McClellan attempted to land his army on the Virginia coast and move on Richmond. After making a defensive stand at the Battle of Williamsburg, Johnston continued to retreat, eventually positioning his army just outside of Richmond. The offensive succeeded in blocking the Union advance, but Johnston was severely wounded during the fighting on June 1 and replaced by Robert E.

While Johnston began what would become a six-month convalescence, Lee launched a series of brazen attacks during the Seven Days Battles and successfully drove McClellan from Virginia. In May he was ordered to take charge of operations in Mississippi, which was threatened by forces under the command of Union General Ulysses S. Pemberton, who was besieged at the vital Mississippi River hub at Vicksburg.

Recognizing that he was at a severe numerical disadvantage, Johnston ordered Pemberton to cede the city to Union control. Pemberton, however, was under orders from Jefferson Davis to hold the city to the last, and refused to evacuate. Johnston was widely condemned for his overly cautious tactics in Mississippi, but in November he took command of the Army of Tennessee after General Braxton Bragg was relieved from duty.

Tasked with halting General William T. While Johnston succeeded in striking a blow against Sherman at the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain in June , his reluctance make a decisive stand agitated Jefferson Davis, who replaced him with General John Bell Hood a month later. Working with General P.