Biography of Albert Sydney Johnston


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Johnston, Albert Sydney. A distinguished American Confederate general. Was born in Kentucky in 1803. Graduated at West Point in 1826. In 1837 he superseded General Houston as commander-in-chief of the Texan army. Next became Texan war secretary, and served as a colonel of American regulars during the Mexican War. In 1857, he commanded the expedition sent against the Mormons of Utah; and in 1861 was made military commander of the department of Kentucky and Tennessee by the Confederate government. After the surrender of Fort Donelson, he formed a junction with the army of General Beauregard, and fell in the battle of Shiloh, April 6, 1862.