General Joseph E. Johnston After the Civil War

 

General Joseph E. Johnston surrendered his forces to William T. Sherman on April 26, 1865, at Bennett Place, North Carolina—the largest Confederate capitulation of the war, involving nearly 90,000 troops. After the war, Johnston opened an insurance agency in Savannah, Georgia, before relocating to Richmond, Virginia, in 1877. There, he engaged in railroad ventures and authored his memoir, Narrative of Military Operations (1874), which sharply criticized Jefferson Davis and defended his own strategies.

Politically active, Johnston was elected as a Democrat to the U.S. House of Representatives for Virginia's 3rd District, serving from 1879 to 1881 without seeking reelection. Under President Grover Cleveland, he was appointed U.S. Commissioner of Railroads (1885–1889), overseeing national infrastructure.

In a poignant display of reconciliation, Johnston served as a pallbearer at Sherman's funeral in February 1891, refusing to wear a hat in the cold rain out of respect. He contracted pneumonia and died on March 21, 1891, at age 84 in Washington, D.C.

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