Joseph E. Johnston Stamp

On June 29,1995, the U.S. Post Office issued a set of 20 commemorative stamps showing 16 individuals and 4 battles of the Civil War. Official first day of issue ceremonies were held in front of the Cyclorama Center at the Gettysburg National Military Park in Pennsylvania. A pictorial cancellation showing a Civil War cannon was available at the ceremony. However, as the Postal Service also released the set of stamps nationwide, numerous unofficial first day of issue cancellations were possible.

One of the stamps shows Confederate Gen. Joseph E. Johnston. According to the artist, the scene shows Johnston with an open map as he stands on Kennesaw Mountain, where his troops had just turned back Sherman's superior force.

Confederate General

Joseph Eggleston Johnston

1807 - 1891

Commander CSA forces

Northern Virginia 1861-62.

Wounded at Seven Pines.

Master defensive strategist

bickered often with Davis.

Led Army of Tennessee

Dalton to Atlanta.

Click here to see photograph of Johnston.

Although he was a native Virginian, Confederate Gen. Joseph E. Johnston played a major role in Georgia's Civil War history. Johnston commanded the army opposing Sherman's Atlanta Campaign. Faced with an overwhelming superiority in men and supplies for Sherman, Johnston skillfully managed to delay Sherman's advance. Confronting the enemy only when he could gain a tactical advantage, Johnston managed to inflict twice as many casualties as he sustained. Nevertheless Sherman's army continued its inexorable advance. Confederate Pres. Weary of Johnston's defensive stance Confederate Pres. Jefferson Davis finally replaced him with John Bell Hood as Sherman's army neared Atlanta. Hood recklessly attacked and loss as many men in six weeks as Johnston had for the whole campaign. After Sherman had completed his March to the Sea, Johnston was again given command of the remnants of the Confederate forces in the Carolinas and Georgia. Again he avoided disastrous confrontations, but was ultimately forced to surrender to Sherman at Durham Station, N. C. on April 26, 1865. Because Georgia was under Johnston's jurisdiction, his surrender marked the end of the Civil War for Georgia -- a date that would become Confederate Memorial Day in Georgia. After the war Johnston penned a notable analysis of the war in his memoirs. He and Sherman had earned each other's respect; ironically Johnston died from complications to a cold he had caught while serving as a pallbearer at Sherman's funeral.

(c) Carl Vinson Institute of Government, The University of Georgia

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