James M. Johnson

James M. Johnson (December 8, 1832 – February 15, 1913) was an American soldier and Arkansas politician. During the American Civil War he was a southern unionist and officer in the Union Army; serving as an aide to multiple generals and later commanded the 1st Arkansas Infantry Regiment (Union), eventually being made a brevet brigadier general. Following the war he would become the 2nd Lieutenant-Governor of Arkansas and later the 10th Secretary of State of Arkansas. During his tenure in Arkansas politics Johnson formed his own faction in the Arkansas Republican Party, which went against the policies of Governor Powell Clayton. The two men later tried to impeach the other on trumped up charges. Though Johnson was never convicted he lost his political support and left politics. Early life and education James Madison Johnson was born in Warren County, Tennessee, on December 8, 1832. In 1836 his family moved to Madison county, Arkansas. Johnson most likely received his early education in home as the first two schools of note in Northwest Arkansas were the Ozark institute and Arkansas College, which opened in 1845 and 1850 respectively. Johnson would later enroll in both schools. Arkansas College was the first charted school in Arkansas where students could obtain a doctor degree but it is unknown if Johnson ever completed the course. While at the Ozark Institute he may have met and befriended Isaac Murphy, who was a teacher and Arkansas state representative. Following school he became farmer until 1855 when he switched to learning medicine at Fayetteville. In 1857 he enrolled at St. Louis School of Medicine where he studied under Doctors Stevenson and Van-hoose. 1859 Johnson returned to Arkansas where he opened his own medical practice in Huntsville, Arkansas, that lasted until 1862. Civil War Johnson was a known Unionist and he, along with his brother Frank and fellow Unionist Isaac Murphy, joined the Union army that was under the command of General Samuel Curtis in Missouri. The three men left Huntsville on the morning of April 7, 1862, and proceeded to Keitsville, Missouri. Many Unionists in the state were becoming increasingly harassed and in the case of the Arkansas Peace Society were forced to enlist in the Confederate army or face imprisonment. Due to this, many Arkansas Unionists fled the state, as did Johnson and while serving in the Union army sent his wife and children to live in Alton, Illinois, thanks to money given to him by Murphy.