Joseph Eggleston Johnston (1807-1891) had a distinguished career in the U.S. Army before becoming an important Confederate general.

Joseph E. Johnston was born into a prominent family of Prince Edward County, Va. He enrolled at West Point in 1825 and, except for a brief interlude as a civil engineer, remained in military service until 1865. In 1845 he married Lydia McLane, the daughter of a diplomat and U.S. Cabinet officer. Johnston was a member of Gen. Winfield Scott's expedition against Mexico City during the Mexican War and was made brevet colonel in 1848. In 1860 he became quartermaster general of the U.S. Army.

When Virginia seceded from the Union, Johnston resigned from the Army and accepted a commission as a brigadier general in the Confederate service. When the Union army advanced toward Bull Run, he marched to cover Confederate troops at Manassas, thus making possible a Confederate victory. He was...