John Alexander Johnston (22 February 1858 – 5 January 1940) was an American military officer and commissioner of the District of Columbia born in

Allegheny, Pennsylvania Allegheny City was a municipality that existed in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania from 1788 until it was annexed by Pittsburgh in 1907. It was located north across the Allegheny River from downtown Pittsburgh, with its southwest border formed by ...

. He served as a brigadier general during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Early life

Johnston was born in

on February 22, 1858, the son of Alexander and Sarah R. Johnston.

Military career

Johnston graduated from the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

in 1879, graduating twenty-third out of sixty seven.Davis, Henry Blaine Jr. ''Generals in Khaki'' (Raleigh, NC: Pentland press, 1998), p. 205 He was commissioned into the cavalry and performed frontier duty in Texas from 1879 to 1882. In 1883, he was an honor graduate from the Infantry and Cavalry School at

Fort Leavenworth Fort Leavenworth () is a United States Army installation located in Leavenworth County, Kansas, in the city of Leavenworth, Kansas, Leavenworth. Built in 1827, it is the second oldest active United States Army post west of Washington, D.C., an ...

, Kansas, after which he became an instructor there, instructing on the art of war and engineering until 1885.''Who Was Who in American History – The Military'' (Chicago, IL: Marquis Who's Who, Inc., 1975) p. 292 In 1886, Johnston was promoted to first lieutenant and would alternate between frontier duty in South Dakota multiple times, from 1886 to 1887, 1891–93 and 1895–97. Between his tours of frontier duty in South Dakota, Johnston taught history, law and tactics at the U.S. Military Academy from 1887 to 1891, and horsemanship at the Jefferson Barracks Cavalry Depot, Missouri, from 1893 to 1895. Johnston would spend the remainder of his career in the Adjutant General's Department in Washington, D.C., mustering in and out all the volunteers of the

Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...

and the

Philippine Insurrection The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

, being promoted to lieutenant colonel on February 21, 1901, and brigadier general on January 7, 1903, and ultimately resigning a week later on January 15, 1903. Johnston would remain in Washington D.C. after his resignation, working as a commissioner for the District of Columbia from 1910 to 1913. On August 5, 1917, Johnston was recommissioned as a brigadier general and placed in command of the Northeastern Department in Boston. In June 1918, he succeeded Frederick Emil Resche as commander of the 68th Infantry Brigade, a unit of the 34th Division. In October 1918, he was assigned to command the division, and he received the

Army Distinguished Service Medal The Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a military decoration of the United States Army that is presented to soldiers who have distinguished themselves by exceptionally meritorious service to the government in a duty of great responsibility. ...

at the end of the war.Davis Jr., Henry Blaine. ''Generals in Khaki'' (Raleigh, NC: Pentland press, 1998), p. 206 The citation for the medal reads: Returning to the United States, Johnston commanded the 153rd Depot Brigade at Camp Dix, New Jersey from January to February 1919, when he was relieved of active duty.

Personal life

Johnston married Henrietta Vargelia (Vandergrift) Loomis (1862–1930) in 1888. Her first husband had died in 1883 and she had a young daughter. After his first wife's death, he married divorcée Zella (McAllister) Barnes (1877–1936) in 1932.

Death and legacy

Johnston died on January 5, 1940, at the Mount Alto Veterans Hospital in Washington, D.C., from a heart ailment at the age of 81. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.Arlington National Cemetery: Johnston, John A
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnston, John Alexander 1858 births 1940 deaths People from Allegheny County, Pennsylvania United States Military Academy alumni Military personnel from Pennsylvania 19th-century United States Army personnel United States Army Command and General Staff College alumni United States Army Command and General Staff College faculty United States Military Academy faculty United States Army generals Washington, D.C., Democrats Members of the Board of Commissioners for the District of Columbia United States Army generals of World War I Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) Commanders of the Legion of Honour Burials at Arlington National Cemetery