, 1885-07-11
GEN. JOSEPH f. JOHNSTON.
Something About the Brave Old Man
Who + Expected Here To-day.

Who 4 Expected Here To-day.
1t is quite a coincidence that tIen. O..
o. Howard, of the union army, who lost
an arm in the battle Of Fair Oaks, early in
the war, should have come TO Cheyenne
on the day when a crowd was at the depot
looking for Gen. joseph f. Johnston,
who commanded the rebel army in the
battle alluded TO, and received there a
great scar across the forehead, which he
carries to this day, But Johnston is on
the way and will probably be here to-day.
Speaking of the scar, Johnston was always
a soldier and issued his orders from the
front. Early in the day, he was struck
in the shoulder by a minnie ball but the
wound, although painful and serious, did
not deter him from the stern duties of the
time. lie held personal command and
fought side by side with his soldiery.
Along in the afternoon when his waver-
ing columns threatened the loss oil the
day, he entered the battle line for the
twentieth time in the course of the fight
and in person led al infantry charge, The
woods screamed with the flying shot and
shell and a perfect storm of lead and iron
smote his ranks Still the intrepid chief
of the military arm Of the Southern con-
federacy spurred on his charger and led
his men to the emulation of his own yalor
and daring. The Union column. which
flanked the strip Of woodland had been
almost attained, and the cry for the final
onslaught broke from every rebel throat,
when a fragment Of a bursting shell struck
their general on the forehead and knocked
him out Of his saddle. He was carried to
the rear, his command falling to other
hands, and the ugly wound which forever
since has marked his brow, dressed and
mended by surgeons. Upon his recovery
some weeks later, Gen. Johnston found
that among the jealous r~ivalries of the
confederate officers, the same as occurred
among those of the north, he had lost
prestige and Robert L. Lee, the com
mander of the army of Northern Virginia
had gained the chieftaincy of the southern
armies. Subsequently Gen. Johnston
fought Sherman through Georgia and to
him surrendered his sword when peace at
last triumphed
One who has seen him within the past
few days says General Johnston, as he
appears to-day. could never be recognized
from his likeness which the current his
tories contain. The hard, stern features
with mustache and short si~de-whiskers,
naughty bearing and military cellar with
its insignia of a confederate general, have
all disappeared. A change Of within has
substituted a full beard which years have
whitened, and the customs of peace have
displaced the harness of war for the
citizens modest attire. The hauteur Of
the print has vanished and the features
are rather benign. General Johnston is
far advanced in years, quite rs years old,
but he has the carriage and firm step of a
hale and hearty old age. He is only of
medium stature and has not what is
termed a military BEARING. Searching his
countenanco for traits OF character, ideal
speculation IS lost in the contemplation of
the ugly sea- which crosses his forehead.
His duties in the civil Office to which
the present administration has elevated
him are neither exacting nor Tor readily
visible ends. He is constituted commits
sioner of Pacific railways, and is now on
a tour west over these lines. He left
Omaha m Thursday and passengers on
ye-tcrlays train say that he stopped off
some where along the road that night
and will, probably, be here today.