Edward Johnson ( general ) Edward Johnson ( April 16 , 1816 – March 2 , 1873 ) , also known as Allegheny Johnson , was a United States Army officer and Confederate general in the American Civil War . Highly rated by Robert E . Lee , he was made a divisional commander under Richard S . Ewell . On the first evening of the Battle of Gettysburg ( 1 July 1863 ) , Ewell missed his opportunity to attack Cemetery Hill , and Johnson opted against attacking Culp ’ s Hill , for which he had a discretionary order , though he attempted this on the second and third days . Ewell and Johnson are blamed by many for the loss of this decisive battle . Early life . Johnson was born on the " Salisbury estate " near Midlothian in Chesterfield County , Virginia , but his family soon moved to Kentucky . He attended the United States Military Academy and graduated ( after five years of study ) in 1838 . He was commissioned a brevet second lieutenant in the 6th U . S . Infantry and was promoted to first lieutenant in less than a year . He served in the Seminole Wars in Florida and then in the West . In the Mexican - American War , Johnson distinguished himself for action at Veracruz , Cerro Gordo , Churubusco , Molino del Rey , and Chapultepec . He received two brevet promotions , to captain and major , during the war and was awarded a ceremonial sword by the state of Virginia for his bravery . Johnson returned to duty on the Western frontier , serving in the Dakota Territory , California , Kansas , and on the Utah Expedition . Civil War . After the outbreak of the Civil War , Johnson resigned his United States Army commission and received the rank of colonel in the 12th Georgia Infantry on July 2 , 1861 . The 12th Georgia fought in Gen . Robert E . Lee ' s first campaign in western Virginia , at the battles of Rich Mountain , Cheat Mountain , and Greenbrier River . He was promoted to brigadier general on December 13 , 1861 , and received his nickname while commanding six infantry regiments in a battle on Allegheny Mountain . ( This brigade - sized force was given the grandiose name " Army of the Northwest " . ) Valley Campaign . In the winter of 1861 – 62 , Johnson ' s army cooperated with Maj . Gen . Thomas J . " Stonewall " Jackson in the early stages of Jackson ' s Valley Campaign . At the Battle of McDowell , Johnson was severely wounded with a bullet to the ankle , which took a long time to heal . He returned to Richmond for his convalescence and remained there for nearly a year , active in the social scene . Although Johnson was a heavy - set , rough - looking , rude character who was still a bachelor at age 47 , he had the reputation of a ladies ' man . Due to a wound he received in Mexico , he was afflicted with an eye that winked uncontrollably , causing many women to believe he was flirting with them . He caused enough attention that he rated mentions in the famous diary of Mary Chesnut . Stonewall Division . In 1863 , following the reorganization of the Army of Northern Virginia to compensate for the death of Stonewall Jackson after the Battle of Chancellorsville , Johnson was promoted to major general and given command of the " Stonewall Division " in Lt . Gen . Richard S . Ewell ' s Second Corps . Robert E . Lee had become dissatisfied with the previous commander at the battle and summoned Johnson back from medical leave to take the command . Gettysburg . By May 1863 , Johnson had recovered enough to lead his division in the Gettysburg Campaign . He still needed a heavy hickory stick to move around on foot ( and was known to use it against men he believed were shirking battle ) and his men nicknamed him " Old Clubby " . On the way north into Pennsylvania , Johnson defeated Union Maj . Gen . Robert H . Milroy at the Second Battle of Winchester . Johnson arrived at the Battle of Gettysburg on the evening of the first day , July 1 , 1863 . In a move that is still controversial , Ewell did not take advantage of Johnson ' s division and attack Cemetery Hill immediately that evening , when it might have been decisive . Johnson controversially declined to attack Culp ' s Hill that evening , for which he had a discretionary order . Instead , Johnson ' s division was the primary force that attacked Culp ' s Hill on the second and third days , suffering considerable casualties assaulting this impregnable position multiple times with no lasting success . In the fall of 1863 , Johnson played a prominent role in the Mine Run Campaign . Capture at Spotsylvania . In the Overland Campaign of 1864 , Johnson fought well at the Battle of the Wilderness and when Lt . Gen . James Longstreet was seriously wounded there , Robert E . Lee considered Johnson as a replacement corps commander . During the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House , on May 12 , 1864 , at the " Bloody Angle " section of the Confederate " Mule Shoe " defensive line , Johnson was captured along with Brig . Gen . George H . Steuart , and most of Johnson ' s division . He was imprisoned for months at Morris Island , off the coast of Charleston , South Carolina , and was exchanged on August 3 , 1864 . He was sent west to join Lt . Gen . John Bell Hood ' s Army of Tennessee , where he commanded a division in the corps of Lt . Gen . Stephen D . Lee . During the Franklin - Nashville Campaign , Johnson was captured again at the Battle of Nashville on December 16 , 1864 . He again spent months in a Union prisoner of war camp at Johnson ' s Island , in Lake Erie . At the end of the war , Johnson was moved to the Old Capitol Prison in Washington , D . C . , where he was accused of being somehow complicit in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln . Nothing came of the accusation and he was paroled on July 22 , 1865 . Postbellum life . After the war , Johnson was a farmer in Virginia . He was active in Confederate veterans affairs , including early efforts to construct a monument to Robert E . Lee in Richmond . He died in Richmond and his body lay in state in the state capital until he was buried at Hollywood Cemetery .