Will Johnson

was an officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War. A native of Diensberg, Massachusetts, he had only just graduated from West Point when the first shots were fired on Fort Sumter and the war began.
During the war, he maintained two significant correspondences.
The first was with his cousin, Paul LeVal. A South Carolinian and fellow West Point alum, LeVal was essentially forced to fight in the Confederate army, even though he didn't really believe in the Confederacy, and certainly didn't hold with slavery.
The second was with his friend from Diensberg, Claire Bartlett. This correspondence was much more active, and it was to her that he documented his emotions and actions during the war in great detail.
Amongst the many stories he told her were those surrounding his encounters with the Fifth Doctor, Peri, Erimem and even Abraham Lincoln himself. He told her of how the Doctor prevented the Rebel soldier Aaron Eddowes from prematurely assassinating the president in Richmond, Virginia.
Unbeknownst to him, his entire correspondence with Bartlett was delayed by the United States Postal Service for the entire duration of the war. She only received his missives after Lincoln was assassinated. Nevertheless, he felt as though the act of committing his thoughts to paper had kept him sane during the hell of war, and in his final letter — despite never having heard from her for over four years — he proposed marriage. She accepted.
During the war, Johnson conducted himself with honour, and even progressivism. Not only was he committed to a United States victory in the abstract, he was also specifically committed to abolitionist goals. A 19 March 1865 letter for his superior, General Morris Heggie, proved that he had been instrumental in the emancipation of one Moses Smith, and that Johnson's request to have Smith seconded to his command was granted. This meant that he technically led an integrated unit long before integration was the norm in the US Army. (PROSE: Blood and Hope)
Category:19th century individuals
Category:US Army officers
Category:American Civil War veterans