John Johnson (b. circa
1840 - d. 1893)
MSA SC 3520-4898
USCT Soldier, Talbot County, Maryland
Biography:
John Johnson was born a slave around 1840 in Easton, Talbot County, Maryland.1 Johnson was the slave for Colonel Edward Lloyd, who was considered to be one of the largest property owners in the state of Maryland, both in land and slaves.2 The Lloyd's lived in the Miles River Neck area of Talbot County that consisted of 15,000 acres and the Lloyd family owned the majority of that land.3 By 1863, many slaveholders had begun to realize the end of slavery was inevitable. Lloyd, like many slaveowners, may have viewed this as their final opportunity to receive compensation for the loss of their slaves as the institution of slavery was rapidly deteriorating. Not only were slaveowners entitled to compensation, but free blacks and slaves also counted towards the state quota, which meant many slaveowners could have protected their family members from having to join the war.4 Lloyd was entitled to receive his compensation of $100 after he proved the validity of his ownership of Johnson.5 Lloyd was due to receive payment on May 25, 1865.6
It was not until September of 1863, nine months after Abraham Lincoln enacted the Emancipation Proclamation, that the War Department Adjutant General's Office gave Colonel Birney the authority to raise a regiment of Colored Infantry.7 John Johnson was able to enroll in the United States Colored Troops on September 23, 1863 at Talbot County, Maryland when he was 23 years old.8 Three days later he was mustered into the service at Baltimore, Maryland volunteering to serve for three years.9 Johnson enlisted as a private in Company A of the 7th U.S. Colored Troops regiment.10
During the war, he experienced several hardships. In March of 1864, while in Jacksonville, Florida he experienced "exposure," limiting his availability.11 Several months later, on October 13, 1864, while in the line of duty at Deep Bottom, Virginia he suffered a "gunshot wound of left shoulder."12 The surgeon noted that this disability was the "equivalent to loss of hand."13 According to a surgeon's certificate, the bullet remained in his shoulder for six months and continued to affect his ability to perform manual labor in the future.14 On October 20, 1863, he was discharged from Fort Monroe and after spending time at Hicks General Hospital in Baltimore, he was discharged for a second time on January 10, 1866.15 Despite being wounded early during the war, Johnson still participated in various battles throughout Virginia, including Kingsland Road, Fussel's Mills, Petersburg, Fort Gilmer, and Fort Harrison.16
After the war, Johnson appeared to spend the majority of his life in Tunis Mills, Talbot County, Maryland.17 He was pensioned since his discharge at $8.00 per month and that number continued to increase.18 In June of 1866, he was earning $15.00 per month and that increased to $18.00 per month in 1872.19 As of March 3, 1883, Johnson was receiving $24.00 per month due to his disability that rendered him incapable of working.20 Joseph Johnson, John's first cousin, testified in an affidavit given on January 25, 1890 that he had lived near John and that he was "in very bad condition he is so completely broken down that he can hardly get about at all."21 Joseph Johnson also stated that John was "not able to work or help himself."22 There was also other affidavits coming from James Gibson, Charles Demby, and Ennalds Meaney that outlined John Johnson's inability to perform manual labor.23 These affidavits were vital for John Johnson to gain an increase in his pension due to his inability to work.
Although Johnson resided in Talbot County for much of his life, he did move to Baltimore for the remaining two years of his life.24 One address given in his pension file was 33 St. Paul Street and the other address given on his death record was 1402 Shields Alley in the 20th Ward.25 In 1893, the year of his death, he was earning a pension rate of $36 per month.26 At the age of 54, he died from consumption on August 3, 1893.27 He was buried at Loudon Park National Cemetery in Section A, Site 1835 on August 5, 1893.28
For a visual representation of John Johnson's journey from slavery to freedom, please click here. Users must have access to Google Earth in order to utilize this file, which includes landmarks(pins) in Johnson's life from 1840 to 1893. You may take the tour and investigate individual sites under the "Places" tab on the left of the screen, or you may navigate using the slider and cursor on the map itself.5. Ibid.
6. COMPTROLLER OF THE TREASURY (Bounty Rolls) John Johnson, Page 154, [MSA SM183-1].
7. Agnes Kane Callum, Colored Volunteers of Maryland: Civil War 7th Regiment United States Colored Troops, 1863-1866 (Baltimore, MD: Mullac Publishers, 1990), 1.
8. SPECIAL COLLECTIONS (U.S. Colored Troops Pension File Collection) John Johnson, Page 5.
9. Ibid.
10. Ibid.
11. Ibid., 20.
13. Ibid., 2.
15. Ibid., 10.
16. Callum, Colored Volunteers of Maryland, 41.
17. SPECIAL COLLECTIONS (U.S. Colored Troops Pension File Collection) John Johnson, Page 20.
18. Ibid., 11.
19. Ibid.
20. Ibid.
21. Ibid., 35.
22. Ibid.
25. SPECIAL COLLECTIONS (U.S. Colored Troops Pension File Collection) John Johnson, Page 22. ;
BALTIMORE CITY HEALTH DEPARTMENT BUREAU OF VITAL STATISTICS (Death Record), John Johnson, MSA CM1132-49.
26. SPECIAL COLLECTIONS (U.S. Colored Troops Pension File Collection) John Johnson, Page 12, 27, 28.
27. BALTIMORE CITY HEALTH DEPARTMENT BUREAU OF VITAL STATISTICS (Death Record), John Johnson, MSA CM1132-49.
28. "John Johnson." Nationwide Gravesite Locator. United States Department of Veteran Affairs. http://gravelocator.cem.va.gov/j2ee/servlet/NGL_v1.
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