Samuel Johnson (b. 1826 - d. 1929)
MSA SC 3520-3461
USCT Soldier, Howard County, Maryland
Biography:
Samuel Johnson was born in 1826 near Curtis Bay, in Anne Arundel County on the south side of Patapsco River.1 Although born a free man, Johnson was bound out by his mother to work for a man named Isaac Benjamin until the age of 21.2 Finding work where he could, Johnson became a fisher and crabber along the bay, getting down to Potato Neck, Virginia.3
Johnson moved to Baltimore and married Susan Johnson. Johnson worked in
Baltimore for 8 years; during the summer season he worked in a brick
yard owned and operated by Mr. George Robinson.4 During the winter season, Johnson worked in the Oyster House shucking oysters for Mr. Maltby.5 Johnson married Susan Waters; Waters was born on September 14th 1837 in Somerset County Maryland.6
Johnson was drafted into Company C of the 39th United States Colored Infantry on June 28th 1864, and mustered out on December 4th, 1865.7 The 39th USCT was organized in Baltimore in March of 1864.8 The unit notably participated in the Federal Point, Hatcher’s Run, Bermuda Hundred, both expeditions to Fort Fisher, The Battle for Sugar Loaf Hill, and the Capture of Wilmington.9 The regiment saw significant short range combat in the Battle of the Crater during the Siege of Petersburg.10
The Siege of Petersburg was a nine month effort by Union officials from
June of 1864 to March of 1865 to cut off supplies from Petersburg to
Richmond, the Confederacy’s capital.11 The Battle of the
Crater was a significant assault by the Union troops during the Siege
of Petersburg. Union troops dug under the Petersburg battlefield at the
command of Lieutenant Colonel Henry Pleasants and set up four tons of
gunpowder to explode under the confederate banks.12 The gunpowder exploded on July 30th 1864, leading to a massive entanglement with a high casualty roll.13 Presumably, Johnson was hit by a piece of shrapnel from the mine explosion.
Johnson contracted rheumatism, a nonspecific medical term for muscle
and joint pain, on route from Fort Fisher to Raleigh North Carolina in
the spring of 1865.14 From June 26th to July 25th 1865,
Johnson was treated in Fort Hospital at New Bern, North Carolina for
intermittent fever and September 12th to October 23rd 1865 for chronic
rheumatism at Petersburg, Virginia in August 1864.15
In 1865, Johnson was pulled out of the hospital because the regiment was to be mustered out.16
Markedly deteriorated, Johnson suffered from severe rheumatism for the
rest of his life. Johnson commented on his poor physical condition
after the war, stating that “at no time since discharge been able to do
half what I could do in 1864”.17
Over the course of his life, Johnson lived in seven different places.
Johnson probably had to move so many times because of his rheumatic
condition, which would have made it difficult to find work and maintain
a living. From 1866 to 1868, Johnson lived on Parte Street near Clay in
Baltimore. From 1871 to 1882, Johnson lived on Little Sharp Street.
From 1884 to 1885, Johnson lived on Jasper Street near New Street. From
1886 to 1889, Johnson lived at 445 Little Monument Street. During 1889,
Johnson lived at 510 Moores Alley, in Baltimore Maryland. Johnson lived
at both 221 North Liberty Street and 539 Orchard Street in Baltimore
during the year 1898. Johnson moved in with his brother-in-law Leonard
Waters for the next eight years, beginning one year after his service.18
On February 16th 1889, Johnson applied for an invalid pension but was
rejected “upon the opinion of the Medical Referee, to wit: ‘Rheumatism
rejected no pensionable disability since filing claim’”.19
In 1889, Johnson was rejected again because he was considered in fair
condition; the rheumatism and intermittent fever he applied for did not
warrant a pension. However, Johnson became eligible for government
money under the Act of June 27th 1890, which allotted pensions to
disabled veterans even if their disability was deemed unrelated to the
war.20 On May 3rd 1892 he began receiving $6 per month. An
increase to $8 in 1890 was for severe rheumatism in spine, shoulders,
disease of the heart, senility, and “general breaking down of health”.21
Johnson was rendered unable to perform any manual labor; he required
assistance for almost everything, including dressing himself. Johnson
applied for an invalid pension in 1886 and received compensation of $2
per month for his service. Johnson applied for an increase in 1889 and
received $6. Applying for increases in both 1890 and 1898, Johnson
increased his pension rate to $8 and $12 per month, respectively.22
In 1896, Johnson suffered a stroke, and was unable to work due to
dementia. Samuel Johnson died on July 14th 1929 at 538 Orchard Street
of Paralysis, and was buried at Loudon Park National Cemetery.23
Several statutes enacted by Congress widened the berth for eligibility
and compensation for widows of veterans. Mrs. Susan Johnson lived off
of her widow’s pension for the remainder of her life. Mrs. Johnson
became eligible for a $20 pension under the Act of September 8, 1916
and successfully applied on November 2, 1916. On August 4th 1926, Mrs.
Johnson successfully applied for an increase to $50 per month under the
Act of July 3, 1926.24 Mrs. Johnson died on February 14th,
1929; she is buried with her husband. Mrs. Bell Ewell, Susan Johnson’s
niece, took responsibility for the funeral expense of Mrs. Susan
Johnson.25
2. Ibid.
3. Ibid.
5. Ibid.
9. Ibid.
10. Ibid.
11. Ibid.
12. Ibid.
13. Ibid.
18. Ibid.
21. SPECIAL COLLECTIONS (U.S. Colored Troops Pension File Collection) [MSA SC 3520] Samuel Johnson, Box 30, Folder 4, Page 51.Written and Researched by Daniel Ingham, 2013.
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