John Johnson

(1842 - 1907)
Home State: Wisconsin
Command Billet: Soldier
Branch of Service: Infantry
Unit: 2nd Wisconsin Infantry

Before the Antietam Campaign:
He enlisted in Company D, 2nd Wisconsin Infantry, from Janesville, Wisconsin on 20 April 1861. He was detached for US Artillery service on 27 November 1861.

In the Antietam Campaign:
He was serving with Battery B, 4th US Artillery at the Battle:

"John Johnson, detached from Company D, 2nd Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, won his medal [Medal of Honor] for valor displayed at two engagements. While serving as a cannoneer at Antietam, Maryland on September 17, 1862 he assisted Brigadier General John Gibbon and two others in firing a cannon about to be overrun by the enemy. The double canister at point blank range was critical at turning back the charge and saving the battery."

The remainder of the War:
"At Fredericksburg, Virginia on December 12, 1862 he again demonstrated his courage. While bringing case shot to his gun a piece of shrapnel severed his right arm, carrying away much of his shoulder. He continued to load his gun until loss of blood caused him to faint." He was dicharged for his wounds on 10 April 1863.

References, Sources, and other notes:
Service dates from the Roster1, with additional details from his MOH citation and Deeds of Valor.2

Birth Date: 3/25/1842 Place of Birth: Toten Christiana (Oslo), NORWAY
Death Date: 4/3/1907 Burial Place: Rock Creek Cemetery, Washington, DC

Notes

1 State of Wisconsin, Adjutant General's Office, and Chandler P. Chapman, Adj. Gen., Roster of Wisconsin Volunteers, War of the Rebellion, 1861-1865, 2 volumes, Madison: Democrat Printing Co., State Printers, 1886, Vol. 1, pg. 357 [AotW citation 10172]

2 Beyer, Walter F., and Oscar F. Keydel, compilers, Deeds of Valor: How America's Heroes Won the Medal of Honor , Detroit: The Perrien-Keydel Company, 1901, Vol. 1, pp. 114 - 115 [AotW citation 10173]

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