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Bushwacker Johnston

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• Ecclesiastes chapter 3. Ecclesiastes chapter 3, beginning with verse 1: "To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; a time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace."

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• Let me just point out the fact that Scripture tells us there is indeed a time to fight. It is spoken of in Scripture in verse 8 when it is called a time of war. And then if you look back in verse 3, He begins by saying there is a time to kill. When you think about fighting, war, and killing, it is absolutely repulsive and unthinkable to those of us who do not harbor any inclination toward those acts. Yet, we have to understand there are times when it becomes absolutely necessary. And Scripture begins in verse 1 by saying, "To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven." So obviously, if you look down in the context, just like there are times of planting and times of harvesting, a time of weeping and time of dancing, and a time of laughing, there's also then a time of fighting, a time of war, and death.

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• A nonviolent man may be driven to violence, and the man who's never ever had an inkling or any desire to hurt anyone may be driven to fight and, yes, to kill in defense of his life, his family, and his home. I suppose one of the most frequently asked questions that I get as I travel around in light of everything that is happening is this question: "Where do I draw the line? Where do I draw my line in the sand and say no more?"

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• I'm just not going to take it any longer. Well, the answer to that question, I believe, is this. The line is drawn at different points for different individuals. None of us are made alike. None of us think exactly alike, or at least not alike in every detail, nor do we all have the same breaking point. Some can take more than others. Some just want to hold back as long as they can, and others are ready to fight at the drop of a hat, and they're willing to drop the hat themselves. Well, Bushwhacker Johnston was a preacher who was driven to fight.

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• Like many in his day, he was certainly not left a choice. It was either fight or die.

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• Now let me explain the term "bushwhacker." The term "bushwhacker" was normally applied to any Confederate soldier that operated as a partisan ranger, especially those who operated behind enemy lines or in any territory claimed by the enemy. The term "bushwhacker" was usually applied to those units who were small and, of necessity, they had to lay traps, use snares and tricks against the enemy because the enemy vastly outnumbered them. So the term "bushwhacker" then, generally speaking, was applied to any rebel, any Confederate that was found behind enemy lines. You will find this term used against all the Confederates in Missouri, especially Quantrill and his band. Bushwhacker Johnston was actually Pastor Milus E. Johnston, a Methodist preacher from Alabama. His father-in-law, the Reverend John Hicks Hammer, was also a Methodist preacher. After the war, his son, Melville Burr Johnston, also became a Methodist preacher.

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• So we're talking then about a family basically of preachers. During the years of 1860 and 1861, Pastor Johnston was on the Madison Circuit in North Alabama and, to use his own words, he was, quote, "minding his own business, and his business was preaching the gospel," end quote. What many people don't understand is in North Alabama, and especially in certain parts of Tennessee, the Federals, the Union, the Yanks, whatever you want to call them, had gained control of that territory.

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• And certainly, they were arresting and harassing a number of citizens. Well, Pastor Johnston then appealed to the Federals who were in control in North Alabama that they might just leave him alone, that he might go about his business of preaching the gospel. Instead of listening to his appeal, they arrested him and, of course, harassed him and his family. And according to Johnston's own words, here's what he said: that he preached just as earnestly for the salvation of souls and pled just as earnestly for the preservation of the Union. In other words, here was a man who just really wanted to be left alone.

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• He didn't want the war. He did not want to have a divided country. And he said, "I pray just as fervently for the salvation of souls as for the preservation of the Union." But he went on to say that after he had been arrested and so grievously treated, and his family so wickedly treated, that the Yankee colonel who arrested him had rubbed a few drops of secession blood into his constitution. Well, in that part of the country, the Yankee soldiers were not only stealing everything imaginable, but they were burning homes, looting, raping, destroying, murdering innocent men and women. In fact, on one occasion, Pastor Johnston was in town and he said something to one of the Union soldiers, and the Union soldier says, "Well, every dog has his day." And Pastor Johnston replied, "I believe there are more dogs around here than there are days."

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• But anyhow, after he was constantly harassed, he said this: he straightened himself up and he looked northward and he said, "Boys, I've come to the conclusion that God never yet made a man to be slobbered on always by dogs. Hence, I'm going to give those fellows a turn the best I can get into the hopper." And so Johnston then immediately went and joined the Confederate Army, was commissioned as an officer, and he was to raise troops and to operate behind enemy lines. Now, listen carefully. Johnston fought behind enemy lines throughout the entire war. Why? His home was behind enemy lines. He lived behind enemy lines. His ministry was behind enemy lines. And he fought behind enemy lines. And he came and went at his pleasure. He was not going to abandon his family, his country, or his ministry because of the Yankees. Now Johnston was eagerly sought by the Yankees, and numerous companies were sent after him to either capture or kill him. Listen carefully, yet none succeeded. Neither he nor his unit were ever captured during the war.

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• Thousands sought him and his men. How did they escape? Well, you've got to understand those men were born and raised in that country. They had intimate knowledge of that country, and according to Johnston's own words, they very seldom slept under a roof. They were usually out in the boondocks. Johnston had only a few men under his command, usually as few as from 35 to 85. So it was not a very large command. There were other partisan units operating in the area as well, so that if a larger number of troops were needed, they could join together, but usually there was a small number. In fact, during his first battle, listen carefully, Major Johnston only had 11 men, and four of those men could not even get to their weapons, so that meant he had seven men, and those seven men fought off successfully from 85 to 100 Yankees. In fact, Johnston calls it the Battle of the Corn Cribs because they happened to be in corn cribs getting corn for their horses when the federal troops came upon them.

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• Johnston and his men had a motto. That motto was simply this: "For home and country." They determined that they would fight and die, if necessary, for their homes and their country. And their home, of course, was Alabama and the Southland. Now Bushwhacker Johnston had told his men a very simple philosophy of fighting. And by the way, I would suggest this philosophy to each of you as well. Think about this. Johnston told his men that they had to either fight it out, trick them out, run out, or die out.

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• Now here's what he meant by that. If they could fight it out with the Yankees, they would do so. If they were outnumbered, then they would try to trick them. If they could not trick them and succeed, then they would try to outrun them. If they could not outrun them, then they would die fighting. And you've got to remember, on several occasions, several occasions, Johnston and his men were outnumbered from 15 to 20 to 1. And at those times, Johnston used this terminology.

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• He said, "Occasionally, we had to lead the Yanks." Which meant they were in the front and the Federals were doing the pursuing. But you know, when you think about the fighting in the war, you've got to understand, although there were mighty serious battles, it wasn't always serious battles. And there were times when those men had to sit around in camp and they became extremely bored. And they wanted some entertainment. And so what some of Johnston's men would do was this.

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• They would go out in the woods, and they would get grape vines and bind them together, wrap them together, and then they would string them across the road just about rider high. Make them tight and taut. Wait until about dusk or just a little bit after dawn when it's very difficult to see, and they would see some Yankees coming and they would shoot their pistols and shoot over their heads and then turn and run like they really don't want to fight. And of course the Yankees would chase them, and just as they hit the grapevines, all of them would be swept off their horses, and Johnston's men would just turn around and laugh and ride off, you know. Didn't want to kill them, just having fun, and would turn around and ride off.

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• Well, it wasn't always entertainment either. Johnston had great abilities. He had great skills, and he was determined to lead his men in fighting. And consequently, there were dire death threats issued against this preacher and against his men. There was a new Yankee colonel that came into town, and he had ordered, according to Johnston's hearing, that he had ordered that there was to be no quarter shown for either Johnston or his men. If they were captured, they would either be shot or hanged immediately. Well, Johnston and his men were Confederate soldiers. They were real soldiers. And consequently, they were entitled to be treated as prisoners of war if and when they were captured. And so Major Johnston then heard now that the Yankee colonel had given orders to either shoot them down like dogs or to hang them. So Major Johnston then immediately wrote to the Yankee colonel, and here's what he said: "Sir, we learned that you have orders from headquarters, and those orders have been read in dress parade that you should give our boys no quarter, but shoot or hang every prisoner."

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• "Now, sir, we have always treated prisoners as human beings, showing them special kindness, which course we wish to continue. Please be kind enough to let us know whether you have received such orders or not." Plain and simple. Well, Major Johnston received this word back. The answer came rolling back: "The 13th asked for no quarter, nor does it give any." Shortly thereafter, Company B was sent out to capture the hateful band of bushwhackers.

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• On their way, they stopped at the house of Captain Thomas Owens, who happened to be in the Confederate Army. Since he was in the Confederate Army, he was not home. But Mrs. Owens was there, and the children were there. No men were there, just Mrs. Owens and the children. And of course, the Federals then gave her an extreme and severe tongue lashing, and issued all kinds of threats against her and the children, and demanded to know where Bushwhacker Johnston was.

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• She told them that she had no idea. And she didn't really, they didn't believe her, but they could not get any information out of her. And finally, the officer in charge said, "We shall be back within two hours and show you old Johnston's bald head." And sure enough, within 60 minutes, they had had an introduction to Bushwhacker Johnston. The meeting took place at what is known as the Battle of Yellowbank.

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• Yellow Bank was a small creek winding its way through the low grounds of the Vina Valley. Previously, a hurricane or a tornado had come along and had blown down a huge section of great logs and great trees there. And of course, Johnston knew that the Yanks were coming, and so he positioned his men not only where he might meet them, but he might also outflank them and be in their rear at the same time.

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• So it was, in reality, an excellent trap. When the Federals got within that trap, this would be hilarious if it was not true. Major Johnston shouted for the Yanks to halt and surrender.

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• Now listen carefully, I'm going to show you the Scripture. Since Major Johnston was also a pastor, of course, he knew the Word of God. In every instance, before he started a fight, he always gave his enemy an opportunity to surrender. Why would he do that? Well, look in your Bibles very quickly to Deuteronomy chapter 20. Deuteronomy chapter 20. Deuteronomy chapter 20, and let's begin reading there with verse 10. Deuteronomy 20 and verse 10. Here is what God told the Israelites as they went out to battle. Deuteronomy 20 verse 10, God says, "When thou comest nigh unto a city to fight against it, then proclaim peace to it."

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• Now, he wasn't fighting a city, but it's still the same principle. So, "When thou comest nigh unto a city to fight against it, then proclaim peace unto it. And it shall be, if they make thee an answer of peace, and open unto thee, then it shall be that all the people that is found therein shall be tributaries unto thee, and they shall serve thee." Now watch. "And if it will make no peace with thee, but will make war against thee, then thou shalt besiege it. And when the Lord thy God hath delivered it into thine hands, thou shalt smite every male thereof with the edge of the sword." Now look what God said. God said, here you go, you can make an offer of peace. If they will surrender, fine, they become your tributaries. If they will not surrender, then God says literally kill all the men.

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• So it was the standard operating procedure of Major Johnston that when he met those Yankees, he would give them the opportunity to surrender to save the effusion of blood. In this instance, he called upon them to halt and surrender. Of course, they did not. They opened fire, and since they opened fire, then Major Johnston and his men poured an extremely heavy fire not only into their front, but their rear and their flank. There was only one way that they could go to escape the deadly battle. Many of them took it, those that could took it. Many of them already were killed, hurt, wounded. During the melee, one horse reared up with his rider. The horse was wounded, the rider was wounded, but instead of the horse taking the avenue of escape, the horse tried to run straight toward Major Johnston and his men, who were behind these huge fallen trees. And the horse then tried to jump over the trees, but since the horse was wounded, it was not able to make the jump, and the horse fell, and the rider was thrown 20 feet in the air before he ever hit the ground.

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• Major Johnston assumed the man was killed. But upon checking on him, he found out that he was not killed and he was not even hurt as badly as he supposed. While his men then were gathering up all the equipment of the Federals that they had thrown down and lost, the remainder made it back to Huntsville. And by the way, this is Company B. It was Company A that Johnston met at the Battle of the Corn Cribs when seven men defeated between 85 and 100 federal soldiers. And when Company B came limping back, Company A began to tease and to ridicule them and said, "Oh yeah, oh yeah, we told you old Johnston would fight." But Johnston took this one Yank that had been thrown off his horse, poured water on him, revived him, and when the man came to and was able to travel, Major Johnston sent him back to his command in Huntsville.

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• And he said, "I want you to give a message to your masters. Here's what he said. You tell them, look here. We want you to go back to your masters at the stockade and tell them that old Johnston's hand has been heavy upon you for certain. And that he says that if you take the life of one of his men after they have surrendered, that the lives of ten of your men will pay the forfeit." The Yankee replied that he was afraid that he'd be killed before he got back to Huntsville.

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• Major Johnston said, "You go ahead and leave." He said, "I can assure you that not a hair of your head will be touched." And sure enough, the man got successfully back to Huntsville, and he also gave that fateful report to his commanding officer. Johnston also says this, "We do not know if this was the same Yank who gave that fateful report to his masters or not, but he also said this, or at least one of them did, said Major Johnston always prays over his wounded enemies before he sends them back. He said he prays, 'Good Lord, we didn't mean to hurt this man.'"

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• "Enable my boys to take better aim next time so that they may kill and not cripple." Well, interestingly enough, that was the report that one of the Yanks gave concerning Bushwhacker Johnston.

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• Now the Federals, of course, were exceedingly angry with Johnston and his men. And consequently, they were determined to drive them out of the country, even if they had to destroy the whole country. They burned houses. They arrested citizens. They court-martialed and hanged a number of the citizens. And finally, they drew up a petition asking Johnston and his men to cross the river, that is, get out of Alabama, go into Tennessee, and leave us alone. And they were forcing the citizens to sign this petition. Well, Dr. Isaac Sullivan refused to sign that petition. And he then went to Johnston and his men and told them about the petition, and that he had refused to sign it. The officer in charge of Johnston's men told the doctor, he said, "Doctor, you go back and sign the petition, for it will do us no harm, and perhaps it will make fair weather for you. By refusing to sign, you lay yourself liable to be arrested, put in prison, and maybe your life taken." Well, the petition, of course, was sent out there.

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• These citizens had asked Johnston to leave. And so Johnston then replied to the petition, to the federal soldiers, he replied and said, "Gentlemen, we are much obliged for your kind offer, but we've never failed to cross the river whenever we wish to, neither do we expect to fail when we desire to cross it again. This is our country, and here we expect to stay." The Federals responded that if Bushwhacker Johnston and his men did not leave, that they would burn 10 square miles of Alabama. Johnston replied, "You've already been burning. You've burned dwellings, cribs, barns, churches, fences, and you may burn on. Yes, you may burn old terra firma until the bottom drops out and she caves in."

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• "Then if it be possible, we will bring grains of sand one at a time from some other sphere and stick them together until we have a foundation to stand on and fight you again over the chasm. You had just as well understand once and for all, we are here to stay. This is our home." Wow. Johnston said after that, getting no word from them, that he and his men went about their business and the Yanks went about their business, which was burning houses and arresting citizens.

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• Now let me show you another aspect about Major Johnston. He was not a bloodthirsty man. He was a great fighter and he knew how to stack the odds in his favor. But he was not out for killing just to be killed. He did lay a trap for a troop of federal soldiers that he knew was coming along a certain road. In fact, Major Johnston used these words. He said it was a death trap. He said it was so arranged that there would be no soldier that would be able to escape the trap. They could literally kill every federal soldier that entered that section of the road. He said, just as they were about to spring the trap, Major Johnston noticed a number of private citizens riding with the federal soldiers. And he said, not wishing to harm innocent civilians, I allowed the civilians and the Federal soldiers to pass safely through the trap. He said no citizen and no Yankee soldier ever realized how close they had come to death. The very fact that he did not want to harm innocent men allowed those Federal soldiers to go free.

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• Those Federals continued to loot houses, to steal. In one instance, they were stealing from the meat house, from the smoke house, from an old primitive Baptist preacher. And the old primitive Baptist preacher, as he saw all of his meat stolen, in anguish and in anger said out loud, "I wish the bushwhackers would get hold of you before you get back to camp." Well, thankfully, the Yanks had not gone far from his house when five Confederate soldiers came upon them. The Federals, once again, were ordered to surrender. They did not. Instead, they dropped the meat that they had stolen and went for their weapons. And when they did, five Confederate soldiers defeated 22 Federal soldiers who had been plundering, looting, and stealing. They killed two of the Yanks outright. Thankfully, one of the Yanks that was killed was the one who had heard the old man say, "I wish the bushwhackers would get hold of you before you get back to camp." Because had he lived and repeated that, then the life of the old primitive Baptist preacher would have been in danger.

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• Now, I said earlier that peaceable men could be driven to war. Everything about war is unpleasant, and the shedding of blood is horrible, and sometimes it is indeed forced upon an individual. I'm going to tell you something. Most people have a romantic idea when it comes to war. That romantic idea is, well, I'm going to kill the enemy. But they never stop and think about the enemy trying to kill them.

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• I had a good friend, not only a friend but a relative, who was a machine gunner on a helicopter in Vietnam. And he was eager to get over there. He was wounded and just as eager to get back home. And you know, he told me, he said, "You know what I found out?" He said, "Those people shoot back." He said, "They were trying to kill me." He said, "You know, I am so thankful that I got wounded because had I not been wounded," he said, "I would have been killed." Well, you've got to understand this.

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• It doesn't matter concerning the dangers. There are times that individuals are forced into fighting. Major Johnston had three homes that were burned down by federal troops. It's bad enough to lose one's home and one's possessions, but it's even worse when your wife and your children are maliciously and wickedly treated. And I'm going to tell you something. Listen carefully, men. Not only can men be driven to the point of fighting, but women may also be driven to the point of fighting equally as well as men. Pastor Johnston's wife, Mary Elizabeth Johnston, was brought up in a Christian home. Her father, John Hicks Hammer, was not only a pastor, he was also a Methodist minister. Mrs. Johnston was a kind and gracious woman, and she tried to model her life after the Proverbs 31 woman.

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• She was of medium height, weighed about 130 pounds, had dark eyes, black hair, rosy cheeks, picture of health and happiness. When the Federals came the second time to burn the house down, Mrs. Johnston was in the loom house while her child was asleep on the trundle bed. And over the trundle bed was a mattress on the rafters up there. And one of the Yankee soldiers came in, took a new broom, set it on fire, and then set fire to that mattress that was on the rafters in an attempt to burn the house down. Well, Mrs. Johnston then saw the fire falling down upon her sleeping baby. She pushed the federal soldier away, snatched the mattress down, and knocked the fire out. And while she was trying to do that, the federal soldier then hit her over the head with the broom that was on fire, singeing her hair, burning numerous holes in her dress, and still trying to set the house on fire to destroy her and the baby. Mrs. Johnston then reached back and picked up a tea kettle and swung at the Yankee soldier, and the only reason she missed him was the handle came off and her aim was off.

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• When she missed him with the teapot, she reached down and picked up the fire poker and began to beat him over the head and drove him out of the house. And when the other federal soldiers saw how she was defending her house, they at least gave her time to get her baby and her furniture out of the house until they set it on fire and burned it to the ground. The family then moved three quarters of a mile down the road into some other houses in which they could dwell. In fact, they were houses owned by her father.

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• Now let me just stop. You and I cannot comprehend the hatred and the animosity that existed between those federal soldiers and Southerners, and especially those federal soldiers against Southerners, who not only fought against them, but some of them had done absolutely nothing. You would stop and think that after having burned two homes to the ground, they would say, "Well, we've tormented the Johnston family enough, let's leave them alone."

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• But no, they come after them a third time. And the third time, there's no one there except a few women and children, and they burn the house down the third time. The ladies that are there have only just a short time to salvage a few pieces of furniture, and they have to stand helplessly by in tears in the cold winter in North Alabama as everything they have is burned to the ground.

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• To add insult to injury, Mrs. Johnston was arrested by Lieutenant Colonel B.B. Her six-month-old baby was ripped from her arms and she was forced to leave the child with others who had been burned out. And on top of that, she was then forced to ride horseback 23 miles through the roughest winter weather in northern Alabama. She was made a prisoner and held in Huntsville, Alabama. During this time, of course, Major Johnston is out fighting. In one instance, he passed within six miles of his imprisoned wife without knowing anything about her capture. He said, and these are his words, had he known at that point what had happened to his wife, there would have been weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth. When he did discover what had happened to his wife, he said that he had never been so sorely tempted in his entire life.

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• I want you to listen to what he said. This is understandable, but listen to what he said. The temptation was to cherish vengeance against everything and everyone who wore a blue uniform. Further, he said, that he had to summon to our aid all the human kindness in our nature, reach out for the examples of great and good men before us, and gather every particular of grace from every nook and corner of our soul.

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• But on combining all of these things together, we found that the scales did not balance. Hence, we threw ourselves and everything else right down at the foot of the cross, asking God to help us for the sake of the blood of Jesus Christ. Thank God, he said, we gained the victory at last, but the conflict was awful." I want you to stop and think about that. He said, "The temptation was to kill anything and everything in blue." But not anything and everything in blue had done the wickedness, just certain individuals.

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• Major Johnston and his men immediately devised a plan to rescue his wife. They knew every nook and cranny in Huntsville, Alabama, and they were determined that they were going to rescue her or die trying. Now unbeknown to Major Johnston, one of his captains, Captain Robert Welch, had been sent to convey 35 Yankee prisoners deeper into Dixie so they could be turned over to the authorities. When he heard of Mrs. Johnston's arrest, he immediately sent a dispatch to the commander at Huntsville and he said this, "I have 35 prisoners. And if you do not set Mrs. Johnston at liberty at once, the last one of them will look up a tree." In plain, simple language, "I'll hang every one of them. You better release Mrs. Johnston."

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• Now whether it was the dispatch that God used or simply an act of His overruling providence, I don't know. But the Provost Marshal set Mrs. Johnston free. He sent a good doctor, Dr. Wright, to see her home safely. Before they could leave Huntsville, they passed Lieutenant Colonel McDonald, who saw them, and asked where they were going. They showed him the passes. He snatched the passes away from them and said, "Mrs. Johnston is not a prisoner of the government, but she's my prisoner. And these passes are no good." Dr. Wright and Mrs. Johnston went back to the provost marshal who issued new passes.

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• And then he said to them, "Now go on. And if that fellow interrupts you again, report him to me and I will teach him a lesson he will soon not forget." And so Mrs. Johnston did reach home safely. I suppose beside that incident, one of the saddest events that Major Johnston had to deal with was the murder of young Patrick Davis. Davis was only 17 years of age and the sole support of his widowed mother and three sisters. Mrs. Davis had six sons, five of them were in the war, and the youngest Patrick was at home taking care of his mother.

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• He had worked hard all week long. So he took his mule down to the river to wash the mule off and to bathe himself. It was while he was at the river that he was captured by federal soldiers and he was taken to Colonel Edward Anderson. Colonel Anderson commanded at Brownsboro and it was Colonel Anderson who was having innocent citizens shot and hanged. The young boy, 17, was accused of being a bushwhacker and a spy. Well, he was neither.

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• He was asked to take a loyalty oath, which he refused to do. And then he was asked, if he had to join an army, which army would he join? And he replied that he could not join either army, that he had his mother and his sisters to take care of, he had family responsibilities, and he was not able to join any army due to those responsibilities. But since his sympathies lay with the South, if he had to make a choice, he would probably join the Confederate Army.

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• Colonel Anderson responded, "I'll fix you. You shall not go into either." With that he gave the young boy a pass to return home. And after the boy left town, Colonel Anderson then sent out a squad of men to kill him. They caught up with young Patrick, tied his body to a tree, riddled him with bullets, and then dumped his body into a sinkhole. When the young boy did not return home, of course, his mother and neighbors went out looking for him. Thankfully, some of the neighbors discovered the body. They found the young boy had been shot 14 times. His body was so mangled that those who found him decided it would be best if the mother did not see her son.

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• She was overcome with grief. In fact, she was so grief-stricken she had to be helped home. She could not even function on her own. Colonel Anderson was such a wicked man, such a tyrant, that many people feared to do anything without his permission. In fact, the man who made the casket was afraid to even make a casket without having a permit from Colonel Anderson. Many people may have been afraid of Colonel Anderson, but Mrs. Davis was not. After she regained her composure, she went to confront Colonel Anderson concerning the murder of her son. When she got there, Colonel Anderson refused her admittance.

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• He did not have time to see her. That was fine. She forced her way into his presence, and she told him that he had murdered an innocent man and broken a mother's heart and that she would have her revenge. She then stormed out and went to the other commanding officers and told them if they did not bring Lieutenant Colonel Anderson to justice that she herself personally would ride and find the rebel cavalry and bring them here to rectify the situation. Well, due to her efforts, Colonel Anderson was finally arrested and imprisoned, but he was only given five years to serve for young Davis' murder, which means he escaped the punishment for all the other murders that had been perpetrated by him. Interestingly, Major Johnston and his men came upon Mrs. Davis' home, and they saw a horse tied outside with U.S. stamped upon him.

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• So they surrounded the house. When Major Johnston went in the house, he found out that the federal officer there was actually a young lieutenant who was there gathering evidence against Colonel Anderson. Major Johnston told him, said, "Sir, if we can help you in any way, we'll be delighted to. You may be assured that no harm will come to you." A few months after the war, and this was late in the war when this happened, but a few months after the war, Major Johnston was holding a memorial service for young Patrick Davis. Federal soldiers came to the memorial service. When the federal soldiers came into the church doors, Major Johnston looked at them and said, "Come in friends, stack your arms in the corner over there."

  #52 | 43:44 to 44:45 | cleaned

• "When I was in the army, I fought you with all my might, but now I'm in the pulpit and I will preach to you with all my ability." After the service was over, a number of the soldiers came up and shook hands with Major Johnston.

  #53 | 44:46 to 45:01 | cleaned

• Now, let me remind you of something. Major Johnston was never captured. His unit was never captured. When the war ended, Major Johnston wanted to surrender with his men, but they were not going to surrender on the terms that the enemy sometimes offered. So Major Johnston then wrote General Granger. And here's what he said: "General, dear sir, we've concluded to surrender our command providing you will give us a living chance."

  #54 | 45:01 to 45:36 | cleaned

• "But we wish it distinctly understood that after we surrender, we are not to be marched through the streets of Huntsville to be tantalized like so many monkeys, or court-martialed, shot, or hung like so many dogs. In other words, if we're forced to sell out, we intend to sell out at the very highest price. We repeat it, give us a living chance, and we'll surrender all the men we can get to come in, respectfully, Major M.E. Johnston." Notice what he said. "We're willing to surrender if we can have decent terms. But if we've got to sell out, it's going to be at the highest price it will cost you to get us." General Granger replied, "Major Johnston, dear sir, I will grant you with pleasure the same terms that were granted to General Lee and General Johnston, respectfully, Granger." Isn't that interesting? Well, when they decided to surrender, and since these terms were to be the same as given to General Lee and General Johnston, Colonel Given was appointed to accept the surrender. Major Johnston said, "When we heard them coming, we had a white rag flying high in the air, and we beheld a Union flag with a white flag waving close by its side, advancing to meet us."

  #55 | 45:37 to 46:57 | cleaned

• Colonel Given and our appointed officer met first. And then after that, the notorious bushwhacker, Major Johnston, was introduced to the colonel. And after the formal salutations, here is what Major Johnston said to Colonel Gibbon. He said, "Colonel, permit me to say that you're the first federal officer or private whom I have met since the war began who treated me as if I had been anything above a four-footed animal." The Colonel replied, "I'm sorry to hear that, Major." "I know that it's plain language, Colonel, but it's nevertheless the unvarnished truth." In a few minutes, Colonel Horner came up, who was a wicked, wicked man. He had fallen behind with his regiment behind Colonel Gibbon, and as soon as Major Johnston saw Major Horner, he sent to Colonel Gibbon, "If we had met that man ten minutes before we met you, there would have been a fight, for we never have intended to surrender to that man." He said before he got through with that interview, he found that Colonel Gibbon was not burdened with respect for Colonel Horner either.

  #56 | 46:58 to 48:17 | cleaned

• The agreement was that they were to be paroled on the spot and set at liberty. But the problem was there came a heavy rain. Colonel Gibbon then proposed that they march into town where they could find shelter, and of course Major Johnston and his men objected. Well, Colonel Gibbon continued to urge and they continued to object until a known Southerner, Uncle Ben Jolly, stood up with his strong commanding voice and said, "Major, move into town with your men. It's true we cannot treat you as well as we would like to, but I've got plenty of meat and bread and two large rooms covered with carpets where your men can lie crossed and pile."

  #57 | 48:19 to 49:03 | cleaned

• "Besides," he said, "I'm married to the best rebel gal in all America." Then Colonel Gibbon began to urge him again under pressure. Major Johnston said we yielded. He said it was Colonel Gibbon who was appointed then to receive their surrender. And he said before he did, he asked some very pointed questions. He asked one of the officers, first, "Are not Johnston's men poor men?" The answer was, "They are."

  #58 | 49:03 to 49:30 | cleaned

• Second, "Will they not need their horses in order to make a crop?" The answer was, "They will." "Well," said Colonel Given, "Major, tell your men to dismount and come into town on foot, for if I do not see their horses, I cannot report them." Major Johnston said this sounded strange from a federal soldier. But when Ben Jolly finished, he said, Colonel Gibbon pitched in a second time. He said he was standing in front of his officers when he called out, "Major, it is true that your men have laid down their arms, but let them shoulder them again and march right into town. And if I had my way, I would allow your men to keep their arms and to kill some of those rascals who might give you trouble." Wow, Major Johnston could not believe his ears. Finally, they got into town because of the rain. And he said as they got into town, there were two roads, a right-hand road and a left-hand road. And Colonel Horner and his men took the right-hand road, and Colonel Gibbon took the left-hand road going to the arsenal.

  #59 | 49:30 to 50:44 | cleaned

• And when Colonel Horner found out that Colonel Gibbon had taken the left-hand road and did not follow him, he sent word to Colonel Gibbon, he said, "Tell Colonel Gibbon to take the right-hand road and to come where I am." Major Johnston said when Colonel Gibbon got that information, he saw his eyes flash and he sent word by the messenger, said, "You tell Colonel Horner that I'm in command here and he'd best do well to mind his own business."

  #60 | 50:45 to 51:19 | cleaned

• Shortly they were at the arsenal. They were handing over their weapons. A number of the citizens gathered around, a number of the soldiers, and finally someone says, "Well, those fellows did more execution than any set of men I've ever heard of to use such poke stalks for guns." In other words, they couldn't believe how well Johnston and his men fought when they saw the sorry weapons that they had. Major Johnston said, "Had they known the truth, we still had our weapons. For we took the best of our weapons and hid them in a cave before we surrendered, and we only surrendered broken and outdated weapons." So Colonel Gibbon was very kind and gracious to Major Johnston and his men.

  #61 | 51:21 to 52:14 | cleaned

• In fact, at his headquarters he not only gave them a firm handshake, but a smile, and he immediately wrote their paroles. And as he wrote the paroles, one of his aides came running in and said, "Colonel, there's a United States horse out here." Raising his head, Colonel Gibbon replied, "You may go away from here, sir. There may be a United States horse out there, but I do not see him." See, when the United States government captured any horse, they branded him.

  #62 | 52:15 to 52:51 | cleaned

• Whether he was theirs or not doesn't matter. They just put their brand on him and claimed him as government property. A short while later, the same aide came in and said, "Colonel, there are three or four United States horses out here." Colonel Gibbon said, "If I were to go out there, sir, perhaps I might see a half a dozen United States horses, but I do not see them, sir. Sir, you go away from here and stay when you're gone." And what Colonel Gibbon was doing was providing good mounts for Major Johnston and his officers. So Colonel Gibbon then treated them very decently.

  #63 | 52:51 to 53:33 | cleaned

• And when they left, he shook their hands. He gave them a hearty invitation to come back and visit him anytime they needed help. Just simply ask him. Major Johnston wrote his autobiography and his account of the war some years after the war was over. Thirty-six years after the war was over, he concluded with these words. Listen to what he said. "It is true that as a consequence of the war, bitter feelings were stirred up in the minds and hearts of opposing parties. We were willing to forgive and to ask forgiveness. And after more than 36 years have passed, we have not seen fit to change our mind."

  #64 | 53:34 to 54:23 | cleaned

• Now listen, "We believe that the judge of all the earth in dealing with both sides will do right and we're willing to submit to his decision." Major Johnston's attitude was the same attitude of General Lee's. God is in control. And we must submit to Him.

  #65 | 54:23 to 54:48 | cleaned

• Now let me make a couple of applications. I want you to listen carefully. I want you to understand that the sovereign God of heaven and earth does indeed know how to protect His people. Major Johnston and his men oftentimes fought the enemy when they were outnumbered, outgunned, and ill-equipped. Throughout the entire war, Major Johnston was not wounded, was not captured. Very few of his men. I want you to look in your Bibles to 2 Peter 2 and verse 9. You need to underline this verse. 2 Peter 2 and verse 9. I want you to see that God does indeed know how to deliver His people. 2 Peter 2 and verse 9, notice what the Scripture says, "The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptation, and to reserve the unjust on the day of judgment to be punished." Isn't that amazing? God knows how to deliver the godly. He also knows how to hold the unjust to judgment. But God can, in His infinite grace, preserve and protect. I know I've told you this before, and times have changed.

  #66 | 54:49 to 56:23 | cleaned

• Oh, how times have changed. But I remember back in the 60s, when I was at boot camp at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, they took us out at night with an 11-man squad for a night firing. They had two BARs, Browning Automatic Rifles, and the rest of the men just had M1s. Every fifth bullet was a tracer. That means for every red streak that you could see, there were four more that you couldn't see. And back in the 60s, when that 11-man squad laid down that field of fire with their intersections being crossed and crisscrossed, it looked like a solid sheet of red. And I never will forget the thought that entered my mind was, "Oh Lord, how can any man crawl through that? How can any man live through that?" And yet, countless men did. And today, when you consider a minigun with one burst can put a bullet in every square inch of a football field? And yet, let me tell you, I don't care what weapon the enemy has.

  #67 | 56:23 to 57:37 | cleaned

• You know what the Bible says in Isaiah 57? "No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper. This is the heritage of the saints of God." God knows how to protect His people and He can do so in the direst of circumstances. Here's a second application. It's noteworthy, and this came to light in Major Johnston's attitude again, that many who were so evilly treated, who were threatened, who were looted, who were robbed, who were imprisoned could come out of that war without bitterness and resentment. Do you realize it's only the child of God who has the grace and mercy of God that can overcome bitterness and resentment? The Bible says in Ephesians 4 and verse 31, "Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and evil speaking be put away from you." God said don't let that be in you. Hebrews 12 and verse 15, God says, "Looking diligently, lest any man fail of the grace of God, lest any root of bitterness springing up thereby trouble you and thereby many be defiled."

  #68 | 57:38 to 58:50 | cleaned

• And yet here were men who were able to come out of that war without bitterness, without resentment, and could say, "We're willing to commit everything to the judge of all the earth who's going to do what's right. God is in control. He'll work it out." The last application of this, folks, listen carefully, men, even Christian men, can be pushed too far. And once they reach that point and draw that line, they push back. And they fight back. And they fight back in faith with the blessing and the power of God.

  #69 | 58:56 to 59:51 | cleaned

• One thing the enemy has never counted on. One thing the enemy never thinks about is this, that when God's men are pushed to their fighting point, they always summon the sovereign God of heaven and earth to help them and to fight in His power and in His might. You've heard the old adage that God and one man make a majority. That's really not true. God's a majority in and of Himself. But one man can be used by God to defeat and overthrow the enemy. Bushwhacker Johnston was a man of faith and a great warrior. Let's pray. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, I pray that You would help us to draw these applications and these lessons.

  #70 | 59:56 to 1:01:00 | cleaned

• May we remember that all history is Your history, Lord. History is nothing less than the providence of God, the eternal decree of God coming to pass in time. And we are accountable to learn from it. Speak to our hearts. Teach us. Build us up in the most holy faith. Make us holy and godly men as we obey Thy Word and believe Thy truth. In the name of Jesus Christ we ask and pray. Amen. Amen.

  #71 | 1:01:01 to 1:01:32 | cleaned

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T21:55:49Z