News release: General Joseph Eggleston Johnston

News release: August 24, 2012

From:              Pvt. Drewry R. Smith Chapter United Daughters of the Confederacy

Contact:          Melissa Burchfield 706-459-8314 (private number)

                        Judy Alderman 706-260-1242 (private number)

            Searching for a Relative of Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston

If you are related to Confederate General Joseph Eggleston Johnston of Virginia, the folks in Dalton, Georgia want to hear from you.

“We would like to have a relative attend the rededication ceremony of Johnston’s statue on Saturday, October 20 at 10:00 a.m. in Downtown Dalton,” said Melissa Burchfield, president of the Pvt. Drewry R. Smith Chapter 2522 of the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC), sponsor of the event.

“General Johnston had no children but he did have nine brothers and sisters. They were Martha, John, Peter, Valentine, Edward, Algenon, Beverly, Benjamin and Jane. His niece, Mrs. Henry Lee of Richmond, Va. and her daughter Miss Ann Mason Lee attended the original dedication ceremony,” Burchfield said. Johnston’s parents were Mary Wood and Peter Johnston, Jr. and his grandparents were Martha Butler and Peter Johnston, Sr. of Virginia.

Josephine Johnston Coyle, (born 1852-died 1906) of Dalton was also a niece. She was a member of the Bryan M. Thomas Chapter of the UDC, sponsor of the original dedication.

“Johnston’s statue, sculpted by Miss Belle Kinney of Tennessee, was erected in 1912 by the Gen. Bryan M. Thomas Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy,” said Martha Locke, past UDC Georgia division president. “For 99 years it stood as the only statue of Johnston,” she added. The statue is located at the junction of Hamilton Street and Crawford Street in Downtown Dalton.

After the ceremony at the statue, a reception will be held at the nearby historic Dalton Freight Depot. The public is invited.

If you are a relative or have connections to the Joseph Eggleston Johnston family, please call the Dalton Convention Visitors Bureau at 1-800-331-3258 or e-mail Ty Snyder at tsnyder@visitdaltonga.com.

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