 This last-minute effort to prevent Kentucky from aiding the Union was unsuccessful, and Johnson, a known Southern sympathizer, fled to Virginia with Breckinridge and others to avoid potential arrest by Union forces.From Virginia, Johnson traveled through Tennessee to Bowling Green where, despite his age (49) and a crippled arm, he volunteered as an aid to General Simon B. Buckner.On October 29, 1861, a group of Kentuckians—Johnson among them—met at Russellville, Kentucky to discuss the formation of a Confederate government for the Commonwealth, believing the Unionist government in Frankfort did not represent the will of the majority of Kentucky's citizens.