Born in North Carolina,[1] He was one of thirteen children of Henry Johnson and Phoebe Hall.[2] he served in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War, with the 69th North Carolina Infantry, and rose to the rank of Major.[3] He moved to Florida after the war. He was a physician,[4] and a Deputy Collector for the Office of Internal Revenue.[5] He was first elected to the Florida Senate in 1870, following the invalidation of an apparent win by his opponent, Charles Ross, due to election irregularities and a campaign of intimidation of black voters by supporters of Ross.[4] Johnson was allied with the Republican (liberal) faction, at that point tied with conservative Democrats, 12-12. The tie was broken by the July 21, 1875 murder of Johnson while searching for a still, approximately 10 miles from Fernandina, Florida.[5] Another source says had Johnson had "just closed his general store in Lake City and was walking home when an assassin killed him.