William Preston Johnston, 1831-1899
Continued from entry on list of correspondents
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Johnston was the son of Confederate General Albert Sidney Johnston and himself served in the Confederate army. His father was considered something of a superman, but William Preston Johnston was sickly, so much so that he was posted to be an attendant, albeit a highly placed one, to Robert E. Lee and later, Jefferson Davis. After the war, he quickly became known as a progressive educator in regards to the South’s white population, taking a bold stance in favor of women’s education. He also had other talents and interests that make him an interesting example of the wide range of people comprising JLN’s network of friends and acquaintances. He was the author of two books of poetry and a Shakespearean scholar, particularly interested in Hamlet. He was one of the few southerners elected to the American Antiquarian Society in the late nineteenth century.
At the same time he promoted liberal ideas about women’s education and a New South, he remained devoted to the “Lost Cause of the South.” He was said to have visited Jefferson Davis in prison often and to have been in contact with him especially during Davis’ last days in New Orleans where he died in 1889. JLN’s correspondence with Johnston tells nothing of this story but her friendship with him does suggest attitudes worth exploring by others.
Johnston was cognizant of her lifestyle, different as it was from that of most women, and of her temperament as one that could be easily offended, certainly, wary. However, he respected both a desire to hide her identity and to work to promote the college. She asked him to write to her using “plain envelopes, not the Tulane University ones.” At the same time, she approached him as an equal, telling him how other schools were advertising, how they showed their campuses in printed pamphlets. He became her partner in plans for the Newcomb chapel, and in her comparison with other colleges, notably Wellesley. She called him dear “friend” and sent him wishes for his “welfare” and “success” though she was not always happy with all his work.