According to records, Brothers said Samuel Johnson was born Jan. 28, 1845, in Springfield Township and grew up in Connellsville. He was the oldest of eight children — five boys and three girls — born to John and Sara Kemp Johnson.

In April 1861 at the age of 16, Johnson became filled with the spirit of patriotism at the news that Southern forces had attacked Fort Sumter in South Carolina. He made several attempts to enlist in the Army but was turned away because, in his own words, “They said I was too young.”

Finally in July 1861, Brothers said Johnson was accepted into the service. He enlisted in Connellsville and was put on a train to Pittsburgh. He was assigned as a private to Company G of the 9th Pennsylvania Reserves and he began his military training.

Between the summers of 1861 and 1862, Johnson and the 9th saw action in several early battles of the Civil War, Brothers said. The most notable was Gen. George McClellan's ill-fated attempt to capture Richmond, Va., known as the Peninsula Campaign. But the Union Army was defeated when Gen. Robert E. Lee took command of the Confederate forces.

“This victory gave Gen. Lee the confidence he needed to launch his first invasion of the North,” Brothers said. “The two great armies of the North and South would clash outside the small town of Sharpsburg, Md., on Sept. 17, 1862.”

After just one day of fighting, Lee's army was forced to retreat. The Battle of Antietam would become known as “America's Bloodiest Day.”

“Although wounded during that battle, Johnson, then only 17 years old, showed so much courage in the face of the enemy that he would become the first of 21 soldiers from the Battle of Antietam to be awarded the nation's highest honor for bravery,” Brothers said.

After recovering from his wound, Brothers said Johnson was promoted to 2nd lieutenant and stationed in New York City with the Veterans Reserve Corps, also known as the invalid corps. Johnson and his unit worked to put down the draft riots of 1863, in the process angering his superiors after which he was discharged from the Army. Johnson made other attempts to re-enlist, but never fulfilled those commitments.

After the war, Johnson lived for a short time in Menallen Township and then in Philadephia, according to records. During that time, he became a physician. Although little is known about his medical training, Brothers said Johnson would practice medicine for the rest of his life.

Johnson then moved west as many Americans did during those days after the Civil War. Records show he lived in West Virginia, Ohio, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma and finally most of his life in Arkansas.

During that time, Johnson had five wives and several children. His first wife, Sarah, died about 1870, followed by the death of his second wife Fannie in 1875. His third wife Pearl died in 1895. His fourth wife Erica divorced him in 1908. He stayed married to his last wife Carrie until his death.

Brothers said Johnson did receive a small pension for his service during the Civil War.

“Records show that at the time of his death he was receiving a pension of just $6 a month,” Brothers said.

Johnson died on Nov. 25, 1915, near his home in Onda, Ark. An obituary from a Fayetteville, Ark., newspaper announced his death, stating local physician died by “a horse running with him in a buggy.” He is buried in Baker Cemetery in Onda, Ark.