William Page Johnson II, Author and Public Servant

By Paul Herbert

Published: Monday, January 26, 2004 2:53 PM EST

Fairfax resident William Page Johnson II, "Page," has been interested in history for about as long as he can remember. Like most people who develop a serious interest, it began with his father, who through his occupation as a real estate title executive has been able to research historic homes and properties in and around Fairfax County. The other person responsible for sparking Page's interest in history was his 7th grade history teacher at Lanier Middle School, Mr. Paul Curran. Mr. Curran made history, and especially the Civil War, come to life, primarily by bringing actual Civil War artifacts to the classroom. People, particularly children, can hear and read about history all day long, but sometimes it really only registers if they feel and hold an actual Civil War relic that a living breathing soldier owned well over a century ago.

Born and raised in Fairfax City, Page recalls playing "army" around many old Fairfax homes that have since become historic sites, such as the Blenheim House and the Farr property. Later he participated in Civil War re-enactments as part of his research.

Page had several ancestors in the Civil War, as well as the Revolutionary War. Revolutionary War ancestor Robert Sisson enlisted in 1776 in the 2nd Virginia Regiment and was held for two years by the British as a prisoner of war. Page has two ancestors who signed the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Nelson, the Governor of Virginia, and Carter Braxton, a delegate from King William County.

Page's primary interest in history is in one of the least known and least written about areas, the minutia of the average soldier. Thousands of books have been written about the battles and leaders of wars, but anyone wanting to really understand what the average soldier faced on a day-to-day basis will become frustrated by the dearth of published material. In trying to uncover those stories, Page came across many fascinating stories of Fairfax County men in the Civil War. He learned that some men in the 17th Virginia Infantry Regiment (the Fairfax County regiment), such as Captain William Dulaney, voted in a very small minority against Virginia's secession from the Union in May 1861. (Fairfax County voted 942-289 to secede from the Union.)

The research continued and expanded to include identifying every Civil War soldier from Fairfax County. This effort resulted in Page's first book published in 1995, "Brothers and Cousins: Confederate Soldiers and Sailors of Fairfax County, Virginia," and led to his second book published in 2002, "Off to War: The Virginia Volunteers in the War with Mexico."

One of Page's most rewarding research findings was the discovery that an artifact from one of his Civil War ancestors was in existence and, in fact, on public display. Pvt. George H. Lyles of the 17th Virginia, Company G, "the Mt. Vernon Guard," was wounded in the foot at the 2nd Battle of Manassas. Page discovered that Lyle's brogan-what we call a boot-was on display at the Manassas National Battlefield Museum.

Page hopes that his time and effort researching the history of Fairfax County leads to a renewed public interest in individual family histories and the history of our community. Page thoroughly enjoys researching and writing about the history of Fairfax County. After the many hours and years of learning and sharing, Page has only one regret: he wishes he had taken the chance to thank Mr. Curran for making history come to life.

Page is a current member and the past president of the Fairfax County Historical Society, as well as a member of Historic Fairfax City, Inc. Page lives in Fairfax City and is the Commissioner of Revenue for the City of Fairfax.


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William Page Johnson II, Author and Public Servant

By Paul Herbert

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