Editing Albert Sidney Johnston (section)

==Texian Army==
Johnston moved to Texas in 1836 and<ref name=EB1911/> enlisted as a [[Private (rank)|private]] in the Texian Army<ref name=EB1911/> after the [[Texas War of Independence]] from the Republic of Mexico. He was named [[Adjutant General of Texas|Adjutant General]] as a [[Colonel (United States)|colonel]] in the Republic of Texas Army on August 5, 1836. On January 31, 1837, he became senior [[brigadier general]] in command of the Texas Army.

On February 5, 1837, Johnston fought in a duel with Texas Brigadier General [[Felix Huston]], who was angered and offended by Johnston's promotion. Huston had been the acting commander of the army and perceived Johnston's appointment as a slight from the Texas government. Johnston was shot through the hip and severely wounded, requiring him to relinquish his post during his recovery.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.texasescapes.com/ClayCoppedge/Dueling.htm| title = Dueling, and The Huston-Johnston Duel on Feb. 5, 1837.}}</ref>

Afterward, Johnston said he fought Huston "as a public duty... he had little respect for the practice of dueling." He believed that the "safety of the republic depended upon the efficiency of the army... and upon the good discipline and subordination of the troops, which could only be secured by their obedience to their legal commander. General Huston embodied the lawless spirit in the army, which had to be met and controlled at whatever personal peril."<ref>Johnston, pp. 80</ref>

Many years later, Huston said that the duel was "a shameful piece of business, and I wouldn't do it again under any circumstances... Why, when I reflect upon the circumstances, I hate myself... that one act blackened all the good ones of my life. But I couldn't challenge Congress; and President [[Sam Houston|Houston]], although a duelist, was too far above me in rank. Well, thank God I didn't kill him."<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Truman |first=Ben C. |date=1908 |title=Albert Sidney Johnston's Duel |journal=Confederate Veteran Magazine |volume=XVI |pages=461}}</ref>

On December 22, 1838, [[Mirabeau B. Lamar]], the second president of the [[Republic of Texas]], appointed Johnston as Secretary of War. He defended the Texas border against Mexican attempts to recover the state in rebellion. In 1839, he campaigned against Native Americans in northern Texas during the Cherokee War of 1838–39. At the [[Battle of the Neches]], Johnston and Vice President [[David G. Burnet]] were both cited in the commander's report "for active exertions on the field" and "having behaved in such a manner as reflects great credit upon themselves."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wylie |first=Arthur |title=The Battles and Men of the Republic of Texas |publisher=Lulu Press |year=2016 |pages=44}}</ref> In February 1840, he resigned and returned to Kentucky.