General Washington Johnston

General Washington Johnston (November 10, 1776 – October 26, 1833) was born in Culpeper County, Virginia.

[1] At the age of 17, he was among the first people to permanently settle in the wildness area of the Northwest Territory (1787–1803), in what is now Vincennes, Indiana.

[4] He was the defendant in the landmark Indiana Supreme Court case of Mary Clark v. General W. Johnston.

His most notable contribution might have occurred in 1808 when the Indiana Territory was considering allowing enslaved people to be brought into the state.

Johnston, seeming to be pro-slavery, delivered a "forceful indictment against human slavery" that swayed the body and won the day.

Mary, a woman of color, called Mary Clark v. General W. Johnston , 1821, Knox County, Indiana Circuit Court