Capt. Edward Thomas Broughton and the Johnson Guards

Alabama native Edward Thomas Broughton, Jr. (b. 1834) came to Jasper, Texas, with his family in 1847. Broughton married Mary Elizabeth Douglas in 1856. He studied law in Smith County and was admitted to the bar in 1857. By 1860 the Broughtons were living in Kaufman, Texas, where Edward was elected district attorney in 1861.

In early 1861 Broughton and other men in the area formed the Kaufman Light Infantry. The company mustered in Prairieville in Sept. 1861 with Captain Edward T. Broughton in command. After renaming their company the Johnson Guards for prominent local merchants John H. and Jasper W. Johnson, they joined Confederate Colonel John Gregg's 7th regiment of Texas Volunteers in Marshall, Texas, as part of Company C in late 1861.

Broughton was captured at Ft. Donelson, Tennessee, in February 1862. Later released in a prisoner exchange, he returned to the war and was again taken prisoner in 1863. Before his release in May 1864 Broughton suffered a debilitating illness. Although in poor health he rejoined the 7th Texas Regiment and for a brief period became acting commander.

Broughton moved to Sherman, Grayson County, Texas, shortly after the war, and later served in the Texas Senate. He died on February 12, 1874. Sesquicentennial of Texas Statehood 1845 - 1995