John Warfield Johnston served as a Senator from Virginia in the United States Congress from 1870 to 1883. A member of the Democratic Party, John Warfield Johnston contributed to the legislative process during 3 terms in office.

John Warfield Johnston’s service in Congress occurred during a significant period in American history. As a member of the Senate, John Warfield Johnston participated in the democratic process and represented the interests of constituents.

John Warfield Johnston (September 9, 1818 – February 27, 1889) was an American lawyer and politician from Abingdon, Virginia. He served in the Virginia State Senate, and represented Virginia in the United States Senate when the state was readmitted after the American Civil War. He was a United States Senator for 13 years. In national politics, he was a Democrat. Initially declared ineligible to serve in Congress because of the Fourteenth Amendment because he had sided with the Confederacy during the Civil War, he was seated after the Freedmen’s Bureau declared he helped a sick and dying former slave after the conflict. Senator Johnston became the first former Confederate to serve in the United States Senate.