Hannibal Augustus Johnson was born on June 4, 1841, to Mark and Sarah (Simmons) Johnson, in Hallowell, Maine. Before the Civil War, Johnson worked in a dry-goods store.

Johnson enlisted with Company B, 3rd Maine Volunteer Infantry in April 1861. By 1864, he was a lieutenant with the company. During the war, he was captured at Gettysburg and spent seven weeks at Belle Island prison camp near Richmond, Virginia. He was captured again the Battle of the Wilderness, confined at several prisons, and escaped in November 1864. He returned to his regiment, mustered out, and reenlisted with the 1st Maine Battalion in April 1865.

In 1866, he mustered out again, and returned to the working in business. In 1868, he married Emma Watts Lombard. They had one son, Walter. Johnson died in Lynn, Massacusetts, on July 3, 1913.