John Buford

John Buford

John Buford, Jr. (March 4, 1826 – December 16, 1863) was an Union cavalry officer during the American Civil War, with a prominent role at the start of the Battle of Gettysburg.

Early years

Buford was born in Woodford County, Kentucky, but raised in Rock Island, Illinois, from the age of eight. His father was a prominent Democratic politician in Illinois and a political opponent of Abraham Lincoln. His family had a long military tradition. John Jr.'s grandfather Abraham Buford and great uncle served in Virginia regiments during the American Revolutionary War. His half brother, [Napoleon Bonaparte Buford], would become a major general in the Union Army. His cousin, [Abraham Buford], would become a brigadier general in the Confederate States Army. John Jr. attended Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois, for one year. He graduated in the 1848 class of the United States Military Academy and was commissioned a brevet second lieutenant in the 1st U.S. Dragoons, transferring the next year to the 2nd U.S. Dragoons. He served in Texas and the Southwest, fought against the Sioux, served on peacekeeping duty in Bleeding Kansas, and in the Utah War in 1858. He was stationed at Fort Crittendon, Utah, from 1859 to 1861.

Civil War

When Civil War broke out, Buford returned to the East from his post in Utah. He was regarded as a man who drove himself too hard, which might have contributed to his success. He had relatives who fought for the South, and upon receiving an offer of a commission in the Confederate Army, legend has it he crumpled it up and threw it on the ground, declaring that he would "Live and die under the flag of the Union."

In November 1861, he was appointed assistant inspector general with the rank of major, and, in July 1862, after having served for several months in the defense of Washington, was raised to the rank of brigadier general of volunteers. In 1862, he was given his first position, under Major General John Pope, as commander of the II Corp's Cavalry Brigade of the Union Army of Virginia, which fought with distinction at the Second Battle of Bull Run. Buford personally led a charge late in the battle, but was wounded in the knee by a spent bullet. The injury was painful but not serious, although some Southern newspapers reported that he had been killed. He returned to active service, and served as chief of cavalry to Maj. Gens. George B. McClellan and Ambrose E. Burnside. Unfortunately, this assignment was nothing more than a staff position and he chafed for a field command. In McClellan's Maryland Campaign, he again served as chief of cavalry in the Army of the Potomac and was in the battles of South Mountain and Antietam, replacing Brig. Gen. George Stoneman on McClellan's staff. Under Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker, however, Buford was given the Reserve Brigade of regular cavalry in the 1st Cavalry Division, Army of the Potomac.

After the Battle of Chancellorsville, Maj. Gen. Alfred Pleasonton was given command of the Cavalry Corps, although Hooker later agreed that Buford would have been the better choice (Pleasonton was too flashy and rather incompetent as a field cavalry leader). In the Gettysburg Campaign, Buford, who had been promoted to command of the 1st Division, is credited with selecting the field of battle at Gettysburg. Buford's division was the first to arrive at Gettysburg and successfully held off Maj. Gen. Henry Heth's Confederate division so that Maj. Gen. John F. Reynolds's I Corps could hold the high ground west of town. Afterwards, Buford's tired troopers were sent by Pleasonton to Emmitsburg, Maryland, to resupply and refit, an ill-advised decision that uncovered the Union left flank. They saw no more action at the eventual Gettysburg victory, of which Buford had been a key component.

Buford pursued the Confederates to Warrenton and was afterward engaged in many operations in central Virginia, rendering a particularly valuable service in covering Maj. Gen. George Meade's retrograde movement in the October 1863 Bristoe Campaign.

Death and legacy

Buford was stricken with typhoid fever (brought on by his wounds and exposure) and died in Maj. Gen. George Stoneman's home at Washington, D.C. He was promoted to major general on his deathbed, but effective July 1, 1863, the day he fought so effectively at Gettysburg. He is buried in West Point Cemetery.

Buford was one of the ablest cavalry officers in the Union Army; in fact, some historians would agree that only Philip Sheridan competed with him as the most successful cavalry officer in the Army of the Potomac. Much of Sheridan's success, however, came from his able subordinates; Sheridan was actually as ineffective a field leader as Pleasonton had been. Had Buford been given command of the Cavalry Corps, the course of the war in the East (so hampered by bad intelligence) might have been totally changed.

In 1895, a bronze statue of Buford designed by artist James E. Kelly was dedicated on the Gettysburg Battlefield.

In popular media

Buford was portrayed by Sam Elliott in the 1993 film Gettysburg, based on Michael Shaara's novel, The Killer Angels.

Buford is a character in the alternate-history novel Gettysburg, written by Newt Gingrich and William Forstchen.

References

• Bielakowski, Alexander M., "John Buford", Encyclopedia of the American Civil War: A Political, Social, and Military History, Heidler, David S., and Heidler, Jeanne T., eds., W. W. Norton & Company, 2000, ISBN 0-393-04758-X.
• Eicher, John H., & Eicher, David J., Civil War High Commands, Stanford University Press, 2001, ISBN 0-8047-3641-3.
• Petruzzi, J. David, "Buford's Boys" website
• Petruzzi, J. David, "John Buford: By the Book," America's Civil War Magazine, July 2005.
• Petruzzi, J. David, "Opening the Ball at Gettysburg: The Shot That Rang for Fifty Years," America's Civil War Magazine, July 2006.
• Petruzzi, J. David, "The Fleeting Fame of Alfred Pleasonton," America's Civil War Magazine, March 2005.
• Proceedings of the Buford Memorial Association (New York, 1895)
• History of the Civil War in America (volume iii, p.545)
• This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Gilman, D. C.; Peck, H. T.; Colby, F. M., eds. (1905). New International Encyclopedia (1st ed.). New York: Dodd, Mead. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)