John Buchanan Floyd

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John Buchanan Floyd

John Buchanan Floyd (born June 1, 1806 in Blacksburg , Virginia , † August 26, 1863 in Abingdon , Virginia) was an American governor of Virginia, secretary of war and major general of the Confederate States of America in the Civil War .

Life

Floyd was born in 1806 on his parents' Smithfield plantation to John Floyd , later longtime member of Congress and Governor of Virginia . After studying at the South Carolina College in Columbia , South Carolina , he worked from 1829 as a lawyer in his hometown and then settled in Helena ( Arkansas down). In 1839 he returned to Virginia, settled in Washington County and worked as a member of the Democratic Party in addition to politics. 1847-49 and 1853 he represented this county in the House of Representatives of the state , from 1849 to 1852 he was governor.

In March 1857, Floyd was named Secretary of War in President James Buchanan's cabinet. After he was accused of fixing prices with suppliers to the army in 1860, he resigned from his position.

Civil War

JB Floyd in uniform

When Virginia opted for secession , Floyd was made major general in the Virginias Provisional Army and on May 23, 1861, Brigadier General of the Confederate Army . In one of his first missions under the command of General Robert Edward Lee , he was wounded on September 10, 1861 in the Kanawha Valley at the Battle of Carnifex Ferry . In January of the following year he became commandant of Fort Donelson , Tennessee , which was primarily responsible for supplies and troop transport on the Cumberland River . On February 16, 1862, Fort Donelson was captured by the Tennessee Army at the Battle of Fort Donelson , which had lasted since February 12 , but Floyd had left this before after he had passed command to Generals Pillow and Buckner . On February 16, he and parts of his brigade escaped on a steamship across the Cumberland River. As a result, Floyd was released from command on March 11, 1862 by Jefferson Davis , President of the Confederacy .

Floyd subsequently served as major general in the Virginia Militia , but his health deteriorated rapidly. The following year he died on August 26th in Abingdon, Virginia.

See also

literature

  • David J. Eicher: The Civil War in Books: An Analytical Bibliography. University of Illinois, 1997, ISBN 0-252-02273-4 .
  • Richard N. Current: Encyclopedia of the Confederacy. 1993 (4 vol.) ISBN 0132759918 .
  • John H. Eicher & David J. Eicher: Civil War High Commands. Stanford University Press 2001, ISBN 0-8047-3641-3 .
  • Ezra J. Warner: Generals in Gray: Lives of the Confederate Commanders. Louisiana State University Press 1959, ISBN 0-8071-0823-5 .

Web links

Commons : John Buchanan Floyd  - album with pictures, videos and audio files
personal data
SURNAME Floyd, John Buchanan
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Governor of Virginia, United States Secretary of War and Confederate General in the American Civil War
DATE OF BIRTH June 1, 1806
PLACE OF BIRTH Blacksburg , Virginia
DATE OF DEATH August 26, 1863
Place of death Abingdon , Virginia