John Buford
John Buford , (born March 4, 1826 in Woodford County , Kentucky , † December 16, 1863 in Washington, DC ), was a general in the United States Army . He commanded the Cavalry Vanguard of the Potomac Army at the Battle of Gettysburg .
Military career
Buford closed the Military Academy in West Point from 1844 to 1848 16 out of 48 participants from. He became a lieutenant in the US Dragoons and was deployed as such at the Indian border. He took part in the Utah War in 1857/1858 .
On November 12, 1861, he was promoted to Major of the Union Volunteers (USVols) and served on the staff of the Inspector General. Another promotion to Brigadier General of the USVols followed on July 27, 1862. He was commander of the cavalry in John Pope's Virginia Army and took part in the Northern Virginia campaign.
On August 27, 1862 there was a battle of Thoroughfare Gap against James Longstreets Corps, on August 29 and August 30, 1862 the second battle at Bull Run . He was wounded in battle. Buford was commanding the cavalry under McClellan in the Maryland campaign in 1862 and took part with his troops in the Battle of Antietam in Sharpsburg on September 17th. Other skirmishes and battles in which Buford took part were the Battle of Fredericksburg , Stonemans Raid as well as Beverly Ford, Aldie, Middleburg and Upperville, and the Battle of Gettysburg .
Buford was then promoted retrospectively to July 1, 1863 to major general of the USVols. The promotion was given to him on his deathbed; the cause of death was pneumonia, typhoid fever and general exhaustion. He is buried in the United States Military Academy Post Cemetery at West Point .
Historical meaning
As commander of the cavalry vanguard of the Army of the Potomac, Buford cleared up on June 30, 1863 against Gettysburg . He immediately understood the importance of this road junction when his division on Infantry of the Northern Virginia Army under James Johnston Pettigrew of Henry Heth's division in Ambrose Powell Hills III. Corps met. He dismounted his riders and accepted the fight from around 7:30 a.m. His units, equipped with Sharps carbines , held McPhersons Ridge until the arrival of the Union infantry under Major General John Fulton Reynolds (I. Corps) and Oliver Otis Howard (XI. Corps). John Buford's assessment of the area around Gettysburg as a cheap battlefield made it possible for Major General Winfield Scott Hancock to hold Cemetery Ridge with the following Union troops. This gave Major General George Gordon Meade, as Commander in Chief of the Potomac Army, the advantage of the elevated position and the inner line.
literature
- Edward G. Longacre: General John Buford: A Military Biography . Conshohocken, PA 1995.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Tomb of John Buford in the Find a Grave database .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Buford, John |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American Northern General |
| DATE OF BIRTH | March 4, 1826 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Woodford County , Kentucky |
| DATE OF DEATH | December 16, 1863 |
| Place of death | Washington, DC |