Biographical material for
Photo from the Illinois National Guard website.
"Simon Bolivar
Buckner, a future Confederate Lieutenant General during the American
Civil War, was born on April, 1823, near Mundfordville, Kentucky. He
attended West Point, graduating in 1844. Two years later, he served
in the Mexican American War (1846-1848) with Ulysses S. Grant. He was
brevet promoted twice and was wounded at the Battle of Churubusco.
After the war he returned to West Point as an instructor. Buckner
left the Army in 1855 to enter the business world, managing some
family property in Chicago, Illinois. On April 4, 1857 he was
appointed the Adjutant General of Illinois. His tenure was brief;
leaving the office on November 7, 1857.
Buckner returned to
Kentucky shortly before the outbreak of war. He accepted a commission
as Brigadier General in the Confederate Army in 1861. During the
siege of Fort Donelson, his superiors fled, leaving Buckner to
surrender Rebel forces to his West Point classmate, General Grant.
Paroled, he continued his service to the Confederate Army and rose to
the rank of Lieutenant General. After the war he was a champion of
Confederate veteran’s groups. He visited his old friend
President U.S. Grant in 1885 shortly before the latter’s death,
and served as a pallbearer. He was elected as Kentucky Governor in
1887, serving one term and was an unsuccessful Vice Presidential
candidate in 1896.
Buckner died on January
8, 1914. His son, Lieutenant General Simon B. Buckner, Jr., the
highest ranking officer killed in action (Okinawa) during WWII, is
buried next to him in Frankfort, Kentucky."
Biographical Content from the Illinois National Guard website.
"Simon Bolivar Buckner was born on April 1, 1823, in Hart County, Kentucky. After graduating from the US Military Academy in 1844, he served in the Mexican War. He left the army in 1855 to enter the business world. Although he did not own slaves, he felt that states had the right to determine whether they would allow slavery or not. He supported Kentucky's neutrality, refusing a commission in the Union Army. Escaping to the South to avoid arrest for being a traitor, Buckner was commissioned a brigadier general in the Confederate army on September 14, 1861. He occupied Bowling Green; and surrendered Fort Donelson, after his superiors fled, to his former West Point classmate Brig. Gen. U.S. Grant. After being exchanged, Buckner joined Gen. Braxton Bragg's 1862 invasion of Kentucky. He was placed in command of the Department of East Tennessee in 1863 transferred back to Bragg's army, and commanded troops at Chickamauga, but played only a minor role there. He became a leader in the campaign to get General Bragg removed. On September 20, 1864, Buckner was promoted to lieutenant general, and was moved to the Trans-Mississippi Department. There he served as chief of staff for Gen. Kirby Smith. In 1867, he was allowed to return home, where he worked successfully in business, wrote and became active in Confederate veterans' groups. In 1887, Buckner was elected governor of Kentucky as a Democrat, and served for four years. He ran for Vice President as a Gold Democrat in 1896, but lost the election. Buckner died at his home near Munfordville, Kentucky on January 8, 1914; the last survivor of the top three ranks in the Confederate military."
Biographical Content from The History Central Website.
Photo From the Kentucky Historical Society.
Simon Bolivar Buckner is
buried in
Frankfort Cemetery,
Frankfort, Franklin County, Kentucky.
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SIMON BOLIVAR BUCKNER |
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GRADUATED US MILTARY |
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TWICE
BREVETTED FOR |
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LIEUT. GENERAL, C.S.A. |
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GOVERNOR OF KENTUCKY |
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A NOBLE LIFE DEVOTED TO |
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Gravesite photo credited to Geoff Walden.
