UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
1826-1863
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John Buford, Jr. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 1826-1863 |
Buford was called "Old Steadfast" by his friends and was one of the most talented cavalry officers in the Union army -- a man of few words and full of energy. Not as flamboyant as his rival J.E.B. Stuart, Buford was popular with his men, who believed him to be straight forward, honest, conscientious, full of common sense, always to be relied upon in any emergency, and the best cavalry officer in the Army of the Potomac. He served in many pivotal compaigns, perhaps his most noteworthy at the Battle of Gettysburg. It was Buford's "mounted infantry," armed with new repeating rifles, that foraging confederates ran into on the outskirts of Gettysburg. The encounter brought forward Archer's brigade of Heth's division, who Buford was able to hold of and protect superior ground to the east and south until Reynold's corps of infantry arrived to relieve him. It was Buford's choice of ground that contributed to the eventual success of the union army at Gettysburg.
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QUOTES |
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I'll live and die under the Union. Out flew the sabres, and most handsomely they were used. The enemy knows the importance of this position and will strain every nerve to secure it, and if we are able to hold it, we will do well. Now we can hold the place. The devil's to pay! I am disgusted and worn out with the system that seems to prevail. There is so much apathy, and so little disposition to fight and co-operate that I wish to be relieved from the Army of the Potomac. I do not wish to put myself and soldiers in front where I cannot get a support short of 12 miles. The ground I gain I would like to hold ... I am willing to serve my country, but I do not wish to sacrifice the brave men under my command. |
Put guards on all the roads, and don't let the men run back to the rear. His master mind and incomparable genius as a cavalry chief, you all know by the dangers through which be has brought you, when enemies surrounded you and destruction seemed inevitable. The profound anguish which we all feel forbids the use of empty words, which so feebly express his virtues. Let us silently mingle our tears with those of the nation in lamenting the untimely death of this pure and noble man, the devoted and patriotic lover of his country, the soldier without fear and with out reproach. He was never looking after his own comfort, untiring on the march and in the supervision of his command, quiet and unassuming in his manners. General Buford came in today, cold and tired and wet. The General takes his hardships good-naturedly. He is one of the best officers of and is a singular-looking party ... a compactly built man of middle height, with a tawny mustache and a little triangular gray eye, whose expression is determined, not to say sinister. His ancient corduroys are tucked into a pair of ordinary cowhide boots and his blue blouse is ornamented with holes; from one pocket thereof peeps a huge pipe, while the other is fat with a tobacco pouch. Notwithstanding this get-up, he is a very soldierly looking man. He is of a good natured disposition but not to be trifled with. |
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LINKS |
John Buford and the Gettysburg Campaign, an article published in Gettysburg Magazine by Eric Wittenburg. Includes information on Buford before the Civil War, Second Manassas, Brandy Station, South Mountain, the Gettysburg Campaign, and campaigns up until his death in 1863.
General John Buford. Posted comments on various aspects of Buford's career by members of the Gettysburg Discussion Group.
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STUFF |
 | Buford graduated from West Point in 1848, 16th out of 38, and went directly west to fight the Sioux in Kansas. He remained primarily in Kansas except for an interesting, but abortive expedition into Utah. Many rumors circulated about the Mormon's practice of polygamy. It eventually led to a suggestion that they were in rebellion against the laws of the United States. In 1857-1858 Col. Albert Sydney Johnston led an expedition, with Lt. Col. Barnard Bee (who later gave the name "Stonewall" to Jackson) commanding volunteers. Buford participated in the expedition as a member of the dragoons. Upon arriving, though, they found the rumors to be false. |
| Buford believed in using cavalry as "mounted infantry," instead of cavalry charges that were largely successful only against other cavalry units. He used horses as a means for his men to arrive quickly, dismount and fight from an infantry position, and to be able to quickly get out of trouble. He also realized that the chief value of cavalry lay in scouting, a duty he performed effectively throughout his military career. |
| Buford was involved in two minor, but noteworthy events during the Civil War. He was the Cavalry officer who was responsible for capturing the famous plumed hat of the notorious southern cavalry commander, Maj. Gen. J. E. B. Stuart, during the Second Manassas Campaign. During the battle Buford engaged in a bold mounted charge, which represented the first time union cavalry stood up to Stuart. And second, he discovered the missing orders that General Lee had sent to D.H. Hill, wrapped around cigars, that detailed Lee's Antiedam Campaign. Even though McClellan refused to believe them, the lost orders were useful to the north as the battle unfolded, and it caused a permanent rift between Lee and D.H. Hill, an argumentative but valuable field commander. |
| Buford's easy ability to have men willingly follow his lead was never more evident than following the Gettysburg campaign as Lee was being pressed across the Rapidan at Beverly Ford. Many infantrymen refused to obey commands by cavalry leaders, believing them to be prima donnas. As Buford's cavalry were being attacked by Rooney Lee, some of Lee's sharpshooters took positions behind a stone wall and peppered away at Ames' infantry, who had moved into position to support the attack of Buford's troopers. Buford approached officers of the 3rd Wisconsin of Ames' brigade, and asked, "Do you see those people down there? They've got to be driven out." One of the Wisconsin officers responded that he believed the enemy's force greatly outnumbered their own. Buford responded, "Well, I didn't order you, mind: but if you think you can flank them, go in, and drive them off." Impressed with Buford's demeanor and calm manner of command, several companies of the Wisconsin infantry crawled around Lee's flank where they could enfilade the Confederates. The Federals rode toward the Virginians through a storm of small arms and artillery fire and slowly pressed them back. |
| Buford's Cavalry Division (made up of Gamble's and Devin's Brigades) saw little action after the first day at Gettysburg. They were involved in heavy fighting early the first day, but by afternoon Gamble's Brigade had pulled back to just south of the Lutheran Seminary and Devin's Brigade was in the vicinity of Culp's Hill along the Hanover Road. At dark, Buford's command had moved south to the Peach Orchard, and was in advance of Geary's XII and Birney's III Corps' who had pulled in along and behind cemetary ridge near Little Round Top. By late afternoon of the second day, Gregg's and Kilpatrick's Cavalry Divsions reached Gettysburg. Cavalry action on the third day consisted of Farnsworth's Brigade (of Kilpatrick's Division) harassing the far Confederate right, and Gregg's Division (along with Custer's Brigade detached from Kilpatrick) foiling Stuarts rear action. Buford's cavalry units had been ordered to withdraw from the field, so when the Battle of Gettysburg ended, Buford's two brigades were located at Westminster -- more than thirty miles from the battlefield Buford had selected. |
| Buford had a half brother who was also a successful union commander -- Napoleon Bonaparte Buford, who graduated sixth in his class at West Point in 1827. At the start of the Civil War, he was elected colonel of the 27th Illinois Volunteers. He served with merit in early western campaigns, and was commissioned brigadier general after the battle of Shiloh. He was given command of a brigade in Gen. William S. Rosecrans' Army of the Mississippi, and participated in the early phases of the Vicksburg campaign. In January 1863, he was given command at Cairo, Illinois. In September 1863 he took command of the garrison at Helena, Arkansas, which he held until the end of the war. Buford also had a first cousin who served in the Confederate Army, named Abraham Buford. The latter Buford was a giant of a man and served under Nathan Bedfor Forrest in Tennessee and Mississippi. The two cousins came close to meeting in battle when John Buford was transferred to the western theatre. But before he could arrive for duty, he fell ill from typhoid fever. |
| Campaigning through the fall of 1863 weakened Buford's health. He went on sick leave during November of 1863. He died in Virginia from typhoid fever, 16 December 1863. He was promoted to Major General, backdated to the first day of Gettysburg, but it was not confirmed until after his death. |
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