John B. Floyd
| John Buchanan Floyd | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| 31st Governor of Virginia | |
|
In office January 1, 1849 – January 16, 1852 |
|
| Preceded by | William Smith |
| Succeeded by | Joseph Johnson |
| 24th United States Secretary of War | |
|
In office March 6, 1857 – December 29, 1860 |
|
| President | James Buchanan |
| Preceded by | Jefferson Davis |
| Succeeded by | Joseph Holt |
| Member of the Virginia House of Delegates | |
|
In office 1847-1849 1853 |
|
| Personal details | |
| Born |
June 1, 1806 Blacksburg, Virginia, US |
| Died | August 26, 1863 (aged 57) Abingdon, Virginia, US |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Sally Buchanan Preston |
| Alma mater | South Carolina College |
| Profession | Lawyer, Politician |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |
 Confederate States of America
|
| Service/branch |
 Provisional Army of Virginia Confederate States Army
|
| Years of service | 1861 - 1863 |
| Rank |
 Brigadier General (CSA)
|
| Battles/wars | |
John Buchanan Floyd (June 1, 1806 – August 26, 1863) was the 31st Governor of Virginia, U.S. Secretary of War, and the Confederate general in the American Civil War who lost the crucial Battle of Fort Donelson.
John Buchanan Floyd was born at Smithfield estate, Blacksburg, Virginia. He was the son of John Floyd (1783–1837), who served as a representative in Congress from 1817 to 1829 and governor of Virginia from 1830 to 1834.
After graduating from South Carolina College in 1826 (by some accounts 1829), Floyd practiced law in his native state and at Helena, Arkansas, where he lost a large fortune and his health in a cotton-planting venture. In 1839, he returned to Virginia and settled in Washington County, which he represented in the Virginia House of Delegates in 1847–49 and again in 1853. From 1849 to 1852, he was governor of Virginia. As governor, he recommended to the legislature the enactment of a law laying an import tax on the products of states that refused to surrender fugitive slaves owned by Virginian masters.
He married his cousin, Sally Preston, daughter of Francis Preston and they had no children. It is claimed that he did have a daughter, Josephine, who married Robert James Harlan in the 1852. Harlan was a slave of Kentucky politician James Harlan and may have been James' son. In the 1850s, Robert Harlan was living as a free person in Cincinnati, Ohio.
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