Simon Bolivar Buckner | |
---|---|
30th Governor of Kentucky | |
In office August 30, 1887 – September 2, 1891 |
|
Lieutenant | James Bryan |
Preceded by | J. Proctor Knott |
Succeeded by | John Y. Brown |
Personal details | |
Born |
Hart County, Kentucky |
April 1, 1823
Died | January 8, 1914 Hart County, Kentucky |
(aged 90)
Resting place | Frankfort Cemetery, Frankfort, Kentucky |
Political party |
Democratic National Democratic |
Spouse(s) | Mary Jane Kingsbury Delia Claiborne |
Children | Simon Bolivar Buckner, Jr. |
Residence | Glen Lily |
Alma mater | United States Military Academy |
Profession | Soldier, newspaper editor |
Religion | Episcopal |
Signature | |
Military service | |
Allegiance |
United States of America Confederate States of America |
Service/branch |
United States Army Kentucky State Guard Confederate States Army |
Years of service | 1844–1855 (USA) 1858–1861 (Kentucky State Guard) 1861–1865 (CSA) |
Rank |
Captain (USA) Major General (Kentucky State Guard) Lieutenant General (CSA) |
Unit |
2nd U.S. Infantry Regiment 6th U.S. Infantry Regiment |
Commands |
Fort Donelson (temporary) 2nd Division, 2nd Corps District of the Gulf Third Corps, Army of Tennessee Department of East Tennessee District of Arkansas and Western Louisiana |
Battles/wars |
Mexican–American War
American Civil War
Simon Bolivar Buckner (April 1, 1823 – January 8, 1914) was an American soldier and politician who fought in the United States Army in the Mexican–American War and in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. He later served as the 30th Governor of Kentucky.
After graduating from the United States Military Academy at West Point, Buckner became an instructor there. He took a hiatus from teaching to serve in the Mexican–American War, participating in many of the major battles of that conflict. He resigned from the army in 1855 to manage his father-in-law's real estate in Chicago, Illinois. He returned to his native state of Kentucky in 1857 and was appointed adjutant general by Governor Beriah Magoffin in 1861. In this position, he tried to enforce Kentucky's neutrality policy in the early days of the Civil War. When the state's neutrality was breached, Buckner accepted a commission in the Confederate Army after declining a similar commission to the Union Army. In 1862, he accepted Ulysses S. Grant's demand for an "unconditional surrender" at the Battle of Fort Donelson. He was the first Confederate general to surrender an army in the war. He spent five months as a prisoner of war. After his release, Buckner participated in Braxton Bragg's failed invasion of Kentucky and near the end of the war became chief of staff to Edmund Kirby Smith in the Trans-Mississippi Department.