John Buford (4 March 1826 – 16 December 1863) was a Union cavalry officer during the American Civil War, with a prominent role at the start of the Battle of Gettysburg. Buford was one of the most promising cavalry commanders in US Army history, and his stand on the Chambersburg Pike in Pennsylvania prevented Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia from securing the high ground at Gettysburg, a move that allowed for the Union to defeat him. Buford died of typhus just a few months after Gettysburg.
Biography[]
Buford was from Woodford County, Kentucky, but was raised on Rock Island in Illinois from the age of eight. He was the great-nephew of American Revolutionary War militiaman Abraham Buford of Waxhaw Massacre fame and the brother of Napoleon Bonaparte Buford. In 1848 he attended West Point, graduating 16th of 38 cadets. He fought in Texas against the Sioux, in the Mormon War of 1857-1858, and in Bleeding Kansas.
Civil War[]
Buford in 1863
When the American Civil War began, it seemed likely that Buford would side with the Confederate States. He was a Kentuckian, his father was a slave-owner, and his wife's family was loyal to the south. However, Buford had been educated in the north and came to maturity with the United States' army, and he decided to join the Union. Buford scored a minor victory against the Confederates at the Battle of South Mountain in September 1862 and participated in the ensuing Battle of Antietam, and at the Battle of Gettysburg, he selected the ground for battle and went on to fight in the Battle of Chambersburg Pike alongside John Reynolds and George Armstrong Custer. His heroism there and in the following Bristoe Campaign in the post-battle series of skirmishes earned him a promotion to Major General, but by December his health was fading. He died of typhus, a great blow to the Union.
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