Simon Bolivar Buckner (1 April 1823-8 January 1914) was Governor of Kentucky (D) from 30 August 1887 to 2 September 1891, succeeding J. Proctor Knott and preceding John Y. Brown. Buckner was previously a Lieutenant-General in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War, and he was the father of World War II general Simon Bolivar Buckner Jr..
Biography[]
Military career[]
Buckner as a general
Simon Bolivar Buckner was born in Munfordville, Kentucky in 1823, and he graduated from West Point before becoming an instructor there. He took a hiatus from teaching to serve in the US Army during the Mexican-American War, participating in several major battles, and he resigned from the army in 1855 to manage his father-in-law's real estate in Chicago, Illinois. He returned to Kentucky in 1857 and served as adjutant general under Governor Beriah Magoffin, attempting to enforce his state's neutrality policy in the early days of the American Civil War. However, when the state's neutrality was breached, Buckner became a Confederate States Army officer after declining a similar commission in the US Army. In 1862, he accepted Ulysses S. Grant's demand for an unconditional surrender at Fort Donelson, becoming the first Confederate general to surrender an army during the war. He spent five months as a prisoner of war, and, after his release, he participated in Braxton Bragg's failed invasion of Kentucky before serving on Edmund Kirby Smith's staff.
Political career[]
In the years following the war, Buckner became involved in politics. He was elected Governor of Kentucky in 1887, serving until 1891. His tenure was plagued by violent feuds in eastern Kentucky, and he vetoed special interest legislation; he supported progressive legislation such as creating a parole system for convicts and a state board of tax equalization, supporting education, protecting forests, and codifying school laws. In 1895, he made a failed US Senate bid, and he was the "Gold Democrats" vice-presidential nominee in 1896. He died in 1914.
Gallery[]
