System Mechanic - Clean, repair, protect, and speed up your PC!Napoleon Bonaparte Buford
1807 - 1883
Napoleon Bonaparte Buford, Union Civil War general, the half-brother of another Union general, died March 28, 1883. He was 76.
Buford was born January 13, 1807 in Woodford City, Kentucky. He was the half-brother of John Buford who went on to fame as a general in the Civil War battle of Gettysburg where Buford's forces were the first to encounter rebel forces, holding them off until reinforcements arrived. He was also a cousin of Confederate General Abraham Buford.
Buford graduated from West Point in 1827 and served eight years as an artillery officer and instructor of philosophy at West Point.
He resigned his commission in 1835, settling in Rock Island, Illinois where he became involved in business, banking, railroading and engineering.
When the Civil War began, Buford's bank went bankrupt because of its large holding of southern bonds which became worthless in the north after the war started.
Buford returned to the U.S. Army as a colonel of Illinois volunteers. He was promoted to brigadier general in late 1861, fighting with Grant and Pope at Belmont and Island #10 respectively.
During the Vicksburg Campaign, Buford was promoted to major general, but the Senate did not confirm his appointment and he reverted to brigadier in March 1863.
He served the remainder of the war in eastern Arkansas where he was commander of the Department of Arkansas.
At the end of the war, he was brevetted to major general, and mustered out of the service on August 24, 1865.
After the war, Buford became a federal commissioner in charge of inspecting the construction of the transcontinental railroad from 1867-69. He served in various other government positions until his death in Chicago, Illinois on March 28, 1883.
He is buried in Rock Island, Illinois.
