John Buford Quick Facts

Name Meaning:

John is of Hebrew origin and means
“God is gracious”.

Vital Stats:

Birthday: March 4th, 1826
Birth Name: John Buford, Jr.
Birthplace: Woodford County, Kentucky
Date of Death: December 16th, 1863
Cause of Death: Typhoid fever
Place of Death: Washington, DC
Nationality: American
Ancestry: English and French
Occupation Before Civil War:
Career U.S. Army officer, West Point graduate
Occupation During Civil War:
Union Army Cavalry commander,
rising to rank of Major General.

Major Battles and Campaigns:

Second Bull Run, South Mountain, Antietam,
Chancellorsville Campaign (in Gen. George
Stoneman’s Cavalry Raid),
Brandy Station, Upperville,
Gettysburg,
Bristoe Campaign

Relatives:

Father: John Buford Sr. (1778-1847)
Mother: Anne Bannister Watson Buford (1785-1835)
Half Sister: Helen Buford (1800-1823)
Half Brother: Napoleon Buford (January 13, 1807-March 28, 1883)
(Napoleon Buford was also a Union Army general)
Brother: Thomas Jefferson Buford (b. December 29, 1828)
Brother: James Monroe Buford (b. 1832)

Romance:

Married: Martha McDowell Duke (June 25, 1830- October 4, 1903)
on May 9, 1854

Children:

Son: James Duke Buford (July 1855-April 5, 1874)
Daughter: Pattie McDowell Duke Buford (October 14,1857-July 28, 1863)

Resources:

General John Buford by Edward G. Longacre
“The Devil’s to Pay”: John Buford at Gettysburg: A History and Walking Tour by Eric J. Wittenberg
Dragoon or Cavalryman, Major General John Buford in the American Civil War
by Mark R. Stricker, Army Command and General Staff College