Abraham "Abe" Buford II (January 18, 1820 – June 9, 1884) was an American soldier, Confederate combatant, and landowner. After serving in the
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
during the
MexicanAmericanWar, Buford joined the
Confederate States Army
The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...
in 1862 and served as a cavalry general in the
Western Theater of the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
. After the war, he retired to his native
Kentucky
Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...
and became a
thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...
horse breeder
Horse breeding is reproduction in horses, and particularly the human-directed process of selective breeding of animals, particularly purebred horses of a given breed. Planned matings can be used to produce specifically desired characteristics in ...
.
Biography
Abraham Buford was born in
Woodford County, Kentucky
Woodford County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 26,871. Its county seat is Versailles. The area was home to Pisgah Academy. Woodford County is part of the Lexington-Fayette, KY Metrop ...
, the son of Frances W. Kirtley and her husband, William B. Buford (1781–1848). He was named for his great-uncle
Abraham
Abraham, ; ar, , , name=, group= (originally Abram) is the common Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father of the special relationship between the Jew ...
who was a
Continental Army
The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was establis ...
officer during the
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
. He descended from a
Huguenot
The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...
family named Beaufort who fled persecution in
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
and settled in
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
before emigrating to America in 1635. His cousins,
John
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Second ...
and
Napoleon Bonaparte Buford
Napoleon Bonaparte Buford (January 13, 1807 – March 28, 1883) was an American soldier, Union general in the American Civil War, and railroad executive. He was the half-brother of the famous Gettysburg hero, John Buford, but never attained his ...
, who grew up nearby, were generals in the
Union Army
During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...
during the Civil War.
Buford studied at
Centre College
Centre College is a private liberal arts college in Danville, Kentucky. It is an undergraduate college with an enrollment of approximately 1,400 students. Centre was officially chartered by the Kentucky General Assembly in 1819. The college is ...
before entering the
United States Military Academy
The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...
at
West Point, New York
West Point is the oldest continuously occupied military post in the United States. Located on the Hudson River in New York, West Point was identified by General George Washington as the most important strategic position in America during the Ame ...
, in 1837. Graduating in 1841, as a second-lieutenant with the
First dragoons
The 1st Cavalry Regiment is a United States Army regiment that has its antecedents in the early 19th century in the formation of the United States Regiment of Dragoons. To this day, the unit's special designation is "First Regiment of Dragoons ...
from 1842 through 1846, he did
Frontier
A frontier is the political and geographical area near or beyond a boundary. A frontier can also be referred to as a "front". The term came from French in the 15th century, with the meaning "borderland"—the region of a country that fronts o ...
duty in the
Kansas Territory
The Territory of Kansas was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 30, 1854, until January 29, 1861, when the eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the United States, Union as the Slave and ...
and the
Indian Territory
The Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the Federal government of the United States, United States Government for the relocation of Native Americans in the United St ...
. He then served in the
Mexican–American War
The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the 1 ...
in which he was appointed
brevet
Brevet may refer to:
Military
* Brevet (military), higher rank that rewards merit or gallantry, but without higher pay
* Brevet d'état-major, a military distinction in France and Belgium awarded to officers passing military staff college
* Aircre ...
captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
for bravery at the
Battle of Buena Vista
The Battle of Buena Vista (February 22–23, 1847), known as the Battle of La Angostura in Mexico, and sometimes as Battle of Buena Vista/La Angostura, was a battle of the Mexican–American War. It was fought between the US invading forces, l ...
. When that war ended, he was dispatched for further duty on the Frontier and in 1848 was part of the
Santa Fe Trail
The Santa Fe Trail was a 19th-century route through central North America that connected Franklin, Missouri, with Santa Fe, New Mexico. Pioneered in 1821 by William Becknell, who departed from the Boonslick region along the Missouri River, th ...
expedition. In 1849, Buford escorted the mail from
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Santa Fe ( ; , Spanish for 'Holy Faith'; tew, Oghá P'o'oge, Tewa for 'white shell water place'; tiw, Hulp'ó'ona, label=Tiwa language, Northern Tiwa; nv, Yootó, Navajo for 'bead + water place') is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. ...
, to the east, using, in part, the new
Cherokee Trail
The Cherokee Trail was a historic overland trail through the present-day U.S. states of Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, and Wyoming that was used from the late 1840s up through the early 1890s. The route was established in 1849 by a wagon train head ...
. He was then sent to the
Army's cavalry school in
Carlisle, Pennsylvania
Carlisle is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in and the county seat of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. Carlisle is located within the Cumberland Valley, a highly productive agricultural region. As of the 2020 United States census, ...
, but in October 1854 he resigned his commission and returned to his native Kentucky where his family owned a farm property near
Versailles
The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, u ...
in his native Woodford County.
Civil War
Following the outbreak of the American Civil War, like his native state, Buford tried to stay out of the Civil War and succeeded in doing so for well over a year. In September 1862, during Confederate General
Braxton Bragg's invasion of Kentucky, Buford joined the
Confederate States Army
The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...
. He helped raise and took command of a Kentucky
brigade
A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division.
Br ...
and on September 2, 1862, was commissioned
Brigadier General
Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...
. Among his missions, Buford covered
General Braxton Bragg's retreat from Kentucky, was part of the
Vicksburg Campaign
The Vicksburg campaign was a series of maneuvers and battles in the Western Theater of the American Civil War directed against Vicksburg, Mississippi, a fortress city that dominated the last Confederate-controlled section of the Mississippi Riv ...
under
General Loring, fought in the
Battle of Champion Hill
The Battle of Champion Hill of May 16, 1863, was the pivotal battle in the Vicksburg Campaign of the American Civil War (1861–1865). Union Army commander Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and the Army of the Tennessee pursued the retreating Confe ...
, a raid on Paducah, KY on 25 March 1864 under Maj. Gen.
Nathan B. Forrest, the
Battle of Brice's Crossroads
The Battle of Brice's Cross Roads, also known as the Battle of Tishomingo Creek or the Battle of Guntown, was fought on Friday, June 10, 1864, near Baldwyn, Mississippi, then part of the Confederate States of America. A Federal expedition fro ...
and was wounded on December 24, 1864, at
Richland Creek during the
Battle of Nashville
The Battle of Nashville was a two-day battle in the Franklin-Nashville Campaign that represented the end of large-scale fighting west of the coastal states in the American Civil War. It was fought at Nashville, Tennessee, on December 15–16, 1 ...
when he covered
Lt. Gen. Hood's retreat following the Confederate Army's loss. In Alabama in February, 1865, he commanded a division in
Forrest's Cavalry Corps
Forrest's Cavalry Corps was part of the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War and commanded by Lieutenant General Nathan Bedford Forrest. Formed during the summer of 1862, it took part in the various battles in the Western Theate ...
until the surrender at
Selma
Selma may refer to:
Places
*Selma, Algeria
*Selma, Nova Scotia, Canada
*Selma, Switzerland, village in the Grisons
United States:
*Selma, Alabama, city in Dallas County, best known for the Selma to Montgomery marches
*Selma, Arkansas
*Selma, Cali ...
following
Wilson's Raid
Wilson's Raid was a cavalry operation through Alabama and Georgia in March–April 1865, late in the American Civil War. Brig. Gen. James H. Wilson led his Union Army Cavalry Corps to destroy Southern manufacturing facilities and was opposed ...
.
When the war ended in 1865, Brigadier General Buford returned to his farm in Kentucky where he became a leading
breeder
A breeder is a person who selectively breeds carefully selected mates, normally of the same breed to sexually reproduce offspring with specific, consistently replicable qualities and characteristics. This might be as a farmer, agriculturalist, or ...
of Thoroughbreds.
Bosque Bonita Farm
Abe Buford named his Woodford County farm Bosque Bonita ("Beautiful Woods"), a place ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' would call the "most princely residence in the
Bluegrass region
The Bluegrass region is a geographic region in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It makes up the central and northern part of the state, roughly bounded by the cities of Frankfort, Paris, Richmond and Stanford. The Bluegrass region is characterized ...
." It was here that
slave
Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
Billy Walker was born in 1860. He went on to ride
Baden-Baden
Baden-Baden () is a spa town in the states of Germany, state of Baden-Württemberg, south-western Germany, at the north-western border of the Black Forest mountain range on the small river Oos (river), Oos, ten kilometres (six miles) east of the ...
to victory in the 1877
Kentucky Derby
The Kentucky Derby is a horse race held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, almost always on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The competition is a Grade I stakes race for three-year ...
.
Beginning in 1852, the
stallion
A stallion is a male horse that has not been gelded (castrated).
Stallions follow the conformation and phenotype of their breed, but within that standard, the presence of hormones such as testosterone may give stallions a thicker, "cresty" nec ...
Sovereign stood at
stud
Stud may refer to the following terms:
Animals
* Stud (animal), an animal retained for breeding
** Stud farm, a property where livestock are bred
Arts and entertainment
* Stud (band), a British progressive rock group
* The Stud (bar), a gay bar ...
at Bosque Bonita, developing into an influential sire. The next year, Abe Buford was part of a syndicate with
Richard Ten Broeck, Captain Willa Viley and Junius R. Ward, who bought the then three-year-old colt,
Lexington. In 1858 Lexington was sold to
Robert A. Alexander
Robert Aitcheson Alexander (1819 – December 1, 1867) was an American breeder of Thoroughbred and Standardbred horses.
Biography
Born on a farm near Midway, Woodford County, Kentucky, he and his siblings inherited the property on his father's d ...
of
Woodburn Stud
Woodburn Stud was an American horse breeding farm located in Woodford County, Kentucky about ten miles (16 km) from the city of Lexington. It was established in the 18th century as an original land grant property of General Hugh Mercer to ...
for $15,000 in 1858, reportedly the then highest price ever paid for an American horse.
Buford also owned, raced, or bred a number of successful horses including Nellie Gray,
Enquirer, Crossland, and Versailles.
Mannie Gray, whom ''
Thoroughbred Heritage
The National Sporting Library & Museum or NSLM (formerly the National Sporting Library) is a research library and art museum in Middleburg, Virginia in the United States.
History
The National Sporting Library was founded in 1954 in the personal ...
'' calls "one of the most influential American mares in breeding history," was owned and raced by Buford who sold her to fellow Kentuckian, Major
Barak G. Thomas of
Dixiana Farm
Dixiana Farm, founded in 1877, is an American Thoroughbred horse breeding farm in Lexington, Kentucky. It is the birthplace of Hall of Fame inductee Domino.
In 1971 the Keeneland Association honored Dixiana Farm with its Keeneland Mark of Dis ...
. In 1866,
Leamington's new owner,
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
Roderick Cameron
Sir Roderick William Cameron (July 25, 1825 – October 19, 1900) was a Canadian and American businessman noted for co-founding the ''R. W. Cameron and Company'' shipping line in New York City, as well as for his role as an official representativ ...
, sent him to stand at stud at Bosque Bonita for the season. Although Leamington covered just thirteen mares that year, he produced an outstanding crop of foals, including, Anna Mace, Enquirer,
Longfellow
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27, 1807 – March 24, 1882) was an American poet and educator. His original works include "Paul Revere's Ride", ''The Song of Hiawatha'', and ''Evangeline''. He was the first American to completely transl ...
, Lynchburg, Lyttleton, and Miss Alice.
In 1875, General
George Custer
George Armstrong Custer (December 5, 1839 – June 25, 1876) was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the American Indian Wars.
Custer graduated from West Point in 1861 at the bottom of his class, b ...
came to Bosque Bonita Farm to buy cavalry remounts before the
Battle of Little Big Horn
The Battle of the Little Bighorn, known to the Lakota and other Plains Indians as the Battle of the Greasy Grass, and also commonly referred to as Custer's Last Stand, was an armed engagement between combined forces of the Lakota Sioux, Nor ...
.
Later owners
Since Abe Buford's time, Bosque Bonita has been owned by such prominent horsemen as
John H. Morris who had trained horses for George J. Long's
Bashford Manor Stable
Bashford Manor Stable was an American Thoroughbred racing and breeding operation in Louisville, Kentucky owned by George James Long.
In 1874 James Bennett Wilder built a home on farm acreage he called Bashford Manor. In 1887 George Long purchas ...
for many years and who operated
Woodburn Stud
Woodburn Stud was an American horse breeding farm located in Woodford County, Kentucky about ten miles (16 km) from the city of Lexington. It was established in the 18th century as an original land grant property of General Hugh Mercer to ...
on a long-term lease beginning in 1905.
Standard Syracuse
/ref> John Morris still owned Bosque Bonita in the 1940s.
Fritz Hawn bought Bosque Bonita Farm in the fall of 1977 from Robert A. Alexander. Two years later he sold the property to William Stamps Farish III
William Stamps Farish III (born March 17, 1939) is an American businessman and a former US ambassador to the UK from 2001 until 2004.
Family and early life
He was an only child, his father, Army Lt. William Stamps Farish Jr., died in a trainin ...
who renamed it Lane's End Farm
Lane's End Farm is a Thoroughbred horse breeding farm in Versailles, Kentucky established in 1979. The original land was part of Bosque Bonita Farm and was originally owned by Abraham Buford, a Confederate Army General. The land was later bought ...
. Some of the famous horses who stood at the farm in recent times and are buried there include Bally Ache
Bally Ache (February 3, 1957 – October 28, 1960) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the Preakness Stakes in 1960 but died later that year. In her book ''American Classic Pedigrees (1914–2002)'', author Avalyn Hunter wrote that Ba ...
(1957–1960), Sovereign Dancer
Sovereign Dancer (January 24, 1975 – December 25, 1993) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known as a sire of two American Classic Race winners.
Background
Bred by Ogden Mills Phipps, he was a son of the most important sire of the 20 ...
(1975–1994), and Fappiano
Fappiano (May 19, 1977 – September 3, 1990) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse whose most important win was the 1981 Metropolitan Handicap. When retired to stud, he became a major sire whose offspring included Kentucky Derby winner Unbridl ...
(1977–1990).
Family tragedies
During the 1870s Abe Buford suffered a series of financial reversals that forced him into bankruptcy with the resulting loss of Bosque Bonita Farm to his creditors. In addition, he suffered a devastating personal loss when his only son, William A. Buford, died at age twenty-three in 1872. He lost his wife Amanda Harris Buford in 1879 and on March 26 of that same year, his brother, Colonel Thomas Buford of Henry County, Kentucky
Henry County is a county located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of Kentucky bordering the Kentucky River. Its county seat is New Castle, but its largest city is Eminence. The county was founded in 1798 from portions of Shelby ...
, shot and killed Judge John Milton Elliott
John Milton Elliott (May 16, 1820 – March 26, 1879) was an American lawyer and politician from Prestonsburg, Kentucky. He represented Kentucky in the United States House of Representatives from 1853 until 1857 and served in the First Confederate ...
in Frankfort, Kentucky
Frankfort is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, United States, and the seat of Franklin County. It is a home rule-class city; the population was 28,602 at the 2020 census. Located along the Kentucky River, Frankfort is the prin ...
. Tom Buford surrendered to police and was jailed pending trial. Abe Buford came to his brother's aid and spent a great deal of money on legal fees for his defense. On appeal of a guilty verdict, Thomas Buford would eventually be found not guilty by reason of insanity
Insanity, madness, lunacy, and craziness are behaviors performed by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. Insanity can be manifest as violations of societal norms, including a person or persons becoming a danger to themselves or to ...
and was sent to the Anchorage, Kentucky
Anchorage is a home rule-class city in eastern Jefferson County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 2,348 at the 2010 census and an estimated 2,432 in 2018. It is a suburb of Louisville.
History
The land that is now Anchorage was a p ...
psychiatric hospital
Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental health hospitals, behavioral health hospitals, are hospitals or wards specializing in the treatment of severe mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, dissociative ...
.
In his final years, Abe Buford made a living working for racing newspapers. In 1884, following his brother Thomas's much publicized escape from the insane asylum with some newspaper headlines saying he was "thirsting for blood", Abe Buford sought some peace and went to visit his nephew Benjamin T. Buford in Danville, Indiana
Danville is a town in and the county seat of Hendricks County, Indiana, United States. The population was 9,001 at the 2010 census, up from 6,418 at the 2000 census. In 2019 the estimated population was 10,126.
History
Danville was founded in 18 ...
. There, in his bedroom, a very depressed Abraham Buford took his own life. His remains were sent back to Kentucky where he was buried in the Lexington Cemetery
Lexington Cemetery is a private, non-profit rural cemetery and arboretum located at 833 W. Main Street, Lexington, Kentucky.
The Lexington Cemetery was established in 1848 as a place of beauty and a public cemetery, in part to deal ...
.
The Brigadier General Abraham Buford Relief was erected November 21, 1911, on South Confederate Avenue in Vicksburg, Mississippi
Vicksburg is a historic city in Warren County, Mississippi, United States. It is the county seat, and the population at the 2010 census was 23,856.
Located on a high bluff on the east bank of the Mississippi River across from Louisiana, Vic ...
.
See also
* List of American Civil War generals (Confederate)
Confederate generals
__NOTOC__
* Assigned to duty by E. Kirby Smith
* Incomplete appointments
* State militia generals
The Confederate and United States processes for appointment, nomination and confirmation of general officers were essential ...
Notes
References
* Buford, Marcus Bainbridge. "''A Genealogy of the Buford Family in America''" (1903) ASIN: B00085UTNA
* Heidler, David Stephen,/Heidler, Jeanne T./ Coles, David J./ McPherson, James M. "''Encyclopedia Of The American Civil War''" (2002) W. W. Norton & Co.
* Sifakis, Stewart. ''Who Was Who in the Civil War.'' New York: Facts On File, 1988. .
Brigadier General Buford's report on the Battle of Champion's Hill
* ttp://www.nps.gov/vick/historyculture/brigadier-general-abraham-buford.htm Profile of Brigadier General Abraham Buford at the Vicksburg National Military Park*
*
December 21, 1883 ''The New York Times'' article on the escape of Thomas Buford from the Anchorage asylum
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Buford Ii, Abraham
1820 births
United States Military Academy alumni
United States Army officers
Centre College alumni
Confederate States Army brigadier generals
American military personnel of the Mexican–American War
American racehorse owners and breeders
People from Woodford County, Kentucky
People of Kentucky in the American Civil War
Suicides by firearm in Indiana
1884 deaths