Simon Bolivar Buckner

(1823 - 1914)

Born in Kentucky, Simon Bolivar Buckner left West Point, where he taught history and ethics, to fight in the Mexican-American War in 1846. At the outbreak of the Civil War, he declined a commission of brigadier general in the Union Army and worked to ensure the neutrality of Kentucky before joining the Confederate cause. His loss of Fort Donelson to General Ulysses S. Grant forced him to accept the terms of unconditional surrender that brought lasting fame to Grant. After the war, Buckner became editor of the Louisville Courier and went on to serve as the thirtieth governor of Kentucky before mounting an unsuccessful campaign for the vice presidency.