Don Carlos Buell - Definition and Overview

Don Carlos Buell (23 March, 1818- 19 November, 1898) was an American assistant adjutant general who fought in the Seminole War, the Mexican War, and the Civil War. He was born near Marietta, Ohio, and lived in Indiana for a time before the Civil War. He attended West Point, graduating in 1841.

During the Civil War, Buell was given command of a division of the Army of the Potomac and in November 1861, he succeeded William Sherman as head of the Department of the Ohio. He was also commander of the Army of the Cumberland prior to William S. Rosecrans.

At the Battle of Shiloh, he reinforced General Ulysses S. Grant, helping him defeat the Confederates, April 6, 1862. In July and August, the Confederates, under General Braxton Bragg, forced General Buell to abandon part of Kentucky. Although Bragg retreated in October after the Battle of Perryville, Buell did not follow him. Because of that decision, his command was taken from him. He was replaced by William S. Rosecrans. He left military service in 1864.

Following the war he lived again in Indiana, and then in Kentucky. Buell Armory on the University of Kentucky campus in Lexington, Kentucky is named for him.

See also: Fort Donelson

External links

• Civil War Home: Don Carlos Buell (http://www.civilwarhome.com/buellbio.htm)
• Indiana in the Civil War: Don Buell (http://www.indianainthecivilwar.com/hoosier/buelldc.htm)
• Biography of Buell from Spartacus Educational (http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USACWbuell.htm)