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617……(Born Md.)
Robert
C.
Buchanan
(Ap’d D. C.)……..31
Military
History. --- Cadet at the Military Academy, July 1, 1826, to July 1, 1830,
when he was graduated and promoted in the Army to
Bvt. Second Lieut., 4th
Infantry, July 1, 1830.
Second Lieut., 4th
Infantry, July 1, 1830.
Served: in
garrison at Baton Rouge, La., 1831-32, -- Ft. Crawford, Wis., 1832, -- in
the “Black Hawk” War, 1832, being in command of the gunboats on the
Wisconsin River during the Battle of Bad Axe River, Aug. 2, 1832, -- Ft.
Armstrong, Ill., 1832, -- and Baton Rouge, La., 1832-33; on Recruiting
service, 1833; in garrison at Baton Rouge, La., 1833-34, -- and New Orleans,
La., 1834-35; as Adjutant 4th Infantry, at Regimental
headquarters, Feb. 4, 1835, to Nov. 30, 1838; in the Florida War against the
Seminole Indians, 1836, 1837-38, being engaged
(First Lieut., 4th
Infantry, Mar. 16, 1836)
on Staff duty, in the
Skirmishes of Camp Izard, Feb. 27, 28, 29, and March 5, 1836, -- Combat of
Oloklikaha, Mar. 31, 1836, -- and Battle of Okee-cho-bee, Dec. 25, 1837; in
the Cherokee Nation, 1838, while transferring the Indians to the West; on
Commissary duty, at Louisville,
(Captain, 4th
Infantry, Nov. 1, 1838)
Ky., 1838-39; on
frontier duty at Ft. Gibson, I. T., 1839-40, -- opening Military Road to Ft.
Smith, Ark., 1840-41; in the Florida War against the Seminole Indians,
1841-42; on frontier duty at Jefferson Barracks, Mo., 1842-44, -- and Camp
Salubrity, at Natchitoches, La., 1844-45; in Military Occupation of Texas,
1845-46; in the War with Mexico, 1846-48, being engaged in the Battle of
Palo Alto, May 8, 1846, -- Battle of Resaca-de-la-Palma, May 9, 1845, --
Battle of Monterey,
(Bvt. Major, May 9,
1846, for Gallant and Distinguished Services
in the Battles of Palo
Alto and Resaca-de-la-Palma, Tex.)
Sep. 21-23, 1846, --
in command of Battalion of Maryland Volunteers, Nov. 25, 1846, to May 30,
1847, -- Skirmishes of Paso de Ovejas, June 20,
(Lieut.-Colonel,
Battalion of Maryland Volunteers, Nov. 25, 1846)
near Plan-del-Rio,
June 22, and near El Pinal, July 5, 1847, -- Capture of San Antonio, Aug.
20, 1847, -- Battle of Churubusco, Aug. 20, 1847, -- Battle of Molino del
Rey, Sep. 8, 1847, -- Battle of Chapultepec, Sep. 13, 1847, -- Assault and
Capture of the City of Mexico, Sep. 13-14, 1847,
(Bvt.. Lieut.-Col,
Sep. 8, 1847, for Gallant and Meritorious
Conduct in the Battle
of Molino del Rey, Mex.)
and as Acting
Inspector-General, Jan. 27 to Oct. 24, 1848; on frontier duty at Ft.
Niagara, N. Y., 1849-50; on Recruiting service, 1850-52; on frontier duty at
Benicia, Cal., 1852-53, -- Ft. Humboldt, Cal., 1853-56, -- in command of the
District of Southern Oregon and Northern California,
(Major, 4th
Infantry, Feb. 3, 1855)
Mar. 7 to July 13,
1856, being engaged against the Rogue River Indians, Mar. 16 to July 10,
1856, when hostilities terminated by the removal of the Tribes; on
recruiting service, 1857; as Superintendent of Western Recruiting Service at
Newport, Ky., July 1, 1857, to July 1, 1859; on Court-martial duty, 1859-60;
on detached service at Washington, D. C., 1860-61; and on frontier duty at
Ft. Dalles, Or., 1861, -- and at Los Angeles, Cal., 1861.
Served
during the Rebellion of the Seceding States, 1861-66; in the defenses of
(Lieut.-Colonel 4th
Infantry, Sep. 9, 1861)
Washington, D. C.,
Nov. 27, 1861, to Mar. 10, 1862; in the Virginia Peninsular Campaign (Army
of the Potomac), Mar.-July, 1862, in command of 4th Infantry, to
May 24, 1862, and subsequently of a brigade of Regular Infantry, being
engaged in the Siege of Yorktown, Apr. 5-May 4, 1862, -- Battle of Gaines’
Mill, June 27, 1862, -- Battle of Glendale, June 30, 1862, -- and Battle of
Malvern Hill, July 1, 1862; in
(Bvt. Colonel, June
27, 1862, for Gallant and Meritorious
Services at the Battle
of Gaines’ Mill, Va.)
Northern Virginia
Campaign, Aug.-Sep., 1862, being engaged in the Battle of Manassas, Aug. 30,
1862; in the Maryland Campaign (Army of the Potomac), Sep.-Nov., 1862, being
engaged in the Battle of Antietam, Sep. 17, 1862, -- Skirmish at Potomac
Run, Sep. 18, 1862, -- and march to Falmouth, Va., Oct.-Nov., 1862; in the
Rappahannock Campaign
(Brig.-General, U. S.
Volunteers, Nov. 29, 1862, to Mar. 4, 1863)
(Army of the Potomac),
Dec. 1862, to Jan. 27,
1863, being engaged in the Battle of Fredericksburg, Dec. 13, 1862; in
command of Ft. Delaware, Mar. 16 to Apr. 14, 1863; as Asst. Provost Marshal
General, Chief Mustering and Disbursing Officer, and Superintendent of
Volunteer Recruiting Service, for New Jersey, Apr. 29 to Nov. 6, 1861; in
command
(Colonel, 1st
Infantry, Feb. 8, 1864)
of 1st
Infantry, at New Orleans, La., Dec. 6, 1864, to Aug. 27, 1865; on sick leave
of absence, Aug. 26 to Dec. 1, 1865; and as member of
(Bvt. Brig.-General U.
S. Army, Mar. 13, 1865, for Gallant and Meritorious
Services at the Battle
of Malvern Hill)
Military Commission at
Washington, D. C., Dec. 1, 1865, to Jan. 26, 1866,
(Bvt. Major-General,
U. S. Army, Mar. 13, 1865, for Gallant
and Distinguished
Services at the Battles of Manassas and Fredericksburg, Va.)
to investigate the
complaints of Prussia against enlistment in Massachusetts in 1863, -- of
Board for the Examination of Breech-loading Arms, Mar. 10 to Aug. 1, 1866;
in waiting orders, Aug. 1, 1866, to Jan. 30, 1867.
Served: as
Member of Commission on Claims of the State of Iowa, Jan. 30, 1867 to Jan.,
1868; as Acting Commissioner of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and
Abandoned Lands, Jan. 2, 1868, to Jan. 8, 1869; and in command of District
of Louisiana, Jan. 2, 1868, to Jan. 8, 1869, -- of Department of Louisiana,
Jan. 8 to Mar. 31, 1869, -- and of his regiment, Apr., 1869, to dec. 15,
1870, at Ft. Wayne, Mich., to June 16, 1870, and Ft. Porter, N. Y. to Dec.
15, 1870.
Retired from Active
Service, Dec. 31, 1870, on his own Application,
After 30 Years of
Continuous Service.
Died, Nov. 29, 1878,
at Washington, D. C.: Aged 67.
BIOGRAPHICAL
SKETCH.
Bvt.
Major-General Robert C. Buchanan was born, 1811, in Baltimore, Md. He was
graduated from the Military Academy, July 1, 1830, and promoted to the
Infantry, in which arm of service he passed through every grade; was, for
several years, Adjutant of his Regiment; because a Brigadier-General, U. S.
Volunteers; and for over a third of a century was actively engaged in every
duty of his profession, as detailed in his foregoing Military History.
In Indian
wars he took part, during the Black Hawk hostilities of 1832, commanding the
gunboats on the Wisconsin River, -- in Florida, 1836-38, was engaged in the
Battle of Okee-cho-bee and several minor actions against the Seminoles, --
and, 1856, was scouting against the Rogue River savages; in the Mexican War,
1846-48, he partici8pated in nearly every battle from Palo Alto to the
Capture of the Capital; and during the Rebellion, 1861-65, was engaged in
the various contests of the Peninsula, Northern Virginia, and Rappahannock
campaigns. In these wars, for his gallant and meritorious services, he
received no less than five brevets from Major to Major-General.
After the
termination of the Civil War, he held a most important command in Louisiana
in very troublous times of the reconstruction period, when it required the
utmost discretion to avoid bloodshed and preserve the peace. Of these
trying services, his Asst. Adjutant-General, General Neill, says:
“Buchanan’s course was strongly characterized by wisdom, firmness, and
moderation under the most trying and difficult circumstances in which a
Department Commander has ever been placed since the war.
“On the
meeting of the Legislature, anticipating trouble and bloodshed, by his
strong and manly and prompt action I believe he saved the city of New
Orleans from massacre.
“I do not
know any officer of the army whose personal and official integrity, whose
impartial discharge of the very delicate and highly responsible duties of
his post, stands higher than that of Robert C. Buchanan. He was the very
soul of honor, and one of the first soldiers under whom I served.
“I cannot
find words to express my admiration of Buchanan, on account of the
remarkable coolness, good sense, and sound judgment which he always
displayed under the most exciting scenes, when grave issues were at stake.
“Our country
has never given him the credit which he deserves for the great success which
he achieved in the prevention of bloodshed and preserving the peace while
the city of New Orleans was seething with disloyalty, riot, and threatened
bloodshed.”
General
Buchanan was one of the most prominent Infantry officers of the Army, in
which he performed long, faithful, and honorable service. Though a rigid
disciplinarian, he was always kind and considerate to subordinates; just and
incorruptible in all his dealings; dignified and courtly in his demeanor;
gallant and chivalrous on the battlefield; and ever a worthy and noble
exemplar to his profession.
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