Kentucky’s Civil War leaders . . .
Abraham Buford, a consummate warrior,
was successful Thoroughbred breeder

(EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the 36th in a series about Kentucky’s officers and battle leaders during the Civil War.)

“Surrender, you damn big Rebel!” the Union major cried as he struck Abraham Buford with his sword.

The Kentucky-born Confederate general replied with a pistol shot that killed his opponent during the Nashville campaign.

A man of great physical size and strength, Abraham Buford was a consummate fighter. Graduating 51st in the West Point class of 1841, the Woodford County native was commissioned into the First Dragoons, where he served for 13 years. He saw duty in the American West and also served with distinction during the Mexican War, eventually rising to the rank of captain.

He resigned his commission in 1854, but cast his lot with the Confederacy, joining Morgan’s Raiders in 1862. He was appointed brigadier general and with a brigade of raw recruits, helped cover Braxton Bragg’s retreat from Perryville back into East Tennessee by way of Cumberland Gap.

After a dispute with Maj. Gen. Edmund Kirby Smith, Buford was transferred south to command a brigade of cavalry. In 1864, he joined Nathan Bedford Forrest’s command and participated in the battles of Fort Pillow, Brice’s Cross Roads and Tupelo. Later, when Forrest’s command was attached to the Army of Tennessee during the Nashville Campaign, Buford’s command covered the retreat of the army.

In the spring of 1864, he was with Forrest’s troops who raided Western Kentucky and Paducah, twice capturing horses and vast supplies.

When the war ended in 1865, Buford returned to his farm near Versailles where he became a leading breeder of Thoroughbred horses. Among his most famous racehorses were Nellie Gray, Inquirer, Crossland and Versailles. His colt, Baden-Baden, won the 1877 Kentucky Derby.

In 1875, Gen. George Armstrong Custer visited Buford’s Bosque Bonita (Beautiful Woods) farm to buy cavalry remounts prior to the Battle of Little Big Horn.

Buford was described as “a bull of a man,” topping the scales at more than 300 pounds. He wore a ruddy beard and often stuffed his pants legs into his boots, making him even more imposing.

The general died June 9, 1864 at age 64. He’s buried in the Lexington Cemetery.