The Filson Historical Society Buckner, Simon Bolivar, 1823-1914 Papers, 1825-1994 (bulk: 1825-1950) For information regarding literary and copyright interest for these papers, see the Curator of Special Collections. Size of Collection: 4.33 cubic feet Location Number: Mss. A B925b Buckner, Simon Bolivar, 1823-1914 Papers, 1825-1994 (bulk: 1825-1950) Scope and Content Note The Simon B. Buckner papers reflect the lives and pursuits of three generations of the Buckner family of Hart County, Kentucky. The papers of Simon Buckner’s parents, Aylett Hartswell Buckner (1798-1851) and Elizabeth Ann Morehead (1801-1861), largely pertain to business, family matters and the people they held in bondage. Prior to the family’s removal to Arkansas in 1843, Aylett was co-owner of an iron ore furnace in Muhlenberg County which employed both free and slave labor. Also referenced in this portion of the collection are Simon Buckner’s siblings, Turner Hartswell Buckner (1820-1854), a “forty-niner,” who died on his second trek to California and Mary Elizabeth Buckner (1831-1883) who married John Tooke (1823-1858). The heart of the collection, however, documents the life and career of Simon Bolivar Buckner (1823-1914) who served as an officer in the U.S. Army during the Mexican War, a lieutenant general in the Confederate Army during the Civil War and as governor of Kentucky (1887- 1891). Numerous letters to and from Buckner, who was known to his family as Bolivar, shed light on his West Point days and military service from 1844 to 1855. Several letters and an unfinished memoir describe his Mexican War experiences as a member of Gen. Winfield Scott’s command during the advance on Mexico City. Other letters describe his duties following the Mexican War at military posts in the territories of Minnesota and Kansas as well as New York City. Buckner’s Civil War papers contain several documents related to the major campaigns in the western theater, including Fort Donelson, Perryville, Stones River and Chickamauga. Of particular interest is a notebook in which he recorded his after-action recollections of the opening phase of the battle of Chickamauga which includes a hand drawn map. Most of his war papers, however, pertain to Buckner’s operations against Union Col. William P. Sanders 1863 cavalry raid through East Tennessee and the closing days of the conflict in the Trans-Mississippi Department. In fact, Buckner was a central figure in arranging the surrender terms for Confederate forces serving west of the Mississippi. Buckner’s post-war papers contain several letters from prominent ex-Confederates who were adjusting to life following the collapse of the Confederacy. His correspondence also reflects his activities in New Orleans prior to his return to Kentucky in 1868. A sizeable portion of his papers from the 1870s pertains to his family, his Kentucky estate at Glen Lily and both business and legal activities. In 1883 Buckner made an unsuccessful bid to win the Democratic nomination for governor of Kentucky. Many of his papers reflect his political career, which included serving as governor (1887-1891) and as a vice presidential candidate for the Gold Democratic party in the election of 1896. Buckner’s papers prior to his death in 1914 continue to reflect an interest in politics as well as his activities with both Mexican War and Confederate veterans’ organizations. There are a few letters relating to the courtship, and later marital problems, of Buckner and his first wife, Mary Jane Kingsbury. The collection also reflects the life of Buckner’s first wife and the Kingsbury family. Her father, Julius Kingsbury, a native of Connecticut, married Jane Creed Stebbins while he was a young army officer stationed in the Michigan Territory. The Kingsbury papers pertain to Julius Kingsbury’s military service, including the Mexican War, his business and real estate ventures in Chicago, Illinois and the settlement of his estate. Also included are letters that shed light on the education and personal life of Mary and her siblings, including Col. Henry Kingsbury who was killed fighting for the Union cause at the battle of Antietam in 1862. The collection also sheds light on the life and family of Buckner’s second wife, Delia Hayes Claiborne. Included are numerous courtship letters between the 62-year-old General and the 28- year-old Virginia belle. Her circle of friends included Gen. George Washington Custis Lee and Mildred Lee, the children of Gen. Robert E. Lee. In addition to participating in Confederate veteran programs she was also active in the Colonial Dames and appears to have supported the Women’s Rights movement in the early 20th Century. Also included are several documents that reflect the life and career of Gen. Simon B. Buckner, Jr. and his wife, Adele Blanc Buckner. He graduated from West Point in 1908 and served stateside during World War I. He subsequently graduated from the Command and General Staff School and the War College before joining the faculty of West Point in the 1930’s. He commanded American forces in Alaska following the outbreak of World War II and was killed in action at the battle of Okinawa in 1945. He was the highest-ranking American officer to be killed by enemy fire during World War II. The collection is supplemented by bound materials, newspapers and scrapbooks. Buckner, Simon Bolivar, 1823-1914 Papers, 1825-1994 (bulk: 1825-1950) Biographical Note A native of Hart County, Kentucky, Simon Bolivar Buckner graduated from West Point in 1844 and served as an officer in the 6th U.S. Infantry during the Mexican War. After the conflict he was stationed at posts in the territories of Minnesota and Kansas territories. Promoted to captain, he resigned his commission in 1855 and assisted his father-in-law with his business interests in Chicago. Buckner returned to Kentucky in 1858 and in 1860 was appointed General of the Kentucky State Guard. At the outbreak of the Civil War he offered his services to the Confederacy and was promoted to the rank of brigadier general in 1861. He served throughout the conflict in the Western Theater and was taken prisoner following the surrender of Fort Donelson, Tennessee on February 16, 1862. Exchanged later that year, he was promoted to major general and participated in the Perryville campaign that autumn. After service in East Tennessee during the summer of 1863, he was transferred to Gen. Braxton Bragg’s Army of Tennessee and participated in the Chickamauga and Chattanooga campaigns. Transferred to the Trans-Mississippi Department, he was promoted to lieutenant general and served in that theater until the collapse of the Confederacy in 1865. After a brief post-war residency in New Orleans, he returned to Kentucky in 1868 and obtained employment in the life insurance business. In 1873 he left Louisville and returned to the old family estate, Glen Lily in Hart County. He also made annual trips to Chicago regarding the property he owned there. In 1883 Buckner lost his bid to win the Democratic nomination for Kentucky governor. Following the death of his first wife, Mary Jane Kingsbury Buckner in 1874, Buckner married Delia Claiborne of Richmond, Virginia in 1885. He subsequently served as Governor of Kentucky from 1887 to 1891. Historians later described his administration as both honest and efficient. He was the vice presidential candidate for the Gold Democratic party in the presidential election of 1896. Buckner spent his last years at Glen Lily but he continued to make public statements on both state and national politics. He died in 1914 at the age of 91 and is buried in the State Cemetery in Frankfort, Kentucky. Buckner, Simon Bolivar, 1823-1914 Papers, 1825-1994 (bulk: 1825-1950) Folder List Box 1 Folder 1: Buckner Family to Simon Bolivar Buckner at West Point, June 1840-December 1840 Folder 2: Buckner Family to Simon Bolivar Buckner at West Point, 1841 Folder 3: Buckner Family to Simon Bolivar Buckner at West Point, 1842 Folder 4: Buckner Family to Simon Bolivar Buckner at West Point, 1843 Folder 5: Parents to Simon Bolivar Buckner, undated Folder 6: Cadets, Friends, etc. to Simon Bolivar Buckner, 1840-1910 Folder 7: Simon Bolivar Buckner to Family in Arkansas, 1841, 1850-1857 Box 2 Folder 8: Simon Bolivar Buckner correspondence with Mary Kingsbury Buckner, 1846-1872 Folder 9: Simon Bolivar Buckner to Mrs. Jane Kingsbury, 1846-1849 Folder 10: Simon Bolivar Buckner to Mrs. Jane Kingsbury, 1850-1853 and unmatched envelopes Folder 11: Simon Bolivar Buckner correspondence with Julius Jesse Bronson Kingsbury, and Simon Bolivar Buckner to Henry Kingsbury, 1848-1856 Folder 12: Simon Bolivar Buckner to T. L. Barrett, 1851-1852 Folder 13: Simon Bolivar Buckner Civil War Papers, 1862 Folder 14: Simon Bolivar Buckner Civil War Letters, 1863 Folder 15: Simon Bolivar Buckner Civil War Papers, 13-20 June 1863 Folder 16: Simon Bolivar Buckner Civil War Papers, 21-28 June 1863 Box 3 Folder 17: Simon Bolivar Buckner Civil War Papers, Telegrams, June 1863 Folder 18: Simon Bolivar Buckner Civil War Papers, 1864 Folder 19: Simon Bolivar Buckner Civil War Papers, Trans-Mississippi Department, 1865 Folder 20: Ambrose E. Burnside to Simon Bolivar Buckner, 11 May 1861 and July 1878 Folder 21: James Longstreet to Simon Bolivar Buckner, 1865, 1866, 1872, 1902 Folder 22: Simon Bolivar Buckner Correspondence, 1866-1867 Folder 23: William Brown to Simon Bolivar Buckner and Mary Kingsbury Buckner regarding property, 1867, 1870 Folder 24: Lily Buckner to Simon Bolivar Buckner, 1878-1883 Box 4 Folder 25: Simon Bolivar Buckner to Delia Claiborne Buckner, 1882-1884 Folder 26: Simon Bolivar Buckner to Delia Claiborne Buckner, January 1885-March 1885 Folder 27: Simon Bolivar Buckner to Delia Claiborne Buckner, April 1885-June 1885 Folder 28: Simon Bolivar Buckner to Delia Claiborne Buckner, 1886, 1888-1889 Folder 29: Simon Bolivar Buckner to Delia Claiborne Buckner, 1891-1892 Folder 30: Delia Claiborne Buckner to Simon Bolivar Buckner, 1882-March 1885 Folder 31: Delia Claiborne Buckner to Simon Bolivar Buckner, April 1885-1887 Folder 32: Delia Claiborne Buckner to Simon Bolivar Buckner, 1912 Folder 33: Simon Bolivar Buckner and Simon Bolivar Buckner, Jr.