Don Carlos Buell - Early life, Civil War, Postbellum

US soldier, born near Marietta, Ohio, USA. He trained at West Point (1841) and saw combat in the Mexican War, in which he was severely wounded. In mid-1861 he helped organize the Army of the Potomac, and took command of the newly formed Department of the Ohio later in the year. His unopposed entry into Nashville (1862) followed in the wake of Grant's victories at Forts Henry and Donelson. Buell's forces arrived at Shiloh in April, barely in time to reinforce Grant and assure his victory. After fighting Bragg's Confederate army to a draw at Perryville, KY (8 Oct 1862), he was relieved of command for failing to pursue the retreating enemy. Regarded as overly cautious, he was never again assigned a field command, so he resigned from the army (1864). He settled in Kentucky after the war, where he worked with an iron company and as a pension agent.

Don Carlos Buell
March 23, 1818 – November 19, 1898
Don Carlos Buell
Place of birth	Marietta, Ohio
Place of death	Rockport, Kentucky
Allegiance	United States
Years of service	1841 – 1864
Rank	Major General
Commands	Army of the Cumberland
Battles/wars	Seminole War Mexican-American War American Civil War Shiloh Corinth Perryville
Other work	President of Green River Iron Company, Pension Agent

Don Carlos Buell (March 23, 1818 – November 19, 1898) was a career U.S. Army officer who fought in the Seminole War, the Mexican-American War, and the American Civil War.

Early life

Buell was born near Marietta, Ohio, and lived in Indiana for a time before the Civil War.

Civil War

At the start of the Civil War, Buell was an early organizer of the Army of the Potomac and briefly commanded one of its divisions. However, Buell essentially disregarded his orders and moved against Nashville instead, which he captured on February 25, 1862, against little opposition.

At the Battle of Shiloh, Buell reinforced Grant, helping him defeat the Confederates on April 7, 1862. Buell considered that his arrival was the primary reason that Grant avoided a major defeat and Grant developed a professional grudge against Buell that would haunt his future career.

In the fall of 1862, Confederate General Braxton Bragg invaded Kentucky and Buell was forced to fall back as far north as the Ohio River. Buell fought Bragg at the indecisive Battle of Perryville on October 8, 1862, which halted the Confederate invasion and forced them back into Tennessee, but he failed to pursue Bragg's withdrawal. Although he had in fact been offered a command at the express recommendation of Grant, Buell declined it, saying that it would be degradation to serve under either Sherman or Canby because he ranked them both.

Postbellum

Following the war Buell lived again in Indiana, and then in Kentucky, employed in the iron and coal industry as president of the Green River Iron Company.