Found Death As He Would Have Wished

Union cavalry Major Seymour Beach Conger was killed in action August 7^th 1864 during a battle near Moorefield, West Virginia.

Seymour Beach Conger was born September 25^th 1825 in Plymouth, Richland, Ohio the son of Reverend Enoch and Esther (West) Conger.  He lived near Lexington, Ohio and worked as a farmer.

When the Civil War started Conger recruited for what would become Company A of the 3^rd West Virginia Cavalry.  He was made their Captain November 22^nd 1862.  Companies A and C, which he led, was a part of Union General John Buford’s Division of Cavalry, and served at Brandy Station and Gettysburg in Colonel Thomas C Devin’s brigade.  In November 1863 the 3^rd along with Conger were moved to the Department of West Virginia in Wheeling.   He was promoted to Major.  Conger was killed in action during the cavalry fight known as the Battle of Moorefield near Moorefield, West Virginia August 7^th 1864.  He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

After Conger’s death Union General William Woods Averell said of him, “our exultations is mingled a profound grief at the loss of Major Conger, 3rd West Virginia Cavalry, who found death as he had always wished, in the front of battle, with heart and hand intent upon the doing of his duty.  Brave, steadfast and modest, when he fell this command lost one of its best soldiers, and his regiment and general a friend.  The men who followed him in the charge will never forget his glorious example."

It Bought One More Day

A part of the Gettysburg Campaign the Second Battle of Funkstown was fought July 10^th 1863 near the town of Funkstown, Maryland.

As Confederate General Robert E Lee’s army waited near Williamsport to cross the Potomac River and complete their retreat into Virginia following the Battle of Gettysburg, he posted Major General JEB Stuart’s cavalry at Funkstown, Maryland.  Stuart was determined to hold up the Union troops so Lee would have time to fortify and protect his line of retreat.

On the morning of July 10^th 1863 Union Brigadier General John Buford’s Cavalry moved down the National Road approaching Funkstown.  They ran up against Stuart’s three mile long line.  The high ground on Stuart’s right was covered by artillery, and a stone barn with stonewall proved cover for the 34^th Virginia Cavalry who were fighting dismounted.  Union Colonel Thomas C Devin’s brigade attacked this line about 8 am.

The fight continued through early afternoon.  Buford’s men were about out of ammo, and had not moved the Confederates.  About this time the First Vermont Brigade a part of the VI Corps under the command of Union Colonel Lewis A Grant, came up and found themselves facing a brigade Georgians commanded by Confederate General George T Anderson.  With both sides evenly matched, in the evening the Union troops began drawing off, moving south toward Beaver Creek.

The battle caused about 480 casualties, and most importantly it bought Lee another day to dig in while he waited for the water to recede in the Potomac so it could be crossed.   

For more about this battle, check out The Second Battle of Funkstown, Maryland

A Retreating Battle

A part of the retreat from Gettysburg, the Battle of Boonsboro was fought July 8th 1863 in Washington County, Maryland.

As the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia retreated south following its defeat at Gettysburg, its cavalry held the passes in South Mountain. They fought a rearguard action against parts of the Union First and Third Cavalry and a supporting infantry. The Battle of Boonsboro on July 8th 1863 occurred along the National Road. Confederate Major General J E B Stuart with five brigades of cavalry ran into Union resistance at the Beaver Creek Bridge about four miles north of Boonsboro. The Confederate cavalry moved forward through rain soaked fields causing them and their Union Cavalry counterparts Brigadier Generals H Judson Kilpatrick and John Buford’s divisions to have to fight dismounted. By late afternoon the Union left under Kilpatrick, low on ammunition fell under Confederate pressure. Stuart’s troops advanced in the early evening, but were stopped by the timely arrival of Union infantry.

The fight gained a day for General Robert E Lee’s retreating army.

It All Started With One Shot

Union Lieutenant Marcellus E Jones fired the first shot July 1st 1863, that started the three day Battle of Gettysburg.


Union Cavalry under the command of Brigadier General John Buford were waiting on July 1st 1863, for a Confederate force coming from the northwest. Buford could see that the high ground around Gettysburg was important to hold. He planned to hold the hills west of Gettysburg, as a delaying action until the Union First Corps under General John Reynolds could bring up more men.

Confederate Major General Henry Heth’s Division led the way into Gettysburg with Major William J Pegram artillery. This was followed by two brigade of infantry under the command of Brigadier Generals James Jay Archer and Joseph Robert Davis. They were moving along the Chambersburg Pike, about three miles west of town at 7:30am when they met a cavalry vedette. The Union cavalry that Heth’s division ran into were dismounted troops from Colonel William Gamble’s brigade. Lieutenant Marcellus E Jones of the 8th Illinois Cavalry fired the opening shot of the Battle of Gettysburg, firing at a man on a gray horse about a half mile away.

Buford’s small force of 2,748 cavalry would soon face and hold off 7,600 Confederates.

This is a very good web site for information about the first shot and the man who made that shot, Battle of Gettysburg: Who Really Fired the First Shot

He Was Named To Be In The Military

Union General and Railroad Executive Napoleon Bonaparte Buford was born January 13th 1807.

Napoleon Bonaparte Buford was born in Versailles, Woodford , Kentucky on his families plantation January 13th 1807, the son of John and Nancy [Hickman] Buford. He was the older brother of Union Cavalry General John Buford. He attended the United State Military Academy at West Point, graduating in 1827. For eight years Buford served in the artillery. He then went to Harvard where he studied law. Buford was an assistant professor until 1835 at West Point when he resigned. Buford went on to work as an engineer, in iron mining, and in banking at Peoria, Illinois. He was the President of the Rock Island and Peoria Railroad.

When the Civil War started Buford joined the Union Army as a Colonel in the 27th Illinois Infantry. They saw early action during the Battle of Belmont. He commanded the “Flotilla Brigade” an infantry brigade which served on gunboats in the Western Theater. In April 1862 Buford was promoted to Brigadier General, and given command of the First Brigade, 3rd Division in the Army of Mississippi. He was promoted again in November 1862 to Major General serving the rest of the war as the commander of the District of East Arkansas. He mustered out of the army March 13th 1865.

Following the war Buford held a couple of government jobs. He was the inspector of construction of the Union Pacific Railroad and a commissioner of Indian Affairs. Buford died March 28th 1883 in Chicago, Illinois. He is buried in Chippiannock Cemetery in Rock Island, Illinois.

He Held The Ground At Gettysburg

Union Cavalry officer Brigadier General John Buford Jr died December 16th 1863.

John Buford Jr was born March 4th 1826 in Versailles, Woodford, Kentucky. When he was eight the family moved to Rock Island, Illinois. Buford attended Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois for one year before getting an appointment to the United State Military Academy at West Point. He graduated 16th out of 38 in the class of 1848. Buford was commissioned Second Lieutenant in the United States Dragoons and served in Texas, and as part of the peacekeeping in Kansas and in Utah.

When the Civil War started in 1861, Buford chose to stay with the Union, despite having several relatives who sided with the Confederacy. With the rank of Major in November 1861 Buford was appointed assistant inspector general of the defenses of Washington, DC. In 1862 he was promoted in rank to Brigadier General and posted under Major General John Pope as commander of the Cavalry II Corps Union Army of Virginia. They fought with distinction at the Second Battle of Bull Run. Buford was wounded in the knee, it wasn't serious but was painful. When he returned to service it was in a staff position and he wanted a field command. In 1863 when Major General Joseph Hooker took over the Army of Potomac, Buford was given the Reserve Brigade of Cavalry in the 1st Division. He led his new division at the Battle of Brandy Station June 9th 1863.

On July 1st 1863 Buford set up his troops west of the town of Gettysburg. The Cavalry mostly fighting dismounted, they held off a superior number of Confederates at Gettysburg, until the Union Army’s 1st Corps could come up and deploy. During the Confederate retreat from Gettysburg, Buford’s Cavalry pursued the Confederates, in Warrenton, Virginia, they engaged them several times. Then his men covered Union Major General George Gorden Meade’s retrograde movement in the Bristoe Campaign in October 1863.

Buford contracted Typhoid during the Rappahannock Campaign and by December 1863 it was obvious he was dying. He went to Washington DC to the home of his friend General George Stoneman. On December 16th 1863 at Stoneman’s request President Abraham Lincoln promoted Buford to Major General, for meritorious and distinguished service at the Battle of Gettysburg. At the end of his life he was surround by many old friends, but his wife Pattie traveling from their home in Rock Island, Illinois didn't get there in time. Buford died December 16th 1863. His body was transported to West Point for burial, in the United State Military Academy Post Cemetery.