Bust view of Buckner in his Confederate uniform. Collar insignia is visible. Period ink signature on lower edge of mount, “S.B. Buckner / Maj. Gen.” Image is slightly light and is on a course paper mount. No photographer’s backmark; only modern collector’s notes on reverse.

Simon Bolivar Buckner (April 1, 1823 – January 8, 1914) was an American soldier and politician who fought in the United States Army in the Mexican–American War and in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. He later served as the 30th governor of Kentucky.

After graduating from the United States Military Academy at West Point, Buckner became an instructor there. He served in the Mexican–American War, participating in many of the major battles of that conflict.

He returned to his native state of Kentucky in 1857 and was appointed adjutant general by Governor Beriah Magoffin in 1861. In this position, he tried to enforce Kentucky's neutrality policy in the early days of the Civil War. When the state's neutrality was breached, Buckner accepted a commission in the Confederate Army after declining a similar commission to the Union Army. In 1862, he accepted Ulysses S. Grant's demand for an "unconditional surrender" at the Battle of Fort Donelson. He was the first Confederate general to surrender an army in the war. He spent five months as a prisoner of war. After his release, Buckner participated in Braxton Bragg's failed invasion of Kentucky and near the end of the war became chief of staff to Edmund Kirby Smith in the Trans-Mississippi Department.

After the war, Buckner became active in politics. He was elected governor of Kentucky in 1887. He never again sought public office and died on January 8, 1914.  [jet] [ph:L]

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