The Battle of Fort Fisher, N.C.

Sunday, March 14, 2010

Gen. Buford's Relative Honored

March 10th Galena (Il) Gazette. Civil War Interactive Newswire.

The great grand nephew of Civil War Major General John Buford, a hero for the Union at Gettysburg was honored March 13th.

James Raymond Lewis, a World War II and Korean War veteran died October 31, 2009 and his remains interred at the Buford-Hanley plot at Chippinock Cemetery in Rock Island, Illinois.

General Buford was born in Kentucky, but grew up in Rock Island. He attended Knox College for a year before being accepted into West Point where he graduated 16th in his class.

At the onset of the war, he had to decide which side to fought for since his wife's family owned slaves. In December 1863, he was dying of typhoid fever and Abraham Lincoln promoted him to major general. He died December 13, 1863.

He is buried at West Point alongside Alonzo Cushing who was killed at Gettysburg and is receiving the Congressional Medal of Honor posthumously. In 1865, a 25-foot obelisk was erected over his grave.

Quite the Hero. --Old B-Runner

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