Cyrus Bussey
Encyclopedia
Cyrus Bussey was an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 soldier and politician, serving as a major general
Major general (United States)
In the United States Army, United States Marine Corps, and United States Air Force, major general is a two-star general-officer rank, with the pay grade of O-8. Major general ranks above brigadier general and below lieutenant general...

 in the Union Army
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...

 during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

.

Early life and career

Bussey was born in Hubbard, Ohio
Hubbard, Ohio
Hubbard is a city in Trumbull County, Ohio, United States. It is formed from part of Hubbard Township, which was formed from the Connecticut Western Reserve. The population was 8,284 at the 2000 census...

, in 1833. His father, Reverend A. Bussey, was a Methodist minister. He moved with his father, in 1837, to Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...

. At age 14, Bussey began working, as a clerk, in a dry-goods store, and at age 15, he started his own mercantile business. He began studying medicine, at age 18, but realized that he did not want to go into that profession. In 1855, Bussey moved to Davis County, Iowa
Davis County, Iowa
-2010 census:The 2010 census recorded a population of 8,753 in the county, with a population density of . There were 3,600 housing units, of which 3,201 were occupied.-2000 census:...

, and began another business. It was here that his political career would begin.

Political career

He early became interested in politics, entered the Iowa Senate
Iowa Senate
The Iowa Senate is the upper house of the Iowa General Assembly. There are 50 members of the Senate, representing 50 single-member districts across the state with populations of approximately 59,500 per constituency. Each Senate district is composed of two House districts...

 as a Democrat. In 1860, he was a delegate to the Baltimore convention
1860 Democratic National Convention
The 1860 Democratic National Convention was one of the crucial events in the lead-up to the American Civil War. Following a fragmented official Democratic National Convention that was adjourned in deadlock, two more presidential nominating conventions took place: a resumed official convention,...

, which nominated Stephen A. Douglas
Stephen A. Douglas
Stephen Arnold Douglas was an American politician from the western state of Illinois, and was the Northern Democratic Party nominee for President in 1860. He lost to the Republican Party's candidate, Abraham Lincoln, whom he had defeated two years earlier in a Senate contest following a famed...

 for President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....

.

American Civil War

He served throughout the Civil War. During the Siege of Vicksburg
Battle of Vicksburg
The Siege of Vicksburg was the final major military action in the Vicksburg Campaign of the American Civil War. In a series of maneuvers, Union Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and his Army of the Tennessee crossed the Mississippi River and drove the Confederate army of Lt. Gen. John C...

, he was the Chief of Cavalry for Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...

's army. Late in the war, in 1865, Bussey commanded the Third Division of the Seventh Army Corps
VII Corps (ACW)
Two corps of the Union Army were called VII Corps during the American Civil War.-VII Corps :This corps was established 22 July 1862 from various Union troops stationed in southeastern Virginia. The corps' main combat action occurred in the spring of 1863, when it faced Confederate troops of James...

, with the rank of brevet major general.

For some time after the war, he carried on a commission business in St. Louis and New Orleans
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...

. Bussey was appointed Assistant Secretary of the Interior
United States Deputy Secretary of the Interior
The Deputy Secretary of the Interior, in the United States government, advises and assists the Secretary of the Interior in the supervision and direction of the Department of the Interior and its activities, and succeeds the Secretary in his or her absence, sickness, or unavailability. The Deputy...

 from 1889 to 1893. Afterwards, he practiced law. He was commander of the District of Columbia
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

 Commandery, Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States
Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States
The Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States, also known by its acronym MOLLUS or simply as the Loyal Legion, is a United States patriotic order, organized April 15, 1865, by officers of the Army, Navy, or Marine Corps of the United States who "had aided in maintaining the honor,...

 in 1911 and 1912.

See also

  • List of American Civil War generals
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