John Buchanan Floyd was the
31st Governor of VirginiaThe governor of Virginia serves as the chief executive of the Commonwealth of Virginia for a four-year term. The position is currently held by Republican Bob McDonnell, who was inaugurated on January 16, 2010, as the 71st governor of Virginia....
, U.S. Secretary of War, and the
ConfederateThe Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...
general in the
American Civil WarThe 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...
who lost the crucial
Battle of Fort DonelsonThe Battle of Fort Donelson was fought from February 11 to February 16, 1862, in the Western Theater of the American Civil War. The capture of the fort by Union forces opened the Cumberland River as an avenue for the invasion of the South. The success elevated Brig. Gen. Ulysses S...
.
Early life
Floyd was born at
SmithfieldSmithfield is a plantation outside Blacksburg, Virginia built from 1772 to 1774 as a home by Col. William Preston. It was the birthplace of two Virginia Governors: James Patton Preston and John B. Floyd...
estate,
Blacksburg, VirginiaBlacksburg is an incorporated town located in Montgomery County, Virginia, United States, with a population of 42,620 at the 2010 census. Blacksburg, Christiansburg, and Radford are the three principal jurisdictions of the Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford Metropolitan Statistical Area which...
. He was the son of
John FloydJohn Floyd was a Virginia politician and soldier. He represented Virginia in the United States House of Representatives and later served as the 25th Governor of Virginia....
(1783–1837), who served as a representative in Congress from 1817 to 1829 and
Governor of VirginiaThe governor of Virginia serves as the chief executive of the Commonwealth of Virginia for a four-year term. The position is currently held by Republican Bob McDonnell, who was inaugurated on January 16, 2010, as the 71st governor of Virginia....
from 1830 to 1834.
After graduating from South Carolina College in 1826 (by some accounts 1829), Floyd practiced law in his native state and at
Helena, ArkansasHelena is the eastern portion of Helena-West Helena, Arkansas, a city in Phillips County, Arkansas. As of the 2000 census, this portion of the city population was 6,323. Helena was the county seat of Phillips County until January 1, 2006, when it merged its government and city limits with...
, where he lost a large fortune and his health in a cotton-planting venture. In 1839, he returned to Virginia and settled in
Washington CountyAs of the census of 2000, there were 51,103 people, 21,056 households, and 14,949 families residing in the county. The population density was 91 people per square mile . There were 22,985 housing units at an average density of 41 per square mile...
, which he represented in the
Virginia House of DelegatesThe Virginia House of Delegates is the lower house of the Virginia General Assembly. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-numbered years. The House is presided over by the Speaker of the House, who is elected from among the...
in 1847–49 and again in 1853. From 1849 to 1852, he was Governor of
VirginiaThe Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
. As Governor, he recommended to the legislature the enactment of a law laying an import tax on the products of states that refused to surrender fugitive slaves owned by Virginia masters.
Secretary of War
In March 1857, Floyd became
Secretary of WarThe Secretary of War was a member of the United States President's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War," was appointed to serve the Congress of the Confederation under the Articles of Confederation...
in the cabinet of
PresidentThe 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....
James BuchananJames Buchanan, Jr. was the 15th President of the United States . He is the only president from Pennsylvania, the only president who remained a lifelong bachelor and the last to be born in the 18th century....
, where his lack of administrative ability was soon apparent, including the poor execution of the
Utah ExpeditionThe Utah War, also known as the Utah Expedition, Buchanan's Blunder, the Mormon War, or the Mormon Rebellion was an armed confrontation between LDS settlers in the Utah Territory and the armed forces of the United States government. The confrontation lasted from May 1857 until July 1858...
. In December 1860, on ascertaining that Floyd had honored heavy drafts made by government contractors in anticipation of their earnings, the president requested his resignation. Several days later Floyd was indicted for malversation in office, although the indictment was overruled in 1861 on technical grounds. There is no proof that he profited by these irregular transactions; in fact, he went out of the office financially embarrassed.
Although he had openly opposed
secessionSecession is the act of withdrawing from an organization, union, or especially a political entity. Threats of secession also can be a strategy for achieving more limited goals.-Secession theory:...
before the election of
Abraham LincolnAbraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
, his conduct after the election, especially after his breach with Buchanan, fell under suspicion, and he was accused in the press of having sent large stores of government arms to Federal arsenals in the South in the anticipation of the Civil War.
After his resignation, a congressional commission in the summer and fall of 1861 investigated Floyd's actions as Secretary of War. All of his records of orders and shipments of arms from 1859 to 1860 were examined. It is recorded that in response to John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry he bolstered the Federal arsenals in some Southern states by over 115,000 muskets and rifles in late 1859. He also ordered heavy ordnance to be shipped to the Federal forts in Galveston Harbor, Texas, and the new fort on Ship Island off the coast of Mississippi.
In the last days of his term, he apparently had an intention to send these heavy guns, but his orders were revoked by the president. During the year 1860, the Southern states actually received less than their full quota of arms and the heavy guns were a normal shipment required to complete the construction of Federal forts.
His resignation as Secretary of War, on December 29, 1860, was precipitated by the refusal of Buchanan to order Major Robert Anderson to abandon
Fort SumterFort Sumter is a Third System masonry coastal fortification located in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina. The fort is best known as the site upon which the shots initiating the American Civil War were fired, at the Battle of Fort Sumter.- Construction :...
, which eventually led to the start of the war. On January 27, 1861, he was indicted by the District of Columbia
grand juryA grand jury is a type of jury that determines whether a criminal indictment will issue. Currently, only the United States retains grand juries, although some other common law jurisdictions formerly employed them, and most other jurisdictions employ some other type of preliminary hearing...
for conspiracy and fraud. Floyd appeared in criminal court in Washington, D.C., on March 7, 1861, to answer the charges against him. According to
Harper's WeeklyHarper's Weekly was an American political magazine based in New York City. Published by Harper & Brothers from 1857 until 1916, it featured foreign and domestic news, fiction, essays on many subjects, and humor...
, the indictments were thrown out.
Civil War
After the secession of Virginia, Floyd was commissioned a major general in the Provisional Army of Virginia, but on May 23, 1861, he was appointed a brigadier general in the
Confederate States ArmyThe Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...
. He was first employed in some unsuccessful operations in the
Kanawha ValleyAs of the census of 2000, there were 200,073 people, 86,226 households, and 55,960 families residing in the county. The population density was 222 people per square mile . There were 93,788 housing units at an average density of 104 per square mile...
of western Virginia under
Robert E. LeeRobert Edward Lee was a career military officer who is best known for having commanded the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War....
, where he was wounded in the arm at the
Battle of Carnifex FerryThe Battle of Carnifex Ferry took place on September 10, 1861, in Nicholas County, Virginia , as part of the Operations in Western Virginia Campaign during the American Civil War. The battle resulted in a Union victory that contributed to the eventual Confederate withdrawal from western Virginia...
on September 10. In January 1862, he was dispatched to the
Western TheaterThis article presents an overview of major military and naval operations in the Western Theater of the American Civil War.-Theater of operations:...
to report to General
Albert Sidney JohnstonAlbert Sidney Johnston served as a general in three different armies: the Texas Army, the United States Army, and the Confederate States Army...
and was given command of a brigade. Johnston sent Floyd to reinforce
Fort DonelsonFort Donelson was a fortress built by the Confederacy during the American Civil War to control the Cumberland River leading to the heart of Tennessee, and the heart of the Confederacy.-History:...
and assume command of the post there. Floyd assumed command of Fort Donelson on February 13 just two days after the Union army had arrived at that spot, also becoming the third post commander within a week.
Fort Donelson protected the crucial
Cumberland RiverThe Cumberland River is a waterway in the Southern United States. It is long. It starts in Harlan County in far southeastern Kentucky between Pine and Cumberland mountains, flows through southern Kentucky, crosses into northern Tennessee, and then curves back up into western Kentucky before...
and, indirectly, the manufacturing city of
NashvilleNashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
and Confederate control of
Middle TennesseeMiddle Tennessee is a distinct portion of the state of Tennessee, delineated according to state law as the 41 counties in the Middle Grand Division of Tennessee....
. It was the companion to Fort Henry on the nearby
Tennessee RiverThe Tennessee River is the largest tributary of the Ohio River. It is approximately 652 miles long and is located in the southeastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. The river was once popularly known as the Cherokee River, among other names...
, which, on February 6, 1862, was captured by
Union ArmyThe 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...
Brig. Gen.
Ulysses S. GrantUlysses 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...
and river gunboats. Floyd was not an appropriate choice to defend such a vital point, having political influence, but virtually no military experience. General Johnston had other experienced, more senior, generals (P.G.T. Beauregard and
William J. HardeeWilliam Joseph Hardee was a career U.S. Army officer, serving during the Second Seminole War and fighting in the Mexican-American War...
) available and made a serious error in selecting Floyd. Floyd had little military influence on the
Battle of Fort DonelsonThe Battle of Fort Donelson was fought from February 11 to February 16, 1862, in the Western Theater of the American Civil War. The capture of the fort by Union forces opened the Cumberland River as an avenue for the invasion of the South. The success elevated Brig. Gen. Ulysses S...
itself, deferring to his more experienced subordinates, Brig. Gens. Gideon J. Pillow and
Simon Bolivar BucknerSimon Bolivar Buckner 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....
. As the Union forces surrounded the fort and the town of
DoverDover is a city in Stewart County, Tennessee, United States, westnorthwest of Nashville on the Cumberland River. An old national cemetery is in Dover. The population was 1,442 at the 2000 census...
, the Confederates launched an assault on February 15 in an attempt to open an escape route. Although successful at first, indecision on General Pillow's part left the Confederates in their trenches, facing growing reinforcements for Grant.
Early in the morning of February 16, at a
council of warA council of war is a term in military science that describes a meeting held to decide on a course of action, usually in the midst of a battle. Under normal circumstances, decisions are made by a commanding officer, optionally communicated and coordinated by staff officers, and then implemented by...
, the generals and field officers decided to surrender their army. Floyd, concerned that he would be arrested for treason if captured by the Union Army, turned his command over to Pillow, who immediately turned it over to Buckner. Col. N. B. Forest and his entire Tennessee Cavalry Regiment escaped. Pillow escaped on a small boat across the Cumberland and the next morning Floyd escaped by steamboat with the 20th Mississippi Regiment, the 51st, 56th, 36th, and 50th Virginia regiments, and two Virginia batteries from his old Virginia command, just before Buckner surrendered to Grant, one of the great strategic defeats of the Civil War. A short time before daylight the two steamboats arrived. Without loss of time the general (Floyd) hastened to the river, embarked with his Virginians, and at an early hour cast loose from the shore, and in good time, and safely, he reached Nashville. He never satisfactorily explained upon what principles he appropriated all the transportation on to the use of his particular command". Floyd was relieved of his command by Confederate President
Jefferson DavisJefferson Finis Davis , also known as Jeff Davis, was an American statesman and leader of the Confederacy during the American Civil War, serving as President for its entire history. He was born in Kentucky to Samuel and Jane Davis...
, without a court of inquiry, on March 11, 1862. He resumed his commission as a major general of Virginia Militia, but his health soon failed and he died a year later at
Abingdon, VirginiaAbingdon is a town in Washington County, Virginia, USA, 133 miles southwest of Roanoke. The population was 8,191 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Washington County and is a designated Virginia Historic Landmark...
, where he is buried in Sinking Spring Cemetery.
In memoriam
Floyd CountyFloyd County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of 2000, the population was 90,565. Census estimates for 2007 show a population of 95,618...
in northwest Georgia, home to the cities of Rome and Cave Spring, is named for his ancestor, United States Congressman
John FloydJohn Floyd was a United States Representative from Georgia. He was born in Beaufort, South Carolina where he learned carpentry...
.
Camp FloydCamp Floyd was a short-lived U.S. Army post near Fairfield, Utah, United States. The site is now a Utah state park known as Camp Floyd / Stagecoach Inn State Park and Museum.-Camp Floyd:...
, a U.S. Army post near
Fairfield, UtahFairfield is a town located in Utah County, Utah, United States. It is part of the Provo–Orem, Utah Metropolitan Statistical Area. The latitude of...
from July 1858 to July 1861, was originally named after Floyd.
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