Adjutant’s Call - March 2025
Link to Original PDF of March 2025 Newsletter
Circular Memorandum #564 -March 2025
“A Father’s Legacy: Simon Bolivar Buckner Sr.and Jr.” Presented by Chris Kolakowski
We welcome back former member and President of the Round Table, Chris Kolakowski. Chris has given us some great talks in the past and has led three field trips for us. Christopher Kolakowski is Director of the Wisconsin Veterans Museum, a position he has held since January 6, 2020. He was born and raised in Fredericksburg, Va, but his mother’s family has very deep roots in the Badger State. Chris received his BA in History and Mass Communications from Emory & Henry College, and his MA in Public History from the State University of New York at Albany.
Chris has spent his career interpreting and preserving American military history with the National Park Service, New York State government, the Rensselaer County (NY) Historical Society, the Civil War Preservation Trust, Kentucky State Parks, the U.S. Army, and the MacArthur Memorial. He has written and spoken extensively on various aspects of military history and leadership from 1775 to the present and was the inaugural Director of the General George Patton Museum and Center of Leadership at Fort Knox, Kentucky.
Chris has published three books on the Civil War and three on World War II in the Pacific. He is a reviewer and contributor to the Air Force Journal of Indo-Pacific Affairs and a Senior Fellow at the Consortium of IndoPacific Researchers. His latest book, titled Tenth Army Commander, is about General Simon Bolivar Buckner Jr., who was killed in battle on Okinawa.
A Father’s Legacy: Simon Bolivar Buckner Sr. and Jr.
Simon Buckner Jr. is best known as commander of the Tenth Army in World War II and as the senior American killed in battle in World War II. His death ended a remarkable life, one molded and guided by his Civil War veteran father and namesake. This talk will explore Buckner Jr’s life and career, from birth in Munfordville to final burial in Frankfort.
April 23-27,2025, Field Trip to Shiloh
$200 Non-refundable Deposit is Due
We will be going to Shiloh in southwestern Tennessee April 23-27, 2025 for our annual field trip. Our guide will be Civil War historian and author Tim Smith. The signup sheet will be at the February meeting. We are also collecting the $200 non-refundable deposits. You can sign-up by emailing John Davis at johnd.davis@twc.com and mailing your $200 non-refundable deposit check made out to LCWRT directly to Louisville Civil War Round Table, 9462 Brownsboro Road - #142, Louisville, Ky., 40241. The $200 non-refundable deposit is now due which will guarantee your reservation for the trip. You can also pay the deposit on our website: https://buy.stripe.com/28o02x5aW5OO0zSaET. I anticipate the cost of this year’s trip will be between $425 and $450. Tim has written the definitive account of the battle in his award-winning book, Shiloh: Conquer or Perish. Tim was our guide in 2012 and did a fantastic job for us. We could not have a better guide. Tim has served as a park ranger at Shiloh National Military Park for six years and has conducted numerous tours of this battlefield and has been involved in Shiloh’s preservation. The battle of Shiloh occurred on April 6-7, 1862, and the resulting losses of more than 16,000 shocked the nation. After being surprised by Albert Sidney Johnston’s Confederate army on the morning of April 6, the Federals rallied under Grant’s leadership after receiving reinforemcnts during the night and were able to force the Confederates to retreat back to Corinth, Mississippi the following day. The Shiloh battlefield is one of the best preserved battlefields of the Civil War. We will also be going to Corinth and visiting the Corinth battlefield and visitor’s center. We will be staying in Corinth. We will walk this hollowed ground and cover in detail what happened there. We are taking signups at the meetings. If you have any questions, you can email John Davis at johnd.davis@twc.com.
Things to Know About the Shiloh Field Trip
We will leave the Free Enterprise parking lot at 8:00 A.M. for the 350-mile trip to Corinth, Mississippi. You can park your vehicle in the secure parking lot at Free Enterprise, One Sodrel Dr. Jeffersonville, IN. We will stop at McDonald’s for breakfast and make another stop for lunch before arriving at our hotel at approximately 4:00. With stops, our drive will be about 8 hours total. We will be staying at the Hampton Inn, 2107 Hwy 72 West in Corinth. We will take the bus to a local Mexican restaurant as is our tradition on Wednesday night for those who wish to go. This meal is not covered by your fee.
We will spend Thursday morning in Corinth visiting the Corinth depot/railroad crossing, the Corith Civil War Interpretive Center, Confederate earthworks around Corinth and then have lunch in Corinth. We will then start northward toward Shiloh following the Confederate advance route toward the battlefield. We will visit the deployment area before visiting the Shiloh visitors center and Pittsburg Landing to set the stage for the battle. Dinner will be in Corinth and is not covered in your fee.
Friday we will leave the hotel promptly at 8:00 and travel to Shiloh to begin the first day’s action. We will examine the first two major Union lines of defense and see all the famous sites such as Fraley Field, Shiloh Church, the Crossroads, Peach Orchard, and Hornet's Nest as Grant's forces fell back toward his last line of defense on the first day of battle. We will have pizza at the hotel in the meeting room. This is paid for in your fee. Lunch covers your trip fee.
Saturday we will travel to Shiloh and pick up on the last part of Shiloh's first day of battle, finishing up with Grant's last line of defense and the Confederate attacks. We will cover the night operations and then begin the movement out onto the battlefield for the second day of battle, revisiting the same famous sites but with the story of the second day being told. We will finish the day with a stop at Fallen Timbers where the Confederate rear guard blunted a Union pursuit on April 8, 1862. We will conclude Saturday with dinner at a place to be determined (I am working on it). Our grand finale dinner will be a great way to wind up our trip before heading home on Sunday morning. This is covered in your trip fee as is lunch.
The cost of the trip is estimated currently to be $450 per person. The final cost is determined by the number of people who will be on the trip. We have a maximum number of 40 for this trip. We are now collecting the $200 non-refundable deposit that will guarantee your reservation.
What does the cost of the trip cover? In addition to the cost of the bus, the fee includes the fees charged by our guide, Tim Smith, any fees for admission to the National Military Parks, three lunches, the Friday night pizza party at the hotel, the grand finale dinner on Saturday night, and all gratuities paid to our guide and bus driver.
What is not covered? You will be responsible for your hotel which you will get at the reduced group rate of $150 per night plus Mississippi state taxes. We are getting a group rate that is $30 less that the regular rate. You will also be responsible for any meals not covered by the trip fee.
I hope you will make plans to join us on what promises to be a great experience with a great guide and great fellowship! Mark your calendars for April 23-27. You can sign up at the meetings or by emailing John Davis at johnd.davis@twc.com. If you have any questions, please send your email to John or talk to him at the meetings.
Simon Bolivar Buckner Sr.
Simon Bolivar Buckner Sr. was born at Glen Lily, his family's estate near Munfordville, Kentucky on April 1, 1823. He was named after the Venezuelan soldier and statesman, Simón Bolívar. His closest friend in Munfordville was Thomas J. Wood, who would become a Union army general opposing Buckner at the Battle of Perryville and the Battle of Chickamauga during the Civil War. On July 1, 1840, Buckner enrolled at West Point. In 1844, he graduated eleventh in his class of 25 and was commissioned a brevet second lieutenant in the 2nd U.S. Infantry Regiment. In 1845, he returned to the West Point to serve as an assistant professor of geography, history, and ethics.
He took a hiatus from teaching to serve in the Mexican American War, participating in many of its major battles. He participated in battles at San Antonio and Churubusco. Buckner was cited for gallant conduct at the Battle of Molino del Rey, and he participated in the Battle of Chapultepec, the Battle of Belen Gate, and the storming of Mexico City. He resigned from the army in 1855 to manage his father-in-law's real estate in Chicago, Illinois. 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.
After Confederate Maj. Gen. Leonidas Polk occupied Columbus, Kentucky, violating the state's neutrality, Buckner accepted a commission as a brigadier general in the Confederate States Army on September 14, 1861. Union officials in Louisville indicted him for treason and seized his property. He became a division commander in the Army of Central Kentucky under Brig. Gen. William J. Hardee and was stationed in Bowling Green, Kentucky.
In 1862, he accepted Ulysses S. Grant's demand for an "unconditional surrender" at the Battle of Fort Donelson. He spent five months as a prisoner of war. After his release, Buckner participated in Braxton Bragg's invasion of Kentucky and his division fought under General Hardee during this battle, achieving a significant breakthrough in the Confederate center, and reports from Hardee, Polk, and Bragg all praised Buckner's efforts. At the Battle of Chickamauga. Buckner's Corps fought on the Confederate left both days, the second under the "wing" command of Lt. Gen. James Longstreet, participating in the great breakthrough of the Union line. Near the end of the war became chief of staff to Edmund Kirby Smith in the TransMississippi Department.
In the years following the war, Buckner became active in politics. He was elected governor of Kentucky in 1887, in his second campaign for that office. His term was plagued by violent feuds in the eastern part of the state, including the Hatfield–McCoy feud and the Rowan County War As governor, Buckner became known for vetoing special interest legislation. In the 1888 legislative session alone, he issued more vetoes than the previous ten governors combined. In 1895, he made an unsuccessful bid for a seat in the U.S. Senate. The following year, he joined the National Democratic Party, or "Gold Democrats", who favored a gold standard policy over the Free Silver position of the mainline Democrats. He was the National Democratic Party's candidate for Vice President of the United States in the 1896 election, but polled just over one percent of the vote on a ticket with his running mate, ex-Union general John M. Palmer. He never again sought public office.
Following this defeat, Buckner retired to Glen Lily but remained active in politics. On June 10, 1885, Buckner married Delia Claiborne of Richmond, Virginia. Buckner was 62; Claiborne was 28. Their son, Simon Bolivar Buckner Jr., was born on July 18, 1886. On a visit to the White House in 1904, Buckner asked President Theodore Roosevelt to appoint his only son as a cadet at West Point, and Roosevelt quickly agreed. His son Simon Bolivar Buckner Jr. would later serve in the U.S. Army and be killed at the Battle of Okinawa, making him the highest-ranking American to have been killed by enemy fire during World War II. During Union General and President Ulysses S. Grant's funeral, Buckner was one of the pallbearers. Which also included Union generals Sherman and Sheridan, Confederate general Joseph E. Johnston, Admiral David Dixon Porter, and Senator John A. Logan. In 1912, his health began to fail. He died on January 8, 1914, after a week-long bout with uremic poisoning. He is buried in Frankfort Cemetery in Frankfort, Kentucky.
Preservation Opportunity at Fort Heiman
Exciting news! The American Battlefield Trust has received word that we have the opportunity to expand our preservation efforts at Fort Heiman, KY, with an additional tract of land that is right next to our current preservation efforts AND it features significant Civil War earthworks.
Here’s the best part: we only need $13,000 to make this happen! Thanks to a generous partnership with the National Park Service, your support will help secure this tract as part of a $45,000 purchase. This land is a true gem — its fortifications are a testament to the strategic importance of Ft. Heiman during the Civil War. Let’s seize this opportunity to protect more of this hallowed ground while it’s still possible. Click on this link to donate. Your gift today can make this additional preservation a reality. Watch this short video from the Trust’s Chief Historian, Garry Adelman, to learn more about this opportunity at Fort Heiman.
FEBRUARY 2025 QUIZ
1. What words did General Robert E. Lee add to General Ulysses S. Grant’s proposed terms of surrender for the Army of Northern Virginia?
Grant had written that the soldiers from the Army of Northern Virginia would be paroled, and Lee added the words “until exchanged”.
2. What popular product that we snack on was also popular during the Civil War, especially with the civilian populations on both sides?
That popular snack was popcorn.
3. What nation of Native Americans did Confederate Brigadier General Stand Watie belong to?
He was a leading chief among the Cherokee Nation in what was then referred to as Indian Territory in what is now Oklahoma.
4. Who was President Abraham Lincoln’s personal secretary?
That was John G. Nicolay.
5. General Ulysses S. Grant held the highest rank in the U.S. Army. What was that rank?
He held the rank of Lieutenant General.
MARCH 2025 QUIZ
1. Who was the Rev. Dr. Henry W. Bellows?
2. Who was General U. S. Grant’s personal military secretary?
3. Who commanded the United States Sharpshooters?
4. What war aid did the King of Siam offer President Lincoln?
5. What was the Swamp Angel?