Simon Bolivar Buckner 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 took a hiatus from teaching to serve in the Mexican – American War , participating in many of the major battles of that conflict . 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 . 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 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 . In the years following the war , Buckner became active in politics . He was elected governor of Kentucky in 1887 . It was 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 . His administration was rocked by scandal when state treasurer James " Honest Dick " Tate absconded with $ 250 , 000 from the state ' s treasury . 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 Gold Democrats ' 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 John M . Palmer . He never again sought public office and died of uremic poisoning on January 8 , 1914 . Early life . Simon B . Buckner ( Sr . ) , was born at Glen Lily , his family ' s estate near Munfordville , Kentucky . He was the third child and second son of Aylett Hartswell and Elizabeth Ann ( Morehead ) Buckner . Named after the " South American soldier and statesman , Simón Bolívar , then at the height of his power " , Buckner did not begin school until age nine , when he enrolled at a private school in Munfordville . 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 . Buckner ' s father was an iron worker , but found that Hart County did not have sufficient timber to fire his iron furnace . Consequently , in 1838 , he moved the family to southern Muhlenberg County where he organized an iron - making corporation . Buckner attended school in Greenville , and later at Christian County Seminary in Hopkinsville . On July 1 , 1840 , Buckner enrolled at the United States Military Academy . In 1844 he graduated eleventh in his class of 25 and was commissioned a brevet second lieutenant in the 2nd U . S . Infantry Regiment . He was assigned to garrison duty at Sackett ' s Harbor on Lake Ontario until August 28 , 1845 , when he returned to the Academy to serve as an assistant professor of geography , history , and ethics . Service in the Mexican – American War . In May 1846 , Buckner resigned his teaching position to fight in the Mexican – American War , enlisting with the 6th U . S . Infantry Regiment . His early duties included recruiting soldiers and bringing them to the Texas border . In November 1846 , he was ordered to join his company in the field ; he met them en route between Monclova and Parras . The company joined John E . Wool at Saltillo . In January 1847 , Buckner was ordered to Vera Cruz with William J . Worth ' s division . While Maj . Gen . Winfield Scott besieged Vera Cruz , Buckner ' s unit engaged a few thousand Mexican cavalry at a nearby town called Amazoque . On August 8 , 1847 , Buckner was appointed quartermaster of the 6th Infantry . Shortly thereafter , he participated in battles at San Antonio and Churubusco , being slightly wounded in the latter battle . He was appointed a brevet first lieutenant for gallantry at Churubusco and Contreras , but declined the honor in part because reports of his participation at Contreras were in error — he had been fighting in San Antonio at the time . Later , he was offered and accepted the same rank solely based on his conduct at Churubusco . Buckner was again cited for gallant conduct at the Battle of Molino del Rey , and was appointed a brevet captain . He participated in the Battle of Chapultepec , the Battle of Belen Gate , and the storming of Mexico City . At the conclusion of the war , American soldiers served as an army of occupation , which left them time for leisure activities . Buckner joined the Aztec Club , and in April 1848 was a part of the successful expedition of Popocatépetl , a volcano southeast of Mexico City . Buckner was afforded the honor of lowering the American flag over Mexico City for the last time during the occupation . Interbellum . After the war , Buckner accepted an invitation to return to West Point to teach infantry tactics . Just over a year later , he resigned the post in protest over the academy ' s compulsory chapel attendance policy . Following his resignation , he was assigned to a recruiting post at Fort Columbus . Buckner married Mary Jane Kingsbury on May 2 , 1850 , at her aunt ' s home in Old Lyme , Connecticut . Shortly after their wedding , he was assigned to Fort Snelling and later to Fort Atkinson on the Arkansas River in present - day Kansas . On December 31 , 1851 , he was promoted to first lieutenant , and on November 3 , 1852 , he was elevated to captain of the commissary department of the 6th U . S . Infantry in New York City . Previously , he had attained only a brevet to these ranks . Buckner gained such a reputation for fair dealings with the Indians , that the Oglala Lakota tribe called him Young Chief , and their leader , Yellow Bear , refused to treat with anyone but Buckner . Before leaving the Army , Buckner helped an old friend from West Point and the Mexican – American War , Captain Ulysses S . Grant , by covering his expenses at a New York hotel until money arrived from Ohio to pay for his passage home . On March 26 , 1855 , Buckner resigned from the Army to work with his father - in - law , who had extensive real estate holdings in Chicago , Illinois . When his father - in - law died in 1856 , Buckner inherited his property and moved to Chicago to manage it . Still interested in military affairs , Buckner joined the Illinois State Militia of Cook County as a major . On April 3 , 1857 , he was appointed adjutant general of Illinois by Governor William Henry Bissell . He resigned the post in October of the same year . Following the Mountain Meadows massacre , a regiment of Illinois volunteers organized for potential service in a campaign against the Mormons . Buckner was offered command of the unit and a promotion to the rank of colonel . He accepted the position , but predicted that the unit would not see action . His prediction proved correct , as negotiations between the federal government and Mormon leaders eased tensions between the two . In late 1857 , Buckner and his family returned to his native state and settled in Louisville . Buckner ' s daughter , Lily , was born there on March 7 , 1858 . Later that year , a Louisville militia known as the Citizens ' Guard was formed , and Buckner was made its captain . He served in this capacity until 1860 , when the Guard was incorporated into the Kentucky State Guard ' s Second Regiment . He was appointed inspector general of Kentucky in 1860 . Civil War . In 1861 Kentucky governor Beriah Magoffin appointed Buckner adjutant general , promoted him to major general , and charged him with revising the state ' s militia laws . The state was torn between Union and Confederacy , with the legislature supporting the former and the governor the latter . This led the state to declare itself officially neutral . Buckner assembled 61 companies to defend Kentucky ' s neutrality . The state board that controlled the militia considered it to be pro - secessionist and ordered it to store its arms . On July 20 , 1861 , Buckner resigned from the state militia , declaring that he could no longer perform his duties due to the board ' s actions . That August he was twice offered a commission as a brigadier general in the Union Army — the first from general in chief Winfield Scott , and the second from Secretary of War Simon Cameron following the personal order of President Abraham Lincoln — but he declined . 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 , and was followed by many of the men he formerly commanded in the state militia . When his Confederate commission was approved , Union officials in Louisville indicted him for treason and seized his property . ( Concerned that a similar action might be taken against his wife ' s property in Chicago , he had previously deeded it to his brother - in - law . ) He became a division commander in the Army of Central Kentucky under Brig . Gen . William J . Hardee and was stationed in Bowling Green , Kentucky . Fort Donelson . After Union Brig . Gen . Ulysses S . Grant captured Fort Henry on the Tennessee River in February 1862 , he turned his sights on nearby Fort Donelson on the Cumberland . Western Theater commander Gen . Albert Sidney Johnston sent Buckner to be one of four brigadier generals defending the fort . In overall command was the influential politician and military novice John B . Floyd ; Buckner ' s peers were Gideon J . Pillow and Bushrod Johnson . Buckner ' s division defended the right flank of the Confederate line of entrenchments that surrounded the fort and the small town of Dover , Tennessee . On February 14 , the Confederate generals decided they could not hold the fort and planned a breakout , hoping to join with Johnston ' s army , now in Nashville . At dawn the following morning , Pillow launched a strong assault against the right flank of Grant ' s army , pushing it back . Buckner , not confident of his army ' s chances and not on good terms with Pillow , held back his supporting attack for over two hours , which gave Grant ' s men time to bring up reinforcements and reform their line . Buckner ' s delay did not prevent the Confederate attack from opening a corridor for an escape from the besieged fort . However , Floyd and Pillow combined to undo the day ' s work by ordering the troops back to their trench positions . Late that night the generals held a council of war in which Floyd and Pillow expressed satisfaction with the events of the day , but Buckner convinced them that they had little realistic chance to hold the fort or escape from Grant ' s army , which was receiving steady reinforcements . His defeatism carried the meeting . General Floyd , concerned he would be tried for treason if captured by the North , sought Buckner ' s assurance that he would be given time to escape with some of his Virginia regiments before the army surrendered . Buckner agreed and Floyd offered to turn over command to his subordinate , Pillow . Pillow immediately declined and passed command to Buckner , who agreed to stay behind and surrender . Pillow and Floyd were able to escape , as did cavalry commander Col . Nathan Bedford Forrest . That morning , Buckner sent a messenger to the Union Army requesting an armistice and a meeting of commissioners to work out surrender terms . He may have been hoping Grant would offer generous terms , remembering the assistance he gave Grant when he was destitute , but Grant ' s reply was curt , with the famous quotation , " No terms except unconditional and immediate surrender can be accepted . I propose to move immediately upon your works . " To this , Buckner responded : The asperity of these notes was only superficial ; Buckner greeted his old friend warmly when Grant arrived to accept the surrender . They joked about their time in Mexico and the incompetence of General Pillow . Grant offered to loan Buckner money to see him through his impending imprisonment , but Buckner declined . The surrender was a humiliation for Buckner personally , but also a strategic defeat for the Confederacy , which lost more than 12 , 000 men and much equipment , as well as control of the Cumberland River , which led to the evacuation of Nashville . Invasion of Kentucky . While Buckner was a Union prisoner of war at Fort Warren in Boston , Kentucky Senator Garrett Davis unsuccessfully sought to have him tried for treason . On August 15 , 1862 , after five months of writing poetry in solitary confinement , Buckner was exchanged for Union Brig . Gen . George A . McCall . The following day he was promoted to major general and ordered to Chattanooga , Tennessee , to join Gen . Braxton Bragg ' s Army of Mississippi . Days after Buckner joined Bragg , both Bragg and Maj . Gen . Edmund Kirby Smith began an invasion of Kentucky . As Bragg pushed north , his first encounter was in Buckner ' s home town of Munfordville . The small town was important for Union forces to maintain communication with Louisville if they decided to press southward to Bowling Green and Nashville . A small force under the command of Col . John T . Wilder guarded the town . Though vastly outnumbered , Wilder refused requests to surrender on September 12 and September 14 . By September 17 , however , Wilder recognized his difficult position and asked Bragg for proof of the superior numbers he claimed . In an unusual move , Wilder agreed to be blindfolded and brought to Buckner . When he arrived , he told Buckner that he ( Wilder ) was not a military man and had come to ask him what he should do . Flattered , Buckner showed Wilder the strength and position of the Confederate forces , which outnumbered Wilder ' s men almost 5 - to - 1 . Seeing the hopeless situation he was in , Wilder informed Buckner that he wanted to surrender . Any other course , he later explained , would be " no less than willful murder . " Bragg ' s men continued northward to Bardstown where they rested and sought supplies and recruits . Meanwhile , Maj . Gen . Don Carlos Buell ' s Army of the Ohio , the main Union force in the state , was pressing toward Louisville . Bragg left his army and met Kirby Smith in Frankfort , where he was able to attend the inauguration of Confederate Governor Richard Hawes on October 4 . Buckner , although protesting this distraction from the military mission , attended as well and gave stirring speeches to the local crowds about the Confederacy ' s commitment to the state of Kentucky . The inauguration ceremony was disrupted by the sound of cannon fire from an approaching Union division and the inaugural ball scheduled for that evening was canceled . Based on intelligence acquired by a spy in Buell ' s army , Buckner advised Bragg that Buell was still ten miles from Louisville in the town of Mackville . He urged Bragg to engage Buell there before he reached Louisville , but Bragg declined . Buckner then asked Leonidas Polk to request that Bragg concentrate his forces and attack the Union army at Perryville , but again , Bragg refused . Finally , on October 8 , 1862 , Bragg ' s army — not yet concentrated with Kirby Smith ' s — engaged Maj . Gen . Alexander McCook ' s corps of Buell ' s army and began the Battle of Perryville . Buckner ' s 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 . His gallantry was for naught , however , as Perryville ended in a tactical draw that was costly for both sides , causing Bragg to withdraw and abandon his invasion of Kentucky . Buckner joined many of his fellow generals in publicly denouncing Bragg ' s performance during the campaign . Later Civil War service . Following the Battle of Perryville , Buckner was reassigned to command the District of the Gulf , fortifying the defenses of Mobile , Alabama . He remained there until late April 1863 , when he was ordered to take command of the Army of East Tennessee . He arrived in Knoxville on May 11 , 1863 , and assumed command the following day . Shortly thereafter , his department was converted into a district of the Department of Tennessee under Gen . Bragg and was designated the Third Corps of the Army of Tennessee . In late August , Union Maj . Gen . Ambrose Burnside approached Buckner ' s position at Knoxville . Buckner called for reinforcements from Bragg at Chattanooga , but Bragg was being threatened by forces under Maj . Gen . William Rosecrans and could not spare any of his men . Bragg ordered Buckner to fall back to the Hiwassee River . From there , Buckner ' s unit traveled to Bragg ' s supply base at Ringgold , Georgia , then on to Lafayette and Chickamauga . Bragg was also forced from Chattanooga and joined Buckner at Chickamauga . On September 19 and 20 , the Confederate forces attacked and emerged victorious 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 . After Chickamauga , Rosecrans and his Army of the Cumberland retreated to fortified Chattanooga . Bragg held an ineffective siege against Chattanooga , but refused to take any further action as the Union forces there were reinforced by Ulysses S . Grant and reopened a tenuous supply line . Many of Bragg ' s subordinates , including Buckner , advocated that Bragg be relieved of command . Thomas L . Connelly , historian of the Army of Tennessee , believes that Buckner was the author of the anti - Bragg letter sent by the generals to President Jefferson Davis . Bragg retaliated by reducing Buckner to division command and abolishing the Department of East Tennessee . Buckner was given a medical leave of absence following Chickamauga , returning to Virginia , where he engaged in routine work while recovering his strength . His division was sent without him to support Longstreet in the Knoxville Campaign , while the remainder of Bragg ' s army was defeated in the Chattanooga Campaign . Buckner served on the court martial of Maj . Gen . Lafayette McLaws after that subordinate of Longstreet ' s was charged with poor performance at Knoxville . Buckner was briefly given command of Maj . Gen . John Bell Hood ' s division in February 1864 , and on March 8 , he was given command of the reestablished Department of East Tennessee . The department was a shell of its former self — less than one - third its original size , badly equipped , and in no position to mount an offensive . Buckner was virtually useless to the Confederacy here , and on April 28 , he was ordered to join Edmund Kirby Smith in the Trans - Mississippi Department of the Confederacy . Buckner had difficulty traveling to the West , and it was early summer before he arrived . He assumed command of the District of West Louisiana on August 4 . Shortly after Buckner arrived at Smith ' s headquarters in Shreveport , Louisiana , Smith began requesting a promotion for him . The promotion to lieutenant general came on September 20 . Smith placed Buckner in charge of the critical but difficult task of selling the department ' s cotton through enemy lines . As news of Gen . Robert E . Lee ' s surrender on April 9 , 1865 , reached the department , soldiers deserted the Confederacy in droves . On April 19 , Smith consolidated the District of Arkansas with the District of West Louisiana ; the combined district was put under Buckner ' s command . On May 9 , Smith made Buckner his chief of staff . Rumors began to swirl in both Union and Confederate camps that Smith and Buckner would not surrender , but would fall back to Mexico with soldiers who remained loyal to the Confederacy . Though Smith did cross the Rio Grande , he learned on his arrival that Buckner had traveled to New Orleans on May 26 and arranged terms of surrender . Smith had instead instructed Buckner to move all the troops to Houston , Texas . At Fort Donelson , Tennessee , Buckner had become the first Confederate general of the war to surrender an army ; at New Orleans , he became the last . The surrender became official when Smith endorsed it on June 2 , ( Only Brigadier General Stand Watie held out longer ; he surrendered the last Confederate land forces on June 23 , 1865 ) . Conditions set forth in Buckner ' s surrender were the following : Postbellum life . The terms of Buckner ' s parole in Shreveport , Louisiana , on June 9 , 1865 , prevented his return to Kentucky for three years . He remained in New Orleans , worked on the staff of the " Daily Crescent " newspaper , engaged in a business venture , and served of the board of directors of a fire insurance company , of which he became president in 1867 . His wife and daughter joined him in the winter months of 1866 and 1867 , but he sent them back to Kentucky in the summers because of the frequent outbreaks of cholera and yellow fever . Buckner returned to Kentucky when he was eligible in 1868 and became editor of the Louisville " Courier " . Like most former Confederate officers , he petitioned the United States Congress for the restoration of his civil rights as stipulated by the 14th Amendment . He recovered most of his property through lawsuits and regained much of his wealth through shrewd business deals . On January 5 , 1874 , after five years of suffering with tuberculosis , Buckner ' s wife died . Now a widower , Buckner continued to live in Louisville until 1877 when he and his daughter Lily returned to the family estate , Glen Lily , in Munfordville . His sister , a recent widow , also returned to the estate in 1877 . For six years , these three inhabited and repaired the house and grounds which had been neglected during the war and its aftermath . On June 14 , 1883 , Lily Buckner married Morris B . Belknap of Louisville , and the couple made their residence in Louisville . On October 10 of the same year , Buckner ' s sister died , and he was left alone . Political career . Buckner had a keen interest in politics and friends had been urging him to run for governor since 1867 , even while terms of his surrender confined him to Louisiana . Unwilling to violate these terms , he instructed a friend to withdraw his name from consideration if it was presented . In 1868 , he was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention that nominated Horatio Seymour for president . Though Buckner had favored George H . Pendleton , he loyally supported the party ' s nominee throughout the campaign . In 1883 , Buckner was a candidate for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination . Other prominent candidates included Congressman Thomas Laurens Jones , former congressman J . Proctor Knott , and Louisville mayor Charles Donald Jacob . Buckner consistently ran third in the first six ballots , but withdrew his name from consideration before the seventh ballot . The delegation from Owsley County switched their support to Knott , starting a wave of defections that resulted in Jones ' withdrawal and Knott ' s unanimous nomination . Knott went on to win the general election and appointed Buckner to the board of trustees for the Kentucky Agricultural and Mechanical College ( later the University of Kentucky ) in 1884 . At that year ' s state Democratic convention , he served on the committee on credentials . 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 . Governor of Kentucky . Delegates to the 1887 state Democratic convention nominated Buckner unanimously for the office of governor . A week later , the Republicans chose William O . Bradley as their candidate . The Prohibition Party and the Union Labor Party also nominated candidates for governor . The official results of the election gave Buckner a plurality of 16 , 797 over Bradley . Buckner proposed a number of progressive ideas , most of which were rejected by the legislature . Among his successful proposals were the creation of a state board of tax equalization , creation of a parole system for convicts , and codification of school laws . His failed proposals included creation of a department of justice , greater local support for education and better protection for forests . Much of Buckner ' s time was spent trying to curb violence in the eastern part of the state . Shortly after his inauguration , the Rowan County War escalated to vigilantism , when residents of the county organized a posse and killed several of the leaders of the feud . Though this essentially ended the feud , the violence had been so bad that Buckner ' s adjutant general recommended that the Kentucky General Assembly dissolve Rowan County , though this suggestion was not acted upon . In 1888 , a posse from Kentucky entered West Virginia and killed a leader of the Hatfield clan in the Hatfield - McCoy feud . This caused a political conflict between Buckner and Governor Emanuel Willis Wilson of West Virginia , who complained that the raid was illegal . The matter was adjudicated in federal court , and Buckner was cleared of any connection to the raid . Later in Buckner ' s term , feuds broke out in Harlan , Letcher , Perry , Knott , and Breathitt counties . A major financial scandal erupted in 1888 when Buckner ordered a routine audit of the state ' s finances which had been neglected for years . The audit showed that the state ' s longtime treasurer , James " Honest Dick " Tate , had been mismanaging and embezzling the state ' s money since 1872 . Faced with the prospect that his malfeasance would be discovered , Tate absconded with nearly $ 250 , 000 of state funds . He was never found . The General Assembly immediately began impeachment hearings against Tate , convicted him " in absentia " , and removed him from office . State auditor Fayette Hewitt was censure d for neglecting the duty of his office , but was not implicated in Tate ' s theft or disappearance . During the 1888 session , the General Assembly passed 1 , 571 bills , exceeding the total passed by any other session in the state ' s history . Only about 150 of these bills were of a general nature ; the rest were special interest bills passed for the private gain of legislators and those in their constituencies . Buckner vetoed 60 of these special interest bills , more than had been vetoed by the previous ten governors combined . Only one of these vetoes was overridden by the legislature . Ignoring Buckner ' s clear intent to veto special interest bills , the 1890 legislature passed 300 more special interest bills than had its predecessor . Buckner vetoed 50 of these . His reputation for rejecting special interest bills led the Kelley Axe Factory , the largest axe factory in the country at the time , to present him with a ceremonial " Veto Hatchet " . When a tax cut passed over Buckner ' s veto in 1890 drained the state treasury , the governor loaned the state enough money to remain solvent until tax revenue came in . Later that year , he was chosen as a delegate to the state ' s constitutional convention . In this capacity , he unsuccessfully sought to extend the governor ' s appointment powers and levy taxes on churches , clubs , and schools that made a profit . Later career . After his term as governor , Buckner returned to Glen Lily . In 1895 , he was one of four candidates nominated for a seat in the U . S . Senate — the others being the incumbent , J . C . S . Blackburn ; outgoing governor John Y . Brown ; and congressman James B . McCreary . The Democratic party split over the issue of bimetalism . Buckner advocated for a gold standard , but the majority of Kentuckians advocated " Free Silver " . Seeing that he would not be able to win the seat in light of this opposition , he withdrew from the race in July 1895 . In spite of his withdrawal , he still received 9 of the 134 votes cast in the General Assembly . At the 1896 Democratic National Convention in Chicago , the Democrats nominated William Jennings Bryan for president and adopted a platform calling for the free coinage of silver . Gold standard Democrats opposed Bryan and the free silver platform . They formed a new party — the National Democratic Party , or Gold Democrats — which Buckner joined . At the new party ' s state convention in Louisville , Buckner ' s name was proposed as a candidate for vice president . He was given the nomination without opposition at the party ' s national convention in Indianapolis . Former Union general John Palmer was chosen as the party ' s nominee for president . Palmer and Buckner both had developed reputations as independent executives while serving as governors of their respective states . Because they had served on opposite sides during the Civil War , their presence on the same ticket emphasized national unity . The ticket was endorsed by several major newspapers including the " Chicago Chronicle " , " Louisville Courier - Journal " , " Detroit Free Press " , " Richmond Times " , and " New Orleans Picayune " . Despite these advantages , the ticket was hurt by the candidates ' ages , Palmer being 79 and Buckner 73 . Further , some supporters feared that voting for the National Democrat ticket would be a wasted vote and might even throw the election to Bryan . Ultimately , Palmer and Buckner received just over one percent of the vote in the election . Following this defeat , Buckner retired to Glen Lily but remained active in politics . Though he always claimed membership in the Democratic party , he opposed the machine politics of William Goebel , his party ' s gubernatorial nominee in 1899 . In 1903 , he supported his son - in - law , Morris Belknap , for governor against Goebel ' s lieutenant governor , J . C . W . Beckham . When the Democrats again nominated William Jennings Bryan in the 1908 presidential election , Buckner openly supported Bryan ' s opponent , Republican William Howard Taft . At 80 years of age , Buckner memorized five of Shakespeare ' s plays because cataract s threatened to blind him , but an operation saved his sight . 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 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 . Following the deaths of Stephen D . Lee and Alexander P . Stewart in 1908 , Buckner became the last surviving Confederate soldier with the rank of lieutenant general . The following year , he visited his son , who was stationed in Texas , and toured old Mexican – American War battlefields where he had served . In 1912 , his health began to fail . He died on January 8 , 1914 , after a week - long bout with uremic poisoning . He was buried in Frankfort Cemetery in Frankfort , Kentucky .