Robert Christie Buchanan was an American Civil War Union Brigadier General. He is mostly remembered for his service as a colonel in the Union Army during the American Civil War and his multiple citations for bravery and distinguished service.
Background
Robert Christie Buchanan was born on March 1, 1811 in Baltimore, Maryland. His paternal ancestry dated back to Dr. George Buchanan, an immigrant from Scotland to Maryland as early as the year 1698, whose son, Andrew Buchanan, was a brigadier-general of the Maryland militia during the American Revolution. The father of Robert Christie Buchanan was Andrew Buchanan of Baltimore; his mother was Carolina Virginia Marylanda Johnson, daughter of Joshua Johnson, Esq. , and sister of Mrs. John Quincy Adams (Roberdeau Buchanan, Genealogy of the McKean Family of Pennsylvania, 1890).
Education
When but fifteen years of age, young Buchanan received appointment to the United States Military Academy from the District of Columbia, --his legal guardian at the time being Mr. Nathaniel Frye, Jr. He graduated Number 31 in a class of forty-two members, and on July 1, 1830, received his commission as second lieutenant, 4th Infantry.
Career
Upon graduation, Buchanan participated in the Black Hawk War of 1832, and commanded the gunboats in the engagement of Bad Axe River. He served as adjutant of his regiment from 1835 to 1838, --having been promoted first lieutenant, March 16, 1836, and captain, November 1, 1838.
In 1837-38 he took part in the arduous campaign against the Seminole Indians. Buchanan entered the war with Mexico as a captain in the 4th Infantry, Ulysses S. Grant being a lieutenant in the same organization. He went through the campaigns of both Generals Taylor and Scott, and was brevetted major, May 9, 1846, for gallant and distinguished services at Palo Alto and at Resaca de la Palma; and lieutenant-colonel September 8, 1847, for gallant and meritorious services at the taking of Molino del Rey, where it is said Buchanan forced the doors of the stronghold with his own hands.
He received his majority in the regular army, February 3, 1855, his lieutenant-colonelcy September 9, 1861, and during the decade preceding the Civil War, was associated in the old 4th Infantry, with such distinguished officers as Grant, Sheridan, Judah, Crook, Alvord, and D. A. Russell.
At the outbreak of the Civil War, Buchanan's regiment formed part of the defense of Washington; and from November 1861 to March 1862 during McClellan's Peninsular Campaign he commanded with distinction a brigade in General Sykes's famous "Regular Division. "
On June 27, 1862, he was brevetted colonel for services at Gaines's Mill, and was brevetted brigadier-general, Mar. 13, 1865, for similar distinguished service at Malvern Hill, where his brigade drove a portion of the enemy from the field and captured a flag. In the much discussed withdrawal of McClellan's army to Harrison's Landing, following the battles before Richmond, Buchanan had the difficult responsibility of covering much of the movement with his brigade. And of the Second Battle of Bull Run, which followed, Gen. John Pope has said: "Porter's Corps was pushed to the support of our left, where it rendered distinguished service, especially the brigade of regulars under Colonel (then Lieutenant-Colonel) Buchanan".
Buchanan was made a brigadier-general of volunteers, November 29, 1862, and commanded his brigade in the bloody battle of Antietam, and in front of the famous "stone wall" at Fredericksburg, where his command suffered serious casualties. His commission as brigadier-general having expired, March 4, 1863, he was placed in command of the defenses of Fort Delaware, and attained his colonelcy in the regular army, February 8, 1864.
On March 13, 1865, as the war was about to end, he received the brevet of major-general for his distinguished services in the battles of Second Bull Run (Manassas) and Fredericksburg. Late in the year 1865, Buchanan was a member of an important military commission, investigating complaints by the government of Prussia regarding enlistments, and in the year 1867 was a member of the Iowa Claims Commission.
In 1868, after serving for a short period as an assistant commissioner in the Freedman's Bureau, he was placed in command of the important Department of Louisiana, where the work of reconstruction and the problems attendant upon the readmission of Louisiana to the Union were beset with many difficulties.
On April 16 and 17, 1868, the state voted for state officers, as well as for a constitution which would permit of entrance into the Union; and while the election passed off quietly, many controversies subsequently followed and much ill-feeling resulted. Acting under instructions from Gen. Grant, Buchanan installed into office the newly elected Governor H. C. Warmoth, and Lieutenant-Governor Oscar J. Dunn (a negro), and later, upon the ratification by Louisiana of the Fourteenth Amendment, Buchanan declared military law no longer existent in the state.
Buchanan commanded Fort Porter, New York, during 1869-70, was retired from active service, December 31, 1870, and died in Washington, D. C. , November 29, 1878.
Achievements
Promoted Colonel in June 1862, he commanded a brigade at the Second Bull Run, Antietam and Fredericksburg. Brevetted Brigadier General US Army, he commanded Fort Delaware in 1863 and the 1st United States Infantry at New Orleans from December 1864 until August 1865. For meritorious service he was brevetted Major General and commanded the Department of Louisiana until January 1869.
For his service in Mexico, Buchanan was twice brevetted in recognition of his gallantry in actio
Views
He was affectionately known to Civil War soldiers as "Old Buck, " and his brigade of regular soldiers proved always a dependable reserve in many of the earlier battles of the war. That such was the case was largely due to his wide experience, fine attainments, and high sense of duty and of discipline.
Membership
In 1847 Buchanan became a veteran member of the Aztec Club of 1847 – a military society of officers who had served in the Mexican War.
Connections
Shortly after the war with Mexico he married Miss Winder, a grand-daughter of Governor Lloyd of Maryland.
