Buell, Don Carlos

Buell, Don Carlos Buell, Don Carlos, 1818â€"98, Union general in the Civil War, b. near Marietta, Ohio, grad. West Point, 1841. Buell was appointed brigadier general of volunteers in the Civil War (May, 1861), helped organize the Army of the Potomac, and took command of the Dept. of Ohio (Nov., 1861). He supported Grant's move up the Tennessee and Cumberland rivers by marching on Bowling Green, and after the fall of Fort Donelson he pursued the retreating Confederates to Nashville. In Mar., 1862, he was placed under Gen. H. W. Halleck and made major general of the Army of the Ohio, in which service he played a decisive role at Shiloh (see Shiloh, battle of ). He forced the Confederates to retreat from Kentucky at Perryville (Oct. 8, 1962) but was dilatory in his pursuit. He was replaced by Gen. W. S. Rosecrans ; subsequently he was investigated by the military and discharged. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. See more Encyclopedia articles on: U.S. History: Biographies