As a child, Buell had a difficult time making friends due to his distant, introverted personality and was often made fun of by other children.

George Buell obtained for his nephew an appointment to West Point, but despite his high intelligence and good math skills, he accumulated numerous demerits and disciplinary problems and graduated in 1841 32nd in his class of 52.

After the 3rd Infantry was transferred to Illinois, Buell found himself court-martialed for getting into an argument with an enlisted man and beating him over the head with the blunt end of his sword.

There was considerable opposition to the verdict, and even General Winfield Scott felt that Buell needed to be punished for his actions, but the court would not retry the case.

After the Union defeat at Bull Run, McClellan summoned him back east where he was quickly promoted to brigadier general of volunteers, to rank from May 17, 1861.

In November, McClellan succeeded Winfield Scott as general-in-chief of the Army, and decided to post Buell out west, dividing the trans-Appalachia theater between him and Maj. Gen Henry Halleck.

Buell's excuse was that the railroad network in this area was poor, and he would have to rely on wagons for army supply that could be vulnerable to Confederate cavalry.

On the morning of April 6, the Confederates launched a surprise attack on Grant's army, beginning one of the largest and bloodiest battles of the war.

[5] Buell considered himself the victor of Shiloh and denigrated Grant's contribution, writing after the war that he had no "marked influence that he exerted upon the fortune of the day."

"[6][7] Following Shiloh, Governor Johnson objected to Buell's plans to withdraw the Nashville garrison on the grounds that Confederate sympathy in the city was still strong.

During the march to Corinth, Buell took extensive pauses to repair the railroad lines and would not entertain suggestions of allowing his army to live off the land.

This action was not popular either with Buell's troops or the War Department, and President Lincoln ultimately overturned the verdict, while Turchin eventually got promoted to brigadier general.

Buell's advance towards Chattanooga nearly rivaled the earlier march on Corinth for sluggishness, with extensive pauses to stop and repair railroad lines.

When Nathan Bedford Forrest's cavalry then ransacked the Army of Ohio's supply lines, Buell all but terminated the effort to take Chattanooga.

Despite protests from the War Department to move faster, Buell insisted that he could not hold Chattanooga for any length of time without proper caution and preparedness.

[10]In September, Confederate armies under Edmund Kirby Smith and Braxton Bragg invaded Kentucky and Buell was forced to take action.

The Kentucky campaign did have the effect of re-energizing Buell's demoralized soldiers who were excited to finally be going somewhere and march into a state that had been mostly untouched by war.

When President Lincoln urged an immediate pursuit of Bragg, he was told by Buell that the route directly south from Perryville into Eastern Tennessee was rough, wooded country with few roads and would be too difficult to maneuver through.

When Grant was appointed general-in-chief of the army in March 1864, he offered Buell a possible assignment but he refused to serve under either Sherman or George Thomas on the grounds that he outranked both of them.

Buell earned the nickname "The McClellan of the West" for his cautious approach and desire for a limited war that would not disrupt civilian life in the South or interfere with slavery.

Buell's wife had owned slaves prior to the war, and their marriage, although she freed them shortly after the Confederate attack on Fort Sumter.

His personal papers, maps, correspondence, uniform, West Point diploma and other possessions are held at the University of Notre Dame.