He was the half-brother of the famous Gettysburg hero, John Buford, but never attained his sibling's military distinction.

Buford graduated from West Point in 1827 and served for eight years in the artillery and in 1835 resigned from the service to become an engineer.

[1] He then commanded the so-called "Flotilla Brigade" of the Army of the Mississippi during the Battle of Island Number Ten.

In the final days of 1862, he served on the court-martial that convicted Major General Fitz John Porter of cowardice and disobedience.

Buford was government inspector of the Union Pacific Railroad from 1867 to 1869 and a special commissioner of Indian affairs in 1867–68.