CIV.
CIV. JOHN BUCHANAN FLOYD.
CIV. Governor.
CIV. January 1, 1849, to January 1, 1852.
John Buchanan Floyd was the eldest son of Governor
John and Letitia Preston Floyd, and was born at Smithfield,
Montgomery (now Pulaski) County, June 1, 1806. Receiving
his early education through private tutors, he entered the
College of South Carolina, from which institution he graduated
in 1826. Choosing law as his profession, he was admitted to
the bar in 1828, and commenced practice in his native county.
In 1836 he removed to Helena, Arkansas, where for three
years he practiced his profession successfully, but in 1839 he
determined to return to Virginia and locate in Washington
County. Being an ardent Democrat and a fluent, impressive
speaker, Mr. Floyd now became a prominent politician, and
in 1847 was returned by Washington County to the House of
Delegates of Virginia, and whilst a member of the Assembly
was elected by it Governor of Virginia, to succeed Governor
William Smith, January 1, 1849.
It is a matter of interest, that Crawford's monument,
known as the "Washington Monument," which adorns the
public square around the capitol, in Richmond, was commenced
during Governor Floyd's term. This noble work of
art consists of a bronze equestrian statue of Washington,
rising from a granite pedestal, surrounded by bronze figures
of Thomas Nelson, Jr., Andrew Lewis, John Marshall, Patrick
Henry, Thomas Jefferson, and George Mason. When the
equestrian statue arrived in Richmond, Virginia, November,
1857, it was drawn through the streets of the city, from the river-landing
to the Capitol Square, by the enthusiastic citizens.
The allegorical figures on this monument greatly enhance
its beauty and its value as an historical compendium of the
deeds and virtues of many other unrecorded Virginians whose
memory it honors. The following indicates the position of
the statuary and the inscriptions on the shields of the allegorical
figures:
| Finance, opposite, Thomas Nelson, Jr. |
Yorktown. |
| Saratoga. |
| Colonial Times, opposite, Andrew Lewis. |
Point Pleasant. |
| Valley Forge. |
| Justice, opposite, John Marshall. |
Great Bridge. |
| Stony Point. |
| Revolution, opposite, Patrick Henry. |
Eutaw Springs. |
| Trenton. |
| Independence, opposite, Thomas Jefferson. |
King's Mountain. |
| Princeton. |
| Bill of Rights, opposite, George Mason. |
Guilford C. H. |
| Bunker Hill. |
Upon the expiration of Governor Floyd's gubernatorial
term, he was succeeded by Governor Joseph Johnson, January
1, 1852.
In 1855, Governor Floyd was again returned to the House
of Delegates, by Washington County, and entering actively
and efficiently into the political affairs of the day, he became
a prominent Democratic leader in Virginia. In March, 1857,
he was appointed by President Buchanan as Secretary of
War, and applied himself with great diligence to the fulfillment
of the duties of this office. But, as the late, unhappy
war between the sections was now drawing on, questions
arose which induced Governor Floyd to resign his Cabinet
position and return to his native state. On May 23, 1861,
he was appointed a Brigadier-General in the Confederate
States Army. He received later, for his honorable services,
the commission of Major-General, but constant exposure in
active military operations had so affected his health, that he
was compelled to return home, where he shortly after died,
on August 26, 1863.
Governor Floyd married in early life his cousin, Sarah
Buchanan Preston, but left no children.
