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Civil War Soldiers - Burnside
| Burnside, Ambrose E., major-general, U.S. Army, was
born in Liberty, Ind., May 23, 1824, fourth son of Edgehill and
Pamelia (Brown) Burnside. He was descended from Robert Burnside, a
Scotchman who had fled his native country after the final defeat of
the "Young Pretender," whose cause he had espoused. During the
Revolutionary war the Burnside family took different sides, and James
Burnside, grandfather of Ambrose, remained a loyalist during the
struggle. He was forced to flee to the island of Jamaica, but returned
in 1786 and died in South Carolina in 1798. His widow, after freeing
her slaves, emigrated to Indiana, and her third son, Edgehill, settled
in Liberty, a town which was just being built. Here he married and
reared a family of nine children. Ambrose, the fourth child, was sent
to school until he reached the age of seventeen, obtaining a better
education than was generally to be had in country schools of the time,
and then, his father being too poor to give him professional training,
was apprenticed to a tailor. Through conversations with soldiers who
had fought in the war of 1812 he became interested in military life,
and read all the books which he could obtain which related to military
affairs. While engaged in reading one of these books in his shop in
Liberty, so goes the tradition, one of the patrons, Caleb B. Smith,
then a congressman, came into the shop, and asked the boy about his
ambitions. He became interested in young Burnside and eventually
succeeded in procuring for him an appointment to West Point. Upon his
graduation with the class of 1847, Lieut. Burnside was ordered to the
City of Mexico, where he remained on garrison duty until the return of
the army, when he served at Fort Adams, at Las Vegas, where he was
wounded, and at Jefferson Barracks, Mo. In 1853 he resigned his
commission as 1st lieutenant of the 3d artillery to devote his
attention to the manufacture of a breech-loading rifle which he had
invented. The rifle, which had been submitted in competition with some
eighteen others, had received the approval of a board of commissioners
appointed by Congress, and Burnside expected an order from the
government. Upon investigating, however, he was told that he would
have to pay $5,000 to a professional lobbyist before the government
would order any of his guns, and, as he refused indignantly to pay a
sum for such a purpose, he was forced to make an assignment, and, with
fifteen dollars in his pocket returned west to retrieve his fortunes.
Eventually he succeeded, by dint of strictest economy, in paying off
all the indebtedness incurred in the disastrous venture. After his
assignment he secured a position as cashier of the land department of
the Illinois Central railroad, of which his former classmate, George
B. McClellan, was then vice-president, and, a year later, became
treasurer of the road. Just before the outbreak of the Civil war he
made a business trip to New Orleans, and, learning the state of
affairs in the South, arranged his affairs, upon his return to the
North, so as to be ready to start at a moment's warning for the war.
He was appointed in the spring of 1861, by Gov. Sprague of Rhode
Island, colonel of the 1st R. I. volunteers, and led his regiment to
Washington by way of Annapolis, being one of the first to assist in
the defense of the city. In the first battle of Bull Run he commanded
a brigade at the beginning of the battle and succeeded to the command
of Gen. Hunter's division after that officer was wounded, winning by
his services in that engagement many public testimonials and promotion
to the rank of brigadier-general. Gen. Burnside won his greatest
popularity, however, by an expedition which he successfully led
against North Carolina in the winter of 1861-62. Starting from Hampton
Roads, Jan. 12, 1862, the fleet arrived at Pamlico sound after a
tempestuous voyage, on Jan. 25, and on Feb. 8, after several sharp
engagements, Roanoke island was captured. This gave control of Pamlico
and Albemarle sounds to the northern forces, and soon, by means of a
series of brilliant maneuvers, Burnside captured New Berne, Beaufort,
and Fort Macon, besides a number of less important points of vantage
to the north, and on his return was hailed as the most uniformly
successful of Union generals, being appointed by President Lincoln
major-general of volunteers. Gen. Burnside was next attached to the
Army of the Potomac, and, with his famous 9th corps, assisted Gen.
McClellan in withdrawing from the Peninsula. He next distinguished
himself by dislodging the Confederates from a strong position which
they held in the passes at South mountain. Lee retreated to Antietam
creek, threw up entrenchments there, and waited battle. When the
battle was fought, three days later, Burnside's division, which held
the stone bridge across the creek in spite of fearful loss, was all
that saved the Union army from complete defeat. Gen. Burnside assumed
command of the Army of the Potomac when McClellan was retired, in
Nov., 1862, and retained it until superseded, on Jan. 26, 1863, by
Gen. Hooker, on account of the disastrous result of the battle of
Fredericksburg, blame for which was placed on Burnside, and generously
assumed by him. In this battle, which was fought against the advice of
Gen. Burnside, the Union army was forced to attack the Confederates at
a great disadvantage, the latter holding a line of hills, and being
strongly entrenched. Attempts to carry the place by assault failed,
and the army was forced to withdraw with a loss of 12,000 men. After
being relieved of his command Burnside resigned, but the president
refused to accept his resignation, and placed him in command of the
Department of the Ohio, where he rendered conspicuous service by
ridding the country of guerrillas, enforcing stringent measures
against Southern sympathizers on both sides of the river, and
affording protection to loyalists. In Aug., 1863, he captured
Cumberland gap with a force of 18,000 men, then moved on to Knoxville
and held that place against siege and assault by Longstreet, against
terrible odds, until relieved at the end of a month by Sherman. He was
again assigned to command of his old 9th corps, and in the closing
operations of the war under Grant, in the Wilderness, Cold Harbor and
Petersburg campaigns took a conspicuous part. The losses of his troops
in the explosion of the Petersburg mine were heavy, and a court
martial, called at the suggestion of Gen. Meade, judged him
"answerable for want of success." This decision was afterwards
revoked, however, by a congressional commission which investigated the
matter. At the close of the war Gen. Burnside resigned his commission
and retired to private life with a reputation as a patriotic, brave
and able officer. He was elected governor of Rhode Island in 1866, was
twice re-elected, but refused a fourth nomination and engaged again in
railroad construction and management. He was in Paris at the time of
the Franco-Prussian war, and acted as envoy, and, while his mission of
peace was not successful, he gained the respect and admiration of both
parties. He was elected to the United States senate from Rhode Island
in 1875, and re-elected in 1880. He gained prominence as a senator,
proving himself as capable a statesman as he had been a soldier. Gen.
Burnside died in Bristol, R. I., Sept. 3, 1881.
Source: The Union Army: A History of Military Affairs in the Loyal
States 1861-1865, Volume 8 Biographical, 1908
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