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{{Short description|American general and politician (1824–1881)}}
{{redirect|Senator Burnside|the Pennsylvania State Senate member|Thomas Burnside}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2021}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Ambrose Burnside
| image = Ambrose Burnside - retouched.jpg
| caption = Burnside {{c.}} 1880
| office = [[United States Senator]]<br />from [[Rhode Island]]
| term_start = March 4, 1875
| term_end = September 13, 1881
| predecessor = [[William Sprague IV]]
| successor = [[Nelson W. Aldrich]]
| order2 = 30th
| office2 = Governor of Rhode Island
| term_start2 = May 29, 1866
| term_end2 = May 25, 1869
| lieutenant2 = [[William Greene (lieutenant governor)|William Greene]]<br />Pardon Stevens
| predecessor2 = [[James Y. Smith]]
| successor2 = [[Seth Padelford]]
| office3 = [[President of the National Rifle Association]]
| term_start3 = 1871
| term_end3 = 1872
| predecessor3 = ''Office established''
| successor3 = [[William Conant Church]]
| birth_name = Ambrose Everts Burnside
| birth_date = May 23, 1824
| birth_place = [[Liberty, Indiana]], U.S.
| death_date = September 13, 1881 (age 57)
| death_place = [[Bristol, Rhode Island]], U.S.
| death_cause = [[Angina]]
| restingplace = [[Swan Point Cemetery]]<br />[[Providence, Rhode Island]]
| party = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] (1858–1865)<br>[[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] (1866–1881)
| spouse = {{marriage|Mary Richmond Bishop|April 27, 1852|March 9, 1876|end=her death}}
| education = [[United States Military Academy]]
| profession = Soldier, inventor, industrialist
| signature = Ambrose E. Burnside signature.jpg
| nickname = Burnside
| allegiance = United States ([[Union (American Civil War)|Union]])
| branch = [[United States Army]]<br />[[Union Army]]
| serviceyears = 1847–1865
| rank = [[File:Union Army major general rank insignia.svg|border|23px]] [[Major general (United States)|Major general]]
| commands = [[Army of the Potomac]]<br />[[Army of the Ohio]]
| unit =
| battles = {{Tree list}}
* [[Mexican–American War]]
* [[American Civil War]]
** [[First Battle of Bull Run]]
** [[Burnside's North Carolina Expedition]]
*** [[Battle of Roanoke Island]]
*** [[Battle of New Bern (1862)|Battle of New Bern]]
** [[Maryland Campaign]]
*** [[Battle of South Mountain]]
*** [[Battle of Antietam]]
** [[Battle of Fredericksburg]]
** [[Morgan's Raid]]
** [[Knoxville Campaign]]
** [[Overland Campaign]]
*** [[Battle of the Wilderness]]
*** [[Battle of Spotsylvania Court House]]
*** [[Battle of North Anna]]
*** [[Battle of Cold Harbor]]
** [[Siege of Petersburg]]
*** [[Battle of the Crater]]
{{Tree list/end}}
}}
'''Ambrose Everts Burnside''' (May 23, 1824 – September 13, 1881) was an American army officer and politician who became a senior [[Union Army|Union]] [[General officer|general]] in the [[American Civil War]] and a three-time [[governor of Rhode Island]], as well as being a successful inventor and industrialist.
He achieved some of the earliest victories in the [[Eastern theater of the American Civil War | Eastern theater of the Civil War]], but was then promoted above his abilities, and is mainly remembered for two disastrous defeats, at [[Battle of Fredericksburg|Fredericksburg]] (December 1862) and the [[Battle of the Crater]] (July 1864, during the [[Siege of Petersburg]]). Although an inquiry cleared him of blame in the latter case, he never regained credibility as an army commander.
Burnside was a modest and unassuming individual, mindful of his limitations, who had been propelled to high command against his will. He could be described as a genuinely unlucky man, both in battle and in commerce (he was cheated of the profits of a [[Burnside carbine | successful cavalry firearm]] that had been his own invention). His style of thick facial hair became known as "[[sideburns]]", deriving from the two syllables of his surname.
==Early life==
Burnside was born in [[Liberty, Indiana]], and was the fourth of nine children<ref>Marvel, p. 3.</ref> of Edghill and Pamela (or Pamilia) Brown Burnside, a family of Scottish, Scotch-Irish and [[English people|English]] origins.<ref>Mierka, np. The original spelling of his middle name was Everts, for Dr. Sylvanus Everts, the physician who delivered him. Ambrose Everts was also the name of Edghill's and Pamela's first child, who died a few months before the future general was born. The name was misspelled as "Everett" during his enrollment at [[West Point]], and he did not correct the record.</ref> His great-great-grandfather Robert Burnside (1725–1775) was born in Scotland and settled in the [[Province of South Carolina]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.familysearch.org/en/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081212055830/http://www.familysearch.org/eng/default.asp|url-status=dead|title=Free Family History and Genealogy Records — FamilySearch.org|archive-date=December 12, 2008|website=www.familysearch.org}}</ref> His father was a native of South Carolina; he was a slave owner who freed his slaves when he relocated to Indiana. Ambrose attended Liberty Seminary as a young boy, but his education was interrupted when his mother died in 1841; he was apprenticed to a local tailor, eventually becoming a partner in the business.<ref>Mierka, np., describes the relationship with the tailor as [[indentured servitude]].</ref>
As a young officer before the Civil War, Burnside was engaged to [[Cynthia Charlotte "Lottie" Moon Clark|Charlotte "Lottie" Moon]], who left him at the altar. When the minister asked if she took him as her husband, Moon is said to have shouted "No siree Bob!" before running out of the church. Moon is best known for her espionage for the Confederacy during the Civil War. Later, Burnside arrested Moon, her younger sister [[Virginia Bethel Moon|Virginia "Ginnie" Moon]], and their mother. He kept them under house arrest for months but never charged them with espionage.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/womenincivilware00larr|title=Women in the Civil War : extraordinary stories of soldiers, spies, nurses, doctors, crusaders, and others|last=Eggleston|first=Larry G.|date=2003|publisher=McFarland|isbn=0786414936|___location=Jefferson, N.C.|oclc=51580671}}</ref>
==Early military career==
He obtained an appointment to the [[United States Military Academy]] in 1843 through his father's political connections and his own interest in military affairs. During his early tenure at the academy, a clerical error was made listing his middle name as Everett, rather than Everts. He graduated in 1847, ranking 18th in a class of 47, and was commissioned a [[brevet (military)|brevet]] [[US Second Lieutenant|second lieutenant]] in the 2nd U.S. Artillery. He traveled to [[Veracruz]] for the [[Mexican–American War]], but he arrived after hostilities had ceased and performed mostly garrison duty around [[Mexico City]].<ref name="ESWW">Eicher, pp. 155–56; Sauers, pp. 327–28; Warner, pp. 57–58; Wilson, np.</ref>
At the close of the war, Lt. Burnside served two years on the western frontier under Captain [[Braxton Bragg]] in the 3rd U.S. Artillery, a light artillery unit that had been converted to cavalry duty, protecting the Western mail routes through Nevada to California. In August 1849, he was wounded by an arrow in his neck during a skirmish against [[Apache]]s in [[Las Vegas, New Mexico]]. He was promoted to 1st lieutenant on December 12, 1851.
[[File:Mrs Ambrose Burnside, Mary Richmond Bishop.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Mrs. Burnside, Mary Richmond Bishop]]
In 1852, he was assigned to [[Fort Adams]], [[Newport, Rhode Island]], and he married Mary Richmond Bishop of [[Providence, Rhode Island]], on April 27 of that year. The marriage lasted until Mary's death in 1876, but was childless.<ref name=EMW>Eicher, pp. 155–56; Mierka, np.; Warner, pp. 57–58.</ref>
In October 1853, Burnside resigned his commission in the [[United States Army]] and was appointed commander of the Rhode Island state militia with the rank of major general. He held this position for two years.
After leaving the Regular Army, Burnside devoted his time and energy to the manufacture of a firearm that bears his name: the [[Burnside carbine]]. President [[James Buchanan|Buchanan's]] [[United States Secretary of War|Secretary of War]] [[John B. Floyd]] contracted the Burnside Arms Company to equip a large portion of the Army with his carbine, mostly cavalry and induced him to establish extensive factories for its manufacture. The [[Bristol, Rhode Island|Bristol]] Rifle Works were no sooner complete than another gunmaker allegedly bribed Floyd to break his $100,000 contract with Burnside.{{citation needed|date=May 2023}}
Burnside ran as a [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]] for one of the Congressional seats in Rhode Island in 1858 and was defeated in a landslide. The burdens of the campaign and the destruction by fire of his factory contributed to his financial ruin, and he was forced to assign his firearm patents to others. He then went west in search of employment and became treasurer of the [[Illinois Central Railroad]], where he worked for and became friendly with [[George B. McClellan]], who later became one of his commanding officers.<ref name=EMSW>Eicher, pp. 155–56; Mierka, np.; Sauers, pp. 327–28; Warner, pp. 57–58.</ref> Burnside became familiar with corporate attorney [[Abraham Lincoln]], future president of the United States, during this time period.<ref>[https://scholarship.law.missouri.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3272&context=mlr A. Lincoln, a Corporate Attorney and the Illinois Central Railroad]. Sandra K. Lueckenhoff, Missouri Law Review, Volume 61, Issue 2 Spring 1996. Accessed March 2021.</ref>
==Civil War==
[[File:Ambrose Burnside2.jpg|thumb|left|General Ambrose Burnside]]
===First Bull Run===
At the outbreak of the Civil War, Burnside was a [[Colonel (United States)|colonel]] in the Rhode Island Militia. He raised the [[1st Rhode Island Infantry|1st Rhode Island Volunteer Infantry Regiment]], and was appointed its colonel on May 2, 1861.<ref>[https://catalog.archives.gov/id/76035386 Combined Military Service Record]</ref> Two companies of this regiment were then armed with Burnside carbines.
Within a month, he ascended to brigade command in the Department of northeast Virginia. He commanded the brigade without distinction at the [[First Battle of Bull Run]] in July and took over division command temporarily for wounded Brig. Gen. [[David Hunter]]. His 90-day regiment was mustered out of service on August 2; he was promoted to brigadier-general of volunteers on August 6 and was assigned to train provisional brigades in the [[Army of the Potomac]].<ref name=ESWW/>
[[File:Burnside with 1stRI.jpg|thumb|Burnside (seated, center) and officers of the 1st Rhode Island at Camp Sprague, Rhode Island, 1861]]
===North Carolina===
Burnside commanded the Coast Division or [[Burnside's North Carolina Expedition|North Carolina Expeditionary Force]] from September 1861 until July 1862, three brigades assembled in [[Annapolis, Maryland]], which formed the nucleus for his future [[IX Corps (Union Army)|IX Corps]]. He conducted a successful [[amphibious warfare|amphibious]] campaign that closed more than 80% of the North Carolina sea coast to [[Confederate States of America|Confederate]] shipping for the remainder of the war. This included the [[Battle of Elizabeth City]], fought on February 10, 1862, on the [[Pasquotank River]] near [[Elizabeth City, North Carolina]].{{citation needed|date=January 2018}}
The participants were vessels of the [[United States Navy]]'s [[Union blockade|North Atlantic Blockading Squadron]] opposed by vessels of the Confederate Navy's [[Mosquito Fleet]]; the latter were supported by a shore-based battery of four guns at Cobb's Point (now called Cobb Point) near the southeastern border of the town. The battle was a part of the campaign in North Carolina that was led by Burnside and known as the [[Burnside Expedition]]. The result was a Union victory, with Elizabeth City and its nearby waters in their possession and the Confederate fleet captured, sunk, or dispersed.<ref name=Mierka>Mierka, np.</ref>
Burnside was promoted to [[Major general (United States)|major general]] of volunteers on March 18, 1862, in recognition of his successes at the battles of [[Battle of Roanoke Island|Roanoke Island]] and [[Battle of New Bern (1862)|New Bern]], the first significant Union victories in the [[Eastern Theater of the American Civil War|Eastern Theater]]. In July, his forces were transported north to [[Newport News, Virginia]], and became the IX Corps of the Army of the Potomac.<ref name=ESWW/>
Burnside was offered command of the Army of the Potomac following Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan's failure in the [[Peninsula Campaign]].<ref>Marvel, pp. 99–100.</ref> He refused this opportunity because of his loyalty to McClellan and the fact that he understood his own lack of military experience, and detached part of his corps in support of Maj. Gen. [[John Pope (general)|John Pope]]'s [[Army of Virginia]] in the [[Northern Virginia Campaign]]. He received telegrams at this time from Maj. Gen. [[Fitz John Porter]] which were extremely critical of Pope's abilities as a commander, and he forwarded on to his superiors in concurrence. This episode later played a significant role in [[Court-martial of Fitz John Porter|Porter's court-martial]], in which Burnside appeared as a witness.<ref>Marvel, pp. 209–10.</ref>
Burnside again declined command following Pope's debacle at [[Second Battle of Bull Run|Second Bull Run]].<ref name=SW>Sauers, pp. 327–28; Wilson, np.</ref>
===Antietam===
[[File:Burnside's Bridge, Sharpsburg, MD.jpg|thumb|[[Burnside's Bridge]] at Antietam in 2023]]
Burnside was given command of the Right Wing of the Army of the Potomac (the [[I Corps (Union Army)|I Corps]] and his own IX Corps) at the start of the [[Maryland Campaign]] for the [[Battle of South Mountain]], but McClellan separated the two corps at the [[Battle of Antietam]], placing them on opposite ends of the Union battle line and returning Burnside to command of just the IX Corps. Burnside implicitly refused to give up his authority and acted as though the corps commander was first Maj. Gen. [[Jesse L. Reno]] (killed at South Mountain) and then Brig. Gen. [[Jacob Dolson Cox|Jacob D. Cox]], funneling orders through them to the corps. This cumbersome arrangement contributed to his slowness in attacking and crossing what is now called [[Burnside's Bridge]] on the southern flank of the Union line.<ref>Bailey, pp. 120–21.</ref>
Burnside did not perform an adequate reconnaissance of the area, and he did not take advantage of several easy fording sites out of range of the enemy; his troops were forced into repeated assaults across the narrow bridge, which was dominated by Confederate sharpshooters on the high ground. By noon, McClellan was losing patience. He sent a succession of couriers to motivate Burnside to move forward, ordering one aide, "Tell him if it costs 10,000 men he must go now." He further increased the pressure by sending his inspector general to confront Burnside, who reacted indignantly: "McClellan appears to think I am not trying my best to carry this bridge; you are the third or fourth one who has been to me this morning with similar orders."<ref>Sears, pp. 264–65.</ref> The IX Corps eventually broke through, but the delay allowed Maj. Gen. [[A. P. Hill]]'s [[Confederate States Army|Confederate]] division to come up from [[Harpers Ferry, West Virginia|Harpers Ferry]] and repulse the Union breakthrough. McClellan refused Burnside's requests for reinforcements, and the battle ended in a tactical stalemate.<ref>Bailey, pp. 126–39.</ref>
===Fredericksburg===
{{Main|Battle of Fredericksburg}}
[[File:AmbroseBurnsideonMount1862.jpg|thumb|Union General Ambrose Burnside, 1862]]
After McClellan failed to pursue General [[Robert E. Lee]]'s retreat from [[Antietam]], Lincoln ordered McClellan's removal on November 5, 1862, and selected Burnside to replace him on November 7, 1862. Burnside reluctantly obeyed this order, the third such in his brief career, in part because the courier told him that, if he refused it, the command would go instead to Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker, whom Burnside
disliked. Burnside assumed charge of the Army of the Potomac in a change of command ceremony at the farm of Julia Claggett in [[New Baltimore, Virginia]].<ref name=claggett>{{cite web |author1=Department of the Treasury. Office of the First Comptroller |title=Approved Claim Files from Prince William County, Virginia: Claggett, Julia F, Claim No. 41668 |url=https://catalog.archives.gov/id/59886439 |website=Library of Congress |publisher=Southern Claims Commission |access-date=March 9, 2021 |page=35 |date=September 5, 1876 |archive-date=April 15, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415050406/https://catalog.archives.gov/id/59886439 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>Sears, ''Young Napoleon'', pp. 238–41</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=George McClellan - Biography, Civil War & Importance |url=https://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/george-b-mcclellan |website=History.com |date=June 10, 2019 |access-date=25 April 2023 |language=en}}</ref> McClellan visited troops to bid them farewell. Columbia Claggett, Julia Claggett's daughter-in-law, testified after the war that a "parade and transfer of the Army to Gen. Burnside took place on our farm in front of our house in a change of command ceremony at New Baltimore, Virginia on November 9, 1862."<ref name=commish>{{cite web |author1=Department of the Treasury. Office of the First Comptroller |title=Approved Claim Files from Prince William County, Virginia: Claggett, Julia F, Claim No. 41668 |url=https://catalog.archives.gov/id/59886439 |website=Library of Congress |publisher=Southern Claims Commission |access-date=March 9, 2021 |page=35 |date=September 5, 1876 |archive-date=April 15, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415050406/https://catalog.archives.gov/id/59886439 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name=claggett/>
President Abraham Lincoln pressured Burnside to take aggressive action and approved his plan on November 14 to capture the Confederate capital at [[Richmond, Virginia]]. This plan led to a humiliating and costly Union defeat at the [[Battle of Fredericksburg]] on December 13. His advance upon Fredericksburg was rapid, but the attack was delayed when the engineers were slow to marshal pontoon bridges for crossing the [[Rappahannock River]], as well as his own reluctance to deploy portions of his army across fording points. This allowed Gen. Lee to concentrate along Marye's Heights just west of town and easily repulse the Union attacks.
Assaults south of town were also mismanaged, which were supposed to be the main avenue of attack, and initial Union breakthroughs went unsupported. Burnside was upset by the failure of his plan and by the enormous casualties of his repeated, futile frontal assaults, and declared that he would personally lead an assault by the IX corps. His corps commanders talked him out of it, but relations were strained between the general and his subordinates. Accepting full blame, he offered to retire from the U.S. Army, but this was refused. Burnside's detractors labeled him the "Butcher of Fredericksburg".<ref>William Palmer Hopkins, ''The Seventh Regiment Rhode Island Volunteers in the Civil War 1862–1865''. Providence, RI: The Providence Press, 1903, p. 56.</ref>
In January 1863, Burnside launched a second offensive against Lee, but it bogged down in winter rains before anything was accomplished, and has derisively been called the [[Mud March (American Civil War)|Mud March]]. In its wake, he asked that several openly insubordinate officers be relieved of duty and [[court-martial]]ed; he also offered to resign. Lincoln quickly accepted the latter option, and on January 26 replaced Burnside with Maj. Gen. [[Joseph Hooker]], one of the officers who had conspired against him.<ref name=WWS>Wilson, np.; Warner, p. 58; Sauers, p. 328.</ref>
===East Tennessee===
[[File:Ambrose Burnside in Uniform.jpg|thumb|upright=1|Engraving of General Burnside in full dress uniform]]
{{more citations needed section|date=January 2018}}
Burnside offered to resign his commission altogether but Lincoln declined, stating that there could still be a place for him in the army. Thus, he was placed back at the head of the IX Corps and sent to command the Department of the Ohio, encompassing the states of Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, and Illinois. This was a quiet area with little activity, and the President reasoned that Burnside could not get himself into too much trouble there. However, antiwar sentiment was riding high in the Western states as they had traditionally carried on a great deal of commerce with the South, and there was little in the way of abolitionist sentiment there or a desire to fight for the purpose of ending slavery. Burnside was thoroughly disturbed by this trend and issued a series of orders forbidding "the expression of public sentiments against the war or the Administration" in his department; this finally climaxed with General Order No. 38, which declared that "any person found guilty of treason will be tried by a military tribunal and either imprisoned or banished to enemy lines".
On May 1, 1863, Ohio Congressman [[Clement L. Vallandigham]], a prominent opponent of the war, held a large public rally in [[Mount Vernon, Ohio]] in which he denounced President Lincoln as a "tyrant" who sought to abolish the Constitution and set up a dictatorship. Burnside had dispatched several agents to the rally who took down notes and brought back their "evidence" to the general, who then declared that it was sufficient grounds to arrest Vallandigham for treason. A military court tried him and found him guilty of violating General Order No. 38, despite his protests that he was expressing his opinions publicly. Vallandigham was sentenced to imprisonment for the duration of the war and was turned into a martyr by antiwar Democrats. Burnside next turned his attention to Illinois, where the Chicago ''Times'' newspaper had been printing antiwar editorials for months. The general dispatched a squadron of troops to the paper's offices and ordered them to cease printing.
Lincoln had not been asked or informed about either Vallandigham's arrest or the closure of the Chicago ''Times''. He remembered the section of General Order No. 38 which declared that offenders would be banished to enemy lines and finally decided that it was a good idea so Vallandigham was freed from jail and sent to Confederate hands. Meanwhile, Lincoln ordered the Chicago ''Times'' to be reopened and announced that Burnside had exceeded his authority in both cases. The President then issued a warning that generals were not to arrest civilians or close down newspapers again without the White House's permission.<ref>McPherson, pp. 596–97. McPherson remarked that Burnside's "political judgment proved no more subtle than his military judgment at Fredericksburg."</ref>
Burnside also dealt with Confederate raiders such as [[John Hunt Morgan]].
In the [[Knoxville Campaign]], Burnside advanced to [[Knoxville, Tennessee]], first bypassing the Confederate-held Cumberland Gap and ultimately occupying Knoxville unopposed; he then sent troops back to the Cumberland Gap. Confederate commander Brig. Gen. [[John W. Frazer]] refused to surrender in the face of two Union brigades but Burnside arrived with a third, forcing the surrender of Frazer and 2,300 Confederates.<ref>Korn, p. 104.</ref>
Union Maj. Gen. [[William S. Rosecrans]] was defeated at the [[Battle of Chickamauga]], and Burnside was pursued by [[Lieutenant General (CSA)|Lt. Gen.]] [[James Longstreet]], against whose troops he had battled at Marye's Heights. Burnside skillfully outmaneuvered Longstreet at the [[Battle of Campbell's Station]] and was able to reach his entrenchments and safety in Knoxville, where he was briefly besieged until the Confederate defeat at the [[Battle of Fort Sanders]] outside the city. Tying down Longstreet's corps at Knoxville contributed to Gen. Braxton Bragg's defeat by Maj. Gen. [[Ulysses S. Grant]] at [[Battle of Chattanooga III|Chattanooga]]. Troops under Maj. Gen. [[William T. Sherman]] marched to Burnside's aid, but the siege had already been lifted; Longstreet withdrew, eventually returning to Virginia.<ref name=WWS/>
===Overland Campaign===
Burnside was ordered to take the IX Corps back to the Eastern Theater, where he built it up to a strength of over 21,000 in Annapolis, Maryland.<ref>Grimsley, p. 245, n. 43.</ref> The IX Corps fought in the [[Overland Campaign]] of May 1864 as an independent command, reporting initially to Grant; his corps was not assigned to the Army of the Potomac because Burnside outranked its commander Maj. Gen. [[George G. Meade]], who had been a division commander under Burnside at Fredericksburg. This cumbersome arrangement was rectified on May 24 just before the [[Battle of North Anna]], when Burnside agreed to waive his precedence of rank and was placed under Meade's direct command.<ref>Esposito, text for map 120.</ref>
Burnside fought at the battles of [[Battle of the Wilderness|Wilderness]] and [[Battle of Spotsylvania Court House|Spotsylvania Court House]], where he did not perform in a distinguished manner,<ref>Grimsley, p. 230, describes Burnside's conduct as "inept". Rhea, p. 317: "[Burnside's] failings were so flagrant that the Army talked about them openly. He stumbled badly in the Wilderness and worse still at Spotsylvania."</ref> attacking piecemeal and appearing reluctant to commit his troops to the costly frontal assaults that characterized these battles. After North Anna and [[Battle of Cold Harbor|Cold Harbor]], he took his place in the [[Siege of Petersburg|siege lines at Petersburg]].<ref>Wilson, np.</ref>
===The Crater===
[[File:Petersburg crater aftermath 1865.jpg|thumb|Petersburg Crater, 1865]]
As the two armies faced the stalemate of [[trench warfare]] at Petersburg in July 1864, Burnside agreed to a plan suggested by a regiment of former coal miners in his corps, the 48th Pennsylvania: to dig a mine under a fort named Elliot's Salient in the Confederate entrenchments and ignite explosives there to achieve a surprise breakthrough. The fort was destroyed on July 30 in what is known as the [[Battle of the Crater]].
Because of interference from Meade, Burnside was ordered, only hours before the infantry attack, not to use his division of [[United States Colored Troops|black troops]], which had been specially trained for the assault: instead, he was forced to use untrained white troops. He could not decide which division to choose as a replacement, so he had his three subordinate commanders draw lots.<ref>[[#chernow|Chernow, 2017]], pp. 426-428</ref>
The division chosen by chance was that commanded by Brig. Gen. [[James H. Ledlie]], who had failed to brief the men on what was expected of them, and was observed to be drinking liquor with Brig. Gen Edward Ferrero in a bombproof shelter well behind the lines during the battle, providing no leadership at all.
As a result, Ledlie's men entered the huge crater instead of going around it, became trapped, and were subjected to heavy fire from Confederates around the rim, resulting in high casualties. in the end his forces suffered 3,800 casualties <ref name=chernow426>[[#chernow|Chernow, 2017]], pp. 426-429</ref><ref>[[#slotkin2009|Slotkin, 2009]], pp. 70, 166, 322</ref>
As a result of the Crater fiasco, Burnside was relieved of command on August 14 and sent on "extended leave" by Grant. He was never recalled to duty for the remainder of the war. A court of inquiry later placed the blame for the defeat on Burnside, Ledlie and Ferrero. In December, Burnside met with President Lincoln and General Grant about his future. He was contemplating resignation, but Lincoln and Grant requested that he remain in the Army. At the end of the interview, Burnside wrote, "I was not informed of any duty upon which I am to be placed." He finally resigned his commission on April 15, 1865, after Lee's surrender at [[Battle of Appomattox Court House|Appomattox]].<ref>Wert, pp. 385–86; Mierka, np.; Eicher, pp. 155–56.</ref>
The [[United States Congress Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War]] later exonerated Burnside and placed the blame for the Union defeat at the Crater on General Meade for requiring the specially trained USCT (United States Colored Troops) men to be withdrawn.
==Postbellum career==
After his resignation, Burnside was employed in numerous railroad and industrial directorships, including the presidencies of the Cincinnati and Martinsville Railroad, the Indianapolis and Vincennes Railroad, the [[Cairo and Vincennes Railroad]], and the [[Rhode Island Locomotive Works]].{{citation needed|date=July 2020}}
He was elected to three one-year terms as [[List of Governors of Rhode Island|Governor of Rhode Island]], serving from May 29, 1866, to May 25, 1869. He was nominated by the Republican Party to be their candidate for governor in March 1866, and Burnside was elected governor in a landslide on April 4, 1866. This began Burnside's political career as a Republican, as he had been a Democrat before the war.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Rhode Island Republicans nominate Union General Ambrose Burnside for governor. |website=House Divided|url=http://hd.housedivided.dickinson.edu/node/46102|access-date=December 13, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200614163755/http://hd.housedivided.dickinson.edu/node/46102|archive-date=June 14, 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref>
Burnside was a Companion of the Massachusetts Commandery of the [[Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States]], a military society of Union officers and their descendants, and served as the Junior Vice Commander of the Massachusetts Commandery in 1869. He was commander-in-chief of the [[Grand Army of the Republic]] (GAR) veterans' association from 1871 to 1872, and also served as the Commander of the Department of Rhode Island of the GAR.<ref name=E>Eicher, pp. 155–56.</ref> At its inception in 1871, the [[National Rifle Association of America]] chose him as its first president.<ref>{{cite news |title=Timeline of the NRA |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/timeline-of-the-nra/2013/01/12/351bcb26-5b9c-11e2-beee-6e38f5215402_story.html |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=23 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130113055138/https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/timeline-of-the-nra/2013/01/12/351bcb26-5b9c-11e2-beee-6e38f5215402_story.html |archive-date=Jan 13, 2013 |language=en-us |date=Jan 12, 2013 |quote=1871: The NRA is created to improve the marksmanship of soldiers. The first president, Civil War general Ambrose Burnside, had seen too many Union soldiers who couldn’t shoot straight. |url-status=live}}</ref>
During a visit to Europe in 1870, Burnside attempted to mediate between the French and the Germans in the [[Franco-Prussian War]]. He was registered at the offices of [[Morgan, Harjes & Co.|Drexel, Harjes & Co.]], Geneva, week ending November 5, 1870.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1870/12/14/archives/americans-in-london.html "Americans in London"]. New York Times, December 14, 1870, p. 6c, last line.</ref> Drexel Harjes was a major lender to the new French government after the war, helping it to repay its massive [[war reparations]].
In 1876 Burnside was elected as commander of the New England Battalion of the [[Centennial Legion]], the title of a collection of 13 militia units from the original 13 states, which participated in the parade in Philadelphia on July 4, 1876, to mark the centennial of the signing of the [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]].<ref>''New York Times'' March 16, 1876.</ref>
In 1874 Burnside was elected by the Rhode Island Senate as a [[United States Senate|U.S. Senator]] from Rhode Island, was re-elected in 1880, and served until his death in 1881. Burnside continued his association with the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]], playing a prominent role in military affairs as well as serving as chairman of the [[United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations|Foreign Relations Committee]] in 1881.<ref name=WE>Wilson, np.; Eicher, p. 156.</ref>
==Death and burial==
[[File:Ambrose Burnside grave with flags.jpg|thumb|right|upright=.75|Burnside's grave at [[Swan Point Cemetery]]]]
Burnside died suddenly of "neuralgia of the heart" ([[angina pectoris]]) on the morning of September 13, 1881, at his home in Bristol, Rhode Island, accompanied only by his doctor and family servants.<ref name="GlobeObit">{{cite news |title=General Burnside Dead |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/107446534/ambrose-burnside-obituary-boston-globe/ |access-date=12 August 2022 |work=The Boston Globe |date=14 September 1881 | page=1}}</ref>
Burnside's body lay in state at [[Providence City Hall|City Hall]] until his funeral on September 16.<ref name="FRDH">{{cite news |title=The Lamented Burnside |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/46044679/burnside-funeral/ |access-date=12 August 2022 |work=Fall River Daily Herald |date=17 September 1881 |___location=Fall River, Massachusetts}}</ref> A procession took his casket, in a hearse drawn by four black horses, to the [[First Unitarian Church of Providence|First Congregational Church]] for services which were attended by many local dignitaries.<ref name="FRDH" /> Following the services, the procession made its way to [[Swan Point Cemetery]] for burial.<ref name="FRDH" /><ref>{{cite web |title=Civil War Veterans interred at Swan Point Cemetery |url=https://swanpointcemetery.com/history/notable-people/ |website=Swan Point Cemetery |access-date=12 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220812134832/https://swanpointcemetery.com/history/notable-people/ |archive-date=12 August 2022}}</ref><ref name=WE /> Businesses and mills were closed for much of the day, and "thousands" of mourners from "all towns of the state and many places in Massachusetts and Connecticut" crowded the streets of Providence for the occasion.<ref name="FRDH" />
==Assessment and legacy==
Personally, Burnside was always very popular, both in the army and in politics. He made friends easily, smiled a lot, and remembered everyone's name. His professional military reputation, however, was less positive, and he was known for being obstinate, unimaginative, and unsuited both intellectually and emotionally for high command.<ref name=Gool29>Goolrick, p. 29.</ref> Grant stated that he was "unfitted" for the command of an army and that no one knew this better than Burnside himself. Knowing his capabilities, he twice refused command of the Army of the Potomac, accepting only the third time when the courier told him that otherwise the command would go to Joseph Hooker. [[Jeffry D. Wert]] described Burnside's relief after Fredericksburg in a passage that sums up his military career:<ref>Wert, p. 217.</ref>
{{Quotation|He had been the most unfortunate commander of the Army, a general who had been cursed by succeeding its most popular leader and a man who believed he was unfit for the post. His tenure had been marked by bitter animosity among his subordinates and a fearful, if not needless, sacrifice of life. A firm patriot, he lacked the power of personality and will to direct recalcitrant generals. He had been willing to fight the enemy, but the terrible slope before Marye's Heights stands as his legacy.|Jeffry D. Wert|''The Sword of Lincoln''}}
[[Bruce Catton]] summarized Burnside:<ref>Catton, pp. 256–57.</ref>
{{Quotation|... Burnside had repeatedly demonstrated that it had been a military tragedy to give him a rank higher than colonel. One reason might have been that, with all his deficiencies, Burnside never had any angles of his own to play; he was a simple, honest, loyal soldier, doing his best even if that best was not very good, never scheming or conniving or backbiting. Also, he was modest; in an army many of whose generals were insufferable prima donnas, Burnside never mistook himself for Napoleon. Physically he was impressive: tall, just a little stout, wearing what was probably the most artistic and awe-inspiring set of whiskers in all that bewhiskered Army. He customarily wore a high, bell-crowned felt hat with the brim turned down and a double-breasted, knee-length frock coat, belted at the waist—a costume which, unfortunately, is apt to strike the modern eye as being very much like that of a beefy city cop of the 1880s.|Bruce Catton|''Mr. Lincoln's Army''}}
===Sideburns===
[[File:Gen. Ambrose Burnside - DPLA - f8a75f51a21da589aef387f30b02ef09.jpg|thumb|Studio photograph of Gen. Ambrose Burnside taken sometime between 1860 and 1862. Photograph shows his unusual sideburns.]]
Burnside was noted for his unusual beard, joining strips of hair in front of his ears to his mustache but with the chin clean-shaven; the word ''burnsides'' was coined to describe this style. The syllables were later reversed to give ''[[sideburns]]''.<ref name=Gool29/>
[[File:Burnside Park monument.jpg|thumb|Equestrian monument in [[Burnside Park, Providence, Rhode Island|Burnside Park]], Providence, Rhode Island.]]
==Honors==
* In 1866, Allison Township in [[Lapeer County, Michigan]], was renamed [[Burnside Township, Michigan|Burnside Township]] to honor Ambrose Burnside.<ref name="Romig">{{cite book | last = Romig | first = Walter | year = 1986 | title = Michigan Place Names | orig-year= 1973 | publisher = Wayne State University Press | ___location = Detroit, Michigan | isbn = 0-8143-1838-X}}</ref>
* An [[Equestrian statue of Ambrose Burnside|equestrian statue]] designed by [[Launt Thompson]], a New York sculptor, was dedicated in 1887 at [[Kennedy Plaza|Exchange Place]] in Providence, facing City Hall.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Raub|first1=Patricia|title=Burnside: Our Statue But Not Our Hero|url=http://occupiedprovidencejournal.wordpress.com/2012/02/21/burnside-our-statue-but-not-our-hero/|website=The Occupied Providence Journal|date=February 21, 2012 |access-date=June 14, 2014|quote=The monument stood for nearly twenty years in Exchange Place, facing City Hall, with horses, wagons, and carriages moving in all directions around it.}}</ref> In 1906, the statue was moved to City Hall Park, which was re-dedicated as [[Burnside Park, Providence, Rhode Island|Burnside Park]].<ref name="SmithsonianInventory">{{cite web |title=Major General Ambrose E. Burnside, (sculpture) |url=https://siris-artinventories.si.edu/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=1T3I1G0593813.67299&profile=ariall&source=~!siartinventories&view=subscriptionsummary&uri=full=3100001~!12782~!10 |website=Smithsonian Art Inventories Catalog |publisher=The Smithsonian Institution |access-date=12 August 2022}}</ref>
* [[Bristol, Rhode Island]], has a small street named for Burnside.{{Citation needed|date=July 2020}}
* The Burnside Memorial Hall in Bristol, Rhode Island, is a two-story [[Richardson Romanesque]] public building on Hope Street. It was dedicated in 1883 by President [[Chester A. Arthur]] and Governor [[Augustus O. Bourn]]. Originally, a statue of Burnside was intended to be the focus of the porch. The architect was [[Stephen C. Earle]].<ref>{{cite web|last1=Marshall|first1=Philip C.|title=Hope Street Survey Descriptions|url=http://philipmarshall.net/Teaching/rwuhp175/descriptions_hope_street.htm|website=Philip C. Marshall|access-date=September 6, 2015|quote=President Chester A. Arthur and Governor Augustus O. Bourn of Bristol dedicated the hall to the memory of General Ambrose E. Burnside (1824–1881), whose statue was intended to be the focus of the porch.|archive-date=March 4, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304065255/http://philipmarshall.net/Teaching/rwuhp175/descriptions_hope_street.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* [[Burnside, Kentucky]], in south-central Kentucky, is a small town south of Somerset named for the former site of [[Camp Burnside]], near the former Cumberland River town of Point Isabelle.{{citation needed|date=July 2020}}
* [[New Burnside, Illinois]], along the [[Cairo and Vincennes Railroad]], was named after the former general for his role in founding the village through directorship of the new rail line.{{citation needed|date=July 2020}}
* Burnside Residence Hall at the [[University of Rhode Island]] in [[Kingston, Rhode Island|Kingston]] was opened in 1966.<ref>{{cite web|title=URI History and Timeline |url=http://www.uri.edu/home/about/history_timeline.html |website=University of Rhode Island |access-date=June 14, 2014 |quote=1966. Aldrich, Burnside, Coddington, Dorr, Ellery, and Hopkins Residence Halls were opened |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121114131905/http://www.uri.edu/home/about/history_timeline.html |archive-date=November 14, 2012 }}</ref>
*[[Burnside, Wisconsin]] is named for the general.<ref name="Gard2015">{{cite book|author=Robert E. Gard|title=The Romance of Wisconsin Place Names|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J8auCgAAQBAJ|year=2015|publisher=Wisconsin Historical Society Press|isbn=978-0-87020-708-2}}</ref>
==
* Burnside was portrayed by [[Alex Hyde-White]] in [[Ronald F. Maxwell]]'s 2003 film ''[[Gods and Generals (film)|Gods and Generals]]'', which includes the Battle of Fredericksburg.{{citation needed|date=July 2020}}
==See also==
* [[List of American Civil War generals (Union)]]
* [[List of members of the United States Congress who died in office (1790–1899)]]
==
{{Reflist}}
==Bibliography==
* Bailey, Ronald H., and the Editors of Time-Life Books. ''The Bloodiest Day: The Battle of Antietam''. Alexandria, VA: Time-Life Books, 1984. {{ISBN|0-8094-4740-1}}.
* [[Bruce Catton|Catton, Bruce]]. ''Mr. Lincoln's Army''. Garden City, NY: Doubleday and Company, 1951. {{ISBN|0-385-04310-4}}.
* {{cite book |last=Chernow |first=Ron |author-link=Ron Chernow |title=Grant |publisher=Penguin Press |___location=New York |year=2017 |isbn=978-1-59420-487-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wRYcDgAAQBAJ |ref=chernow}}
* Eicher, John H., and [[David J. Eicher]]. ''Civil War High Commands''. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2001. {{ISBN|0-8047-3641-3}}.
* Esposito, Vincent J. ''West Point Atlas of American Wars''. New York: Frederick A. Praeger, 1959. {{OCLC|5890637}}. The collection of maps (without explanatory text) is available online at the [https://archive.today/20120829203141/http://www.dean.usma.edu/history/web03/atlases/american_civil_war/ West Point website].
* Goolrick, William K., and the Editors of Time-Life Books. ''Rebels Resurgent: Fredericksburg to Chancellorsville''. Alexandria, VA: Time-Life Books, 1985. {{ISBN|0-8094-4748-7}}.
* Grimsley, Mark. ''And Keep Moving On: The Virginia Campaign, May–June 1864''. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2002. {{ISBN|0-8032-2162-2}}.
* Korn, Jerry, and the Editors of Time-Life Books. ''The Fight for Chattanooga: Chickamauga to Missionary Ridge''. Alexandria, VA: Time-Life Books, 1985. {{ISBN|0-8094-4816-5}}.
* [[James M. McPherson|McPherson, James M.]] ''[[Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era]]''. Oxford History of the United States. New York: Oxford University Press, 1988. {{ISBN|0-19-503863-0}}.
* Marvel, William. ''Burnside''. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1991. {{ISBN|0-8078-1983-2}}.
* Mierka, Gregg A. [http://webspace.webring.com/people/ig/gsgreene/burnside.html "Rhode Island's Own."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303184420/http://webspace.webring.com/people/ig/gsgreene/burnside.html |date=March 3, 2016 }} [[MOLLUS]] biography. Accessed July 19, 2010.
* Rhea, Gordon C. ''The Battles for Spotsylvania Court House and the Road to Yellow Tavern May 7–12, 1864''. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1997. {{ISBN|0-8071-2136-3}}.
* Sauers, Richard A. "Ambrose Everett Burnside." In ''Encyclopedia of the American Civil War: A Political, Social, and Military History'', edited by David S. Heidler and Jeanne T. Heidler. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2000. {{ISBN|0-393-04758-X}}.
* [[Stephen W. Sears|Sears, Stephen W.]] ''Landscape Turned Red: The Battle of Antietam''. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1983. {{ISBN|0-89919-172-X}}.
* {{cite book |last=Slotkin |first=Richard |title=No Quarter: The Battle of the Crater, 1864 |volume= |authorlink= |publisher=Random House Publishing Group |year=2009 |isbn=978-1-5883-6848-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yfN_PVMBOUIC |ref=slotkin2009 }}
* Warner, Ezra J. ''Generals in Blue: Lives of the Union Commanders''. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1964. {{ISBN|0-8071-0822-7}}.
* [[Jeffry D. Wert|Wert, Jeffry D.]] ''The Sword of Lincoln: The Army of the Potomac''. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2005. {{ISBN|0-7432-2506-6}}.
* Wilson, James Grant, John Fiske and Stanley L. Klos, eds. [https://web.archive.org/web/20061104030929/http://virtualology.com/uscivilwarhall/AMBROSEBURNSIDE.COM/ "Ambrose Burnside." In ''Appleton's Cyclopedia of American Biography'']. New Work: D. Appleton & Co., 1887–1889 and 1999.
==External links==
{{Commons}}
{{Wikisource1911Enc|Burnside, Ambrose Everett}}
* [https://www.womenhistoryblog.com/2009/05/mary-richmond-bishop-burnside.html Mary Richmond Bishop Burnside] at History of American Women
* [http://encyclopediavirginia.org/Burnside_Ambrose_E_1824-1881 Ambrose E. Burnside in ''Encyclopedia Virginia'']
* [http://quahog.org/attractions/index.php?id=81 Burnside's grave] ({{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080503041103/http://quahog.org/attractions/index.php?id=81 |date=May 3, 2008}})
* [http://www.civilwarhome.com/burnbio.htm Civil War Home biography]
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