Ambrose Everett Burnside (23 May 1824 – 12 September 1881) was the Governor of Rhode Island (R) from 29 May 1866 to 25 May 1869, succeeding James Y. Smith and preceding Seth Padelford, and a member of the US Senate from Rhode Island from 4 March 1875 to 13 September 1881, succeeding William Sprague IV and preceding Nelson W. Aldrich. Burnside is best-known for his command of the Army of the Potomac in late 1862, which saw him suffer a catastrophic defeat at the Battle of Fredericksburg.
Biography[]
Ambrose Everett Burnside was born on 23 May 1824 in Liberty, Indiana, the son of a former slaveowner from South Carolina. Burnside graduated from West Point in 1847 and served on garrison duty in Mexico City during the Mexican-American War, and he would fight against Native Americans after the end of the war with Mexico. Burnside resigned his commission in October 1853, developing the Burnside carbine in 1855; Secretary of War John B. Floyd contracted him to supply his weapons to the US Army before the American Civil War.
Burnside in battle
At the start of the Civil War, Burnside was promoted to Brigadier-General in the Rhode Island militia while living there with his wife, and he saw action in Virginia in 1861 and in North Carolina in 1862. Burnside repeatedly refused appointments of the Army of the Potomac until 7 November 1862, when he replaced the overly-cautious George B. McClellan after the Battle of Antietam. Burnside's command of the army saw him begin an invasion of Virginia aimed at capturing the capital of Richmond from the Confederate States, and his army was halted at Fredericksburg in December. In this battle, Burnside committed his soldiers to several attacks on the town of Fredericksburg and Marye's Heights, launching eleven failed attacks before realizing his folly. Burnside was forced to retreat as his forces took heavy losses, and Burnside was relieved of command in early 1863 due to this disastrous campaign. Burnside continued to serve in the Union army, however, taking part in further campaigns on the East Coast. He would again be reprimanded for his defeat at the Battle of the Crater during the siege of Petersburg in 1864 towards the end of the war, as he failed in his ambush against the Confederate States Army. Burnside would pursue a political career at the end of the war, being elected Governor of Rhode Island in 1866 and later serving as a senator from that state. Burnside died in 1881 at the age of 57.
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