Ambrose Burnside Ambrose Everett Burnside ( May 23 , 1824 – September 13 , 1881 ) was an American soldier , railroad executive , inventor , industrialist , and politician from Rhode Island , serving as governor and a U . S . Senator . As a Union Army general in the American Civil War , he conducted successful campaigns in North Carolina and East Tennessee but was defeated in the disastrous Battle of Fredericksburg and Battle of the Crater . His distinctive style of facial hair became known as sideburns , derived from his last name . Early life and career . Burnside was born in Liberty , Indiana and was the fourth of eight children of Edghill and Pamela ( or Pamilia ) Brown Burnside , a family of Scottish origin . His great - great - grandfather Robert Burnside ( 1725 – 1775 ) was born in Scotland and settled in the Province of South Carolina . His father , a native of South Carolina , 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 . Through his interest in military affairs and his father ' s political connections he obtained an appointment to the United States Military Academy in 1843 . He graduated in 1847 , ranking 18th in a class of 38 , and was commissioned a brevet second lieutenant in the 2nd U . S . Artillery . He traveled to Veracruz for the Mexican - American War but arrived after hostilities ceased and performed mostly garrison duty around Mexico City . At the close of the war , Lt . Burnside served two years on the western frontier , serving 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 1849 , he was wounded by an arrow in his neck during a skirmish against Apaches in Las Vegas , New Mexico . He was promoted to 1st lieutenant on December 12 , 1851 . In 1852 , he was assigned to Fort Adams , Newport , Rhode Island , and , while there , he married Mary Richmond Bishop of Providence , Rhode Island , on April 27 of that year . The marriage , which lasted until Burnside ' s death , was childless . In October 1853 , Burnside resigned his commission in the United States Army . Although maintaining a position in the state militia , he devoted his time and energy to the manufacture of the famous firearm that bears his name , the Burnside carbine . The Secretary of War under President James Buchanan , John B . Floyd , contracted with the Burnside Arms Company to equip a large portion of the Army , mostly cavalry , with his carbine and induced him to establish extensive factories for its manufacture . The Bristol Rifle Works were no sooner complete than another gunmaker allegedly bribed Floyd to break his $ 100 , 000 contract with Burnside . Burnside ran as a 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 , one of his future commanding officers , George B . McClellan . Civil War . First Bull Run . At the outbreak of the Civil War , Burnside was a brigadier general in the Rhode Island Militia . He raised a regiment , the 1st Rhode Island Volunteer Infantry , and was appointed its colonel on May 2 , 1861 . 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 , committing his troops piecemeal , and took over division command temporarily for wounded Brig . Gen . David Hunter . After 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 nascent Army of the Potomac . North Carolina . Burnside commanded the Coast Division , or North Carolina Expeditionary Force — three brigades assembled in Annapolis , Maryland , which formed the nucleus for his future IX Corps — and the Department of North Carolina , from September 1861 until July 1862 . He conducted a successful amphibious campaign that closed over 80 % of the North Carolina sea coast to Confederate shipping for the remainder of the war . In recognition of his successes at the battles of Roanoke Island and New Bern , the first significant Union victories in the Eastern Theater , he was promoted to major general of volunteers on March 18 , 1862 . In July , his forces were transported north to Newport News , Virginia , and became the IX Corps of the Army of the Potomac . Following Maj . Gen . George B . McClellan ' s failure in the Peninsula Campaign , Burnside was offered command of the Army of the Potomac . Refusing this opportunity — because of his loyalty to McClellan and because he understood his own lack of military experience — he detached part of his corps in support of Maj . Gen . John Pope ' s Army of Virginia in the Northern Virginia Campaign . Telegrams extremely critical of Pope ' s abilities as a commander from Maj . Gen . Fitz John Porter that he received at this time and forwarded on to his superiors in concurrence would later play a significant role in Porter ' s court - martial , in which Burnside would appear as a star witness . Burnside again declined command following Pope ' s debacle at Second Bull Run . Antietam . Burnside was given command of the " Right Wing " of the Army of the Potomac ( the 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 , returning Burnside to command of just the IX Corps . Implicitly refusing to give up his higher authority , Burnside treated first Maj . Gen . Jesse L . Reno ( killed at South Mountain ) and then Brig . Gen . Jacob D . Cox as the corps commander , funneling orders to the corps through them . 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 . Burnside did not perform an adequate reconnaissance of the area , and instead of taking 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 high ground . By noon , McClellan was losing patience . He sent a succession of couriers to motivate Burnside to move forward . He ordered one aide , " Tell him if it costs 10 , 000 men he must go now . " He 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 . " Although the IX Corps eventually broke through , the delay allowed Maj . Gen . A . P . Hill ' s Confederate division to come up from Harpers Ferry and repulse the Union breakthrough . McClellan refused Burnside ' s requests for reinforcements and the battle ended in a tactical stalemate . Fredericksburg . McClellan was removed after failing to pursue General Robert E . Lee ' s retreat from Antietam , and Burnside was assigned to command the Army of the Potomac on November 7 , 1862 . He reluctantly obeyed this order , the third such in his brief career , in part because when he tried to refuse , the courier told him that the command would go instead to Maj . Gen . Joseph Hooker ( whom Burnside disliked ) . President Abraham Lincoln pressured Burnside to take aggressive action and on November 14 approved his plan 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 planning in marshaling pontoon bridges for crossing the Rappahannock River and his own reluctance to deploy portions of his army across fording points later delayed the attack . This allowed Gen . Lee to concentrate along Marye ' s Heights just west of town and easily repulse the Union attacks . Assaults south of town , which were supposed to be the main avenue of attack , were also mismanaged , and initial Union breakthroughs went unsupported . Upset by the failure of his plan and by the enormous casualties of his repeated , futile frontal assaults , Burnside declared that he would personally lead an assault of the IX corps . His corps commanders talked him out of it , but relations between the commander and his subordinates were strained . Accepting full blame , he offered to retire from the U . S . Army , but this was refused . Detractors of Burnside labeled him the " Butcher of Fredericksburg " . In January 1863 , Burnside launched a second offensive against Lee , but it bogged down in winter rains before it accomplished anything and has been derisively called the Mud March . In its wake , he asked that several officers , who were openly insubordinate , be relieved of duty and court - martial ed ; he also offered to resign . Lincoln chose the latter option on January 26 and replaced him with Maj . Gen . Joseph Hooker , one of the officers who had conspired against Burnside . East Tennessee . Although Burnside offered to resign his commission altogether , 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 . Since this was a quiet area with little activity going on , 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 . Thoroughly disturbed by this trend , Burnside began issuing a series of orders forbidding " the expression of public sentiments against the war or the Administration " in his department , which 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 . Despite the Congressman ' s protests that he was the victim of simply expressing his opinions in public , a military court tried him ( all the while ignoring the fact that Vallandigham was a civilian ) and found him guilty of violating General Order No . 38 . He was thus sentenced to imprisonment for the duration of the war . Vallandigham was instantly turned into a martyr by antiwar Democrats , a situation that created a nightmare for President Lincoln , as there now stood the almost certain chance that they would gain the governorship of Ohio and thus drop the state out of the war or even worse , ally with the Confederacy . However , Burnside was not done yet . He 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 found both of Burnside ' s actions difficult to react to . He had not been asked or informed about either Valladigham ' s arrest or the closure of the Chicago " Times " , but finally decided that the former was the bigger deal of the two . Remembering the section of General Order No . 38 which declared that offenders would be banished to enemy lines , Lincoln finally decided that this was a good idea , and so Valladigham was freed from jail and sent to Confederate hands . Meanwhile , Lincoln ordered the Chicago " Times " to be reopened and announced that Burnside had thoroughly 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 . 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 . After occupying Knoxville unopposed , he sent troops back to the Cumberland Gap . Brig . Gen . John W . Frazer , the Confederate commander , refused to surrender in the face of two Union brigades and Burnside arrived with a third , forcing the surrender of Frazer and 2 , 300 Confederates . After Union Maj . Gen . William S . Rosecrans was defeated at the Battle of Chickamauga , Burnside was pursued by 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 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 . Overland Campaign . Burnside was ordered to take the IX Corps back to the Eastern Theater , where , in Annapolis , Maryland , he built it up to a strength of over 21 , 000 effectives . 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 . Burnside fought at the battles of Wilderness and Spotsylvania Court House , where he did not perform in a distinguished manner , attacking piecemeal and appearing reluctant to commit his troops to the frontal assaults that characterized these battles . After North Anna and Cold Harbor , he took his place in the siege lines at Petersburg . The Crater . 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 : 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 black troops , which had been specially trained for this mission . He was forced to use untrained white troops instead . He could not decide which division to choose as a replacement , so he had his three subordinate commanders draw lots . The division chosen by chance was that commanded by Brig . Gen . James H . Ledlie , who failed to brief the men on what was expected of them and was reported during the battle to be drunk well behind the lines , providing no leadership . Ledlie ' s men entered the huge crater instead of going around it , becoming trapped , and were subjected to heavy fire from Confederates around the rim , resulting in high casualties , . Burnside was relieved of command on August 14 and sent on " extended leave " by Grant . Burnside was never recalled to duty during the remainder of the war . A court of inquiry later placed the blame for the Crater fiasco on Burnside and his subordinates . 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 Appomattox . 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 . He was elected to three one - year terms as Governor of Rhode Island ( May 1866 to May 1869 ) . He was commander - in - chief of the Grand Army of the Republic veterans ' association from 1871 to 1872 . At its inception in 1871 , the National Rifle Association chose him as its first president . During a visit to Europe in 1870 , Burnside attempted to mediate between the French and the Germans in the Franco - Prussian War . In 1874 he was elected as U . S . Senator from Rhode Island , was re - elected in 1880 , and served until his death in 1881 . During that time , Burnside , who had been a Democrat before the war , ran as a Republican , playing a prominent role in military affairs as well as serving as chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee in 1881 . Burnside died suddenly of " neuralgia of the heart " ( Angina pectoris ) at Bristol , Rhode Island , and is buried in Swan Point Cemetery , Providence , Rhode Island . An equestrian statue in his honor was erected in the late 19th century in Burnside Park in Providence . 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 . 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 , only accepting 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 : Bruce Catton summarized Burnside : Sideburns . Burnside was noted for his unusual facial hair , joining strips of hair in front of his ears to his mustache but with chin clean - shaven ; the word " burnsides " was coined to describe this style . The syllables were later reversed to give " sideburns " . In memoriam . Burnside residence hall at the University of Rhode Island in $ 4 and Burnside Park in downtown Providence are named after General Burnside . There is a large equestrian statue of Burnside in Burnside Park . 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 Port Isabelle . In popular media . Burnside was portrayed by Alex Hyde - White in Ronald F . Maxwell ' s 2003 film " Gods and Generals " , which includes the Battle of Fredericksburg . 1 . Service Record . Cadet at the Military Academy from July 1 , 1843 , to July 1 , 1847 , when he was graduated and promoted in the Army to Second Lieutenant , 2nd Artillery Regiment . July 24 , 1818 . 2 . Served : in the War with Mexico , 1847 – 48 , at the City of Mexico ; 3 . In garrison at < nowiki > < / nowiki > Fort Adams , RI . 1848 - 49 ; 4 . On frontier duty at Las Vegas , NM ( today NV ) , 1849 – 50 , being engaged in a Skirmish there with Jicarilla Apache Indians , Aug . 23 , 1849 , in which he was wounded ; 5 . In garrison at < nowiki > Jefferson Barracks , MO . , 1850 - 51 ; < / nowiki > 6 . With Mexican Boundary Commission Apr . , 1851 , to Mar 16 , 1852 ; 7 . In garrison at Ft . Adams , RI , 1852 - 53 . 8 . Served during the Rebellion of the Seceding States , 1861 - 65 : 9 . In Defense Of Washington , DC . , May , 1861 ; 10 . In Major General Patterson ' s Operations about Cumberland , MD , June , 1861 ; 11 . Defenses of Washington , D . C . , July to Aug . , 1861 , participating in the Manassas Campaign of July , 1861 , and Battle of Bull Run , July 21 , 1861 . 12 . Served : In Command Of Provisional Brigade , In The Vicinity Of Washington , DC . , Sep . 3 To Oct . 23 , 1861 ; 13 . In Organizing Coast Division ( Army of the Potomac ) , at Annapolis , MD , Oct . 23 , 1861 , to Jan . 8 , 1862 ; 14 . In command of the Department of North Carolina , Jan . 13 to July " 5 , " 1862 , being engaged in the Battle and Capture of Roanoke Island , Feb . 7 - 8 , 1862 , - Attack of Newberne , Mar . 16 , 1862 , - Attack on Camden , Apr . 19 , 1862 , - and Bombardment of Ft . Macon , resulting in its Capture , Apr . 26 , 1862 ; 15 . In command , July " 6 " to Sep . 4 , 1862 , of the reinforcements to the Army of the Potomac , concentrated at Newport News , Va . , and subsequently at Fredericksbnrg , Va . , constituting the 9th Army Corps , July 22 , 1862 ; 16 . In the Maryland Campaign , in command of Right Wing , Sep . 4 - 15 , and of 9th Corps , Sep . 15 to Oct . 23 , 1862 ( Army of the Potomac ) , being engaged in the Battle of South Mountain , Sep . 14 , 1862 , - and Battle of Antietam , Sep . 17 , 1862 ; 17 . In general charge of Harper ' s . Ferry , Va . , and 2nd and 12th Corps , Oct . 13 to Nov . 10 , 1862 ; 18 . In command of the Army of the Potomac , Nov . 10 , 1862 , to Jan . 26 , 1863 , being engaged in the March from Warrenton to Falmouth , Va . , Nov . , 1862 , and Battle of Fredericksburg , Dec . 13 , 1862 ; 19 . In command of the Department of the Ohio , Mar . 25 to Dec . 12 , 1863 , during the Pursuit and Capture of Morgan ' s Raiders , July to Aug . , 1863 , Capture of Cumberland Gap , Sep . 10 , 1863 , - and Occupation of East Tennessee , Sep . , 1863 , - and was engaged in the Action of Blue Springs , Oct . 10 , 1863 , - Actions of Lenoir , Nov . 14 - 15 , 1863 , - Combat of Campbell ' s Station , Nov . 16 , 1863 , - and Siege of Knoxville , Nov . 17 to Dec . 1 , 1863 ; 20 . In Recruiting 9th Army Corps , Jan . 12 to Apr . 13 , 1864 ; 21 . In the Richmond Campaign , commanding 9th Army Corps , May to Aug . , 1864 , being engaged in the Battle of the Wilderness , May 6 , 1864 , - Battles of Spottsylvania , May 9 - 12 , 1864 , - Battle of North Anna , May 24 , 1864 , - Battle of Tolopotomy , . June l , 1864 , - - Battle of Bethesda Church , June 2 , 1864 , and Siege of Petersburg , June 18 to Aug . 13 , 1864 , including the Mine Assault , July . 30 , 1864 ; 22 . On leave of absence , and awaiting orders , Aug . 13 , 1864 , to Apr . 15 , 1865 . 23 . Resigned , Apr . 15 , 1865 . Awards and Decorations . Received , 1862 , a Sword of Honor from the State of Rhode Island , in testimony of his services at Roanoke Island ; and in 1864 , the Thanks of Congress , for " gallantry , good conduct , and soldier like endurance " in North Carolina and East Tennessee . Civil History . 1 . Manufacturer of Firearms , Bristol , RI , 1853 - 58 . 2 . Major - General Rhode Island Militia , 1855 - 57 . < nowiki > 3 . Inventor of the " Burnside Breech - loading Rifle , " 1856 . < / nowiki > 4 . Member of the Board of Visitors to the U . S . Military Academy , 1856 . 5 . Cashier of the Land Department of the Illinois Central Railroad Company , 1858 - 59 . 6 . Treasurer of Illinois Central Railroad , 1860 - 61 . 7 . Civil Engineer , 1865 - 66 . 8 . Director of Illinois Central Railroad Company , 1864 to 18 ? ? 9 . And in Narragansett Steamship Company , 1867 to 18 ? ? . 10 . President of Cincinnati and Martinsville Railroad Company , 1865 to 18 ? ? 11 . President of Rhode Island Locomotive Works , at Providence , RI , 1866 . to 18 ? ? . 12 . President of Indianapolis and Vincennes Railroad Company , 1867 to 18 ? ? 13 . Governor and Captain - General of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations , 1866 , 1867 , and 1868 . 14 . Visited Europe in 1870 , and was admitted within the Prussian and French lines in and around Paris , acting as a medium of communication in the interests of conciliation between the belligerents ( Franco - Prussian War ) . . 15 . Member of US Senate from the State of Rhode Island , March 4 , 1875 to Sep . 13 , 1881 , being at various times on the Committees on Manufactures , on Military Affairs , and on Education and Labor . 16 . Died , Sep . 13 , 1881 , at Bristol , RI . : Aged 57 .