(May 23, 1824 – September 13, 1881)
– 1843-1847 United States Military Academy – graduated 18th in a class of 47
– 1847–1853 Mexican–American War (1st Lieutenant)
– 1853 manufactured the Burnside carbine
– 1861 – 1865 Civil War, Major General
– 1866-1869 Governor of Rhode Island
– 1871 NRA’s first President
– 1875-1881 U.S. Senator from Rhode Island
– His distinctive style of facial hair became known as sideburns
About Gen. Ambrose Burnside
Ambrose Everett Burnside was born in Liberty, Indiana on May 23, 1824 and graduated from West Point in 1847, ranked 18th in a class of 47. He resigned his Army commission in October 1853 to command the Rhode Island militia and went into business making his breech-loading Burnside carbine. When the Civil War began he fought at First Bull Run in July 1861, led the successful North Carolina expedition in early 1862 and was promoted to major general of volunteers on March 18, 1862.
Burnside took command of the Army of the Potomac on November 9, 1862 and led it to defeat at Fredericksburg on December 13, 1862; he was replaced by Joseph Hooker in January 1863. A court of inquiry later blamed him in part for the July 30, 1864 Battle of the Crater, though the Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War exonerated him. After the war he served as governor of Rhode Island from 1866 to 1869, became the first president of the National Rifle Association in 1871, and served in the U.S. Senate from 1875 until his death in Bristol, Rhode Island on September 13, 1881. His distinctive whiskers gave the English language the word “sideburns.”
Key Facts
- May 23, 1824: Born in Liberty, Indiana
- 1847: Graduates from West Point
- December 13, 1862: Commands Union forces at Fredericksburg
- May 29, 1866 – May 25, 1869: Governor of Rhode Island
- 1871-1872: First president of the National Rifle Association
- March 4, 1875 – September 13, 1881: U.S. Senator from Rhode Island
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Sources
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