AMBROSE EVERETT BURNSIDE (1824-1881) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ West Point graduate Ambrose Burnside--whose long side whiskers inspired the term 'sideburns'--left the Army after 6years to go into business. Active in local military organizations, Burnside organized the 1st Rhode Island Regiment & became it's Colonel upon the out- break of the Civil War. After First Bull Run, he was commissioned brigadier general of volunteers & in early 1862 led a successful expedition to the North Carolina coast that won him promotion & much prestige. After the battle of Antietam & the dismissal of George B. McClellan, Burnside accepted command of the Army of the Potomac. He led it to a costly defeat at Fredericksburg [Dec. 1862] & was himself relieved after a dispute with his subordinate commanders. Transferred to the Dept. of the Ohio, Burnside proved an effective commander at Knoxville. But in 1864 he was blamed for the bloody fiasco after the great mine explosion at Petersburg, Virginia, an event that marked the close of his military career. He went on to important positions in railroading & politics, becoming Governor of Rhode Island, Congressman, & U.S. Senator. Submitted by, Bill Waterhouse Mystic, CT