Ambrose Everett Burnside Research Paper

Improved Essays
Ambrose Everett Burnside was a U.S. military general, railroad executive, and political figure. He was born in Liberty, Indiana, on May 23, 1824, and was the 4th of 9 children. He was ranked 18th out of 47 in his class and graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1847. During the Mexican-American War, he served as an artillery officer. In 1855, he invented the Burnside Carbine, a gun used commonly throughout the Civil War on both sides. He was also the treasurer for the Illinois Central Railroad, which was operated by his friend and former classmate George McClellan. Ambrose Everett Burnside may not have been a very successful general, for he lost a couple major battles that led to his firing, but he conducted successful campaigns …show more content…
After he rounded up a group of Rhode Island militiamen, he participated in the First Battle of Bull Run as a colonel on July 21, 1861. Following the defeat, he was promoted to brigadier general of volunteers. Later that year in September, he was put in charge of an expeditionary force in North Carolina and he oversaw attacks on the coastline, claimed Roanoke Island, and took over the town New Bern, North Carolina, all of which helped the Union establish their naval blockade. During this time, he was asked to be head general of the Union twice, but he declined both times out of modesty. His next major campaign took place in Maryland, where he let the Confederates get away during the Battle of Antietam after being unable to effectively move his troops across a stone bridge, which is now known as “Burnside’s Bridge.” In November 1862, he became the commander of the Potomac Army since McClellan was fired, so he went to Richmond with his troops and was crushed in the Battle of Fredericksburg. He tried to rally his troops again the next day, but it was thwarted by bad weather. Burnside blamed other generals and told Lincoln to either fire those generals or fire him. Lincoln chose to fire Burnside. In 1863, he was assigned to the Department of Ohio, and in Tennessee he held the city Knoxville from being captured by Confederates by outmaneuvering General

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    On this day in 1862, Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia repulses a series of attacks by General Ambrose Burnside’s Army of the Potomac at Fredericksburg, Virginia. The defeat was one of the most decisive loses for the Union army, and it dealt a serious blow to Northern morale in the winter of 1862-63. Burnside assumed command of the Army of the Potomac in November 1862 after George McClellan failed to pursue Lee into Virginia following the Battle of Antietam in Maryland on September 17. Burnside immediately crafted a plan to move against the Confederate capital at Richmond, Virginia.…

    • 136 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Born Frederick Augustus Bailey in Baltimore, Maryland 1818. Frederick struggled through childhood due to the slavery conditions at the time. In 1824, six year old Frederick Bailey moved from his home in Baltimore, Maryland to a plantation in the country called the Wye House. Just two years later, Frederick was sold off to another slave owner back in Baltimore where he was taught to read by his owner’s wife, Lucretia Auld. The learning process was a struggle do to Mr. Auld's harsh slave rules.…

    • 647 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    It was here where he assembled his famous "Stonewall Birgade". Following raids on the B&O Railroad on May 24, he was promoted to Brigadier General on June 17. During the battle of Chancellorsville, Jackson was injured by his own men. Because of his injuries in Chancellorsville, his right arm was amputated.…

    • 461 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Fredericksburg Battle

    • 554 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Battle Overview: Fought on December 11-15, 1862, in Fredericksburg Virginia, the Battle of Fredericksburg was the Civil War’s first battle that involved urban combat. It had nearly 200,000 soldiers present between both sides, meaning this is the highest concentrated battle in the civil war. Leader of the Federal (Union) side was Ambrose E. Burnside, and the leader of the confederates was Robert E. Lee. The Union's plan was to use 60,000 men to take the southern flank of Prospect Hill, more specifically Marye's Heights,while holding the south in urban areas and then flushing them out.…

    • 554 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Following the First Battle of Bull Run, operations in the east reached a stalemate. In February of 1862, Under Ulysses S. Grant, the Union captured Fort Henry. This victory secured the lower half of the Tennessee River. On April 6, the Confederate army, lead by P.G.T Beauregard launched an attack on the Union militia. This was known as the Battle of Shiloh.…

    • 295 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Essay On Thomas Jackson

    • 462 Words
    • 2 Pages

    When the Civil war broke out and Thomas's home state of Virginia seceded from the Union in 1861, Thomas joined the Confederate army and made his reputation for bravery and got his nickname at the Shenandoah Valley Campaign later the same year. Jackson served under General Robert E. Lee for a lot of the civil war, General Lee liked jackson because he was a important factor in many major civil war battles. The major battles Thomas Jackson was in is the battle of Bull Run, the second battle of Bull Run, the battle of Fredericksburg, the battle of Antietam, and the battle of Chancellorsville. Thomas Jackson got his nickname stonewall at the battle of Jackson earned his nickname at the First Battle of Bull Run (also known as Manassas) in July 1861 when he rushed his troops forward to close a gap in the line against a determined Union attack and he stood like a stonewall against them. At the battle of Chancellorsville Thomas was shot by one of his own men in the arm and had to have it amputated and his arm was so important to the doctors they had a own grave site and a gravestone just for his arm that is buried 50 miles away from his burial…

    • 462 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Robert E Lee was an American general known for commanding the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War from 1862 until his surrender in 1865. In June 1861, Lee took command of the Army of Northern Virginia, which he lead for the rest of the war. Colonel Lee resigned from the United States army two days after he was offered command of the Union army and three days after his native state Virginia, seceded from the Union. Lee opposed secession although he was a loyal son of Virginia. His official resignation was only one sentence, He wrote a longer explanation to his friend and mentor, General Winfield Scott later that day.…

    • 244 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Gettysburg Turning Point

    • 780 Words
    • 4 Pages

    On september 16, 1862, Major General George B. McClellan came across Robert E. Lee’s Confederate army at Sharpsburg, Maryland. Lee was hoping to keep the momentum going by invading the North and taking the offensive after a couple of wins in Virginia. The morning after they first encountered each other is when the fighting really took place, starting with a powerful assault on Lee’s left flank led by Major General Joseph Hooker’s Union corps. That was just beginning, for the rest of the morning would follow the same routine, with vicious attacks sweeping back and forth from both sides on Miller’s cornfield and the West Woods.…

    • 780 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Frederick August Washington Bailey was born into slavery around 1818 in Talbot County Maryland. He did not know the real year or the date of his birthday, but decided to celebrate it on February 14th. At a budding age he was chosen to live inside the residence of the plantation owners in which one of the owners may have been his father. His infrequent mother died when he was only ten years old. In one’s opinion, he did not grow up in a good environment.…

    • 1115 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    INTRODUCTION The lady we are about to introduce you is some one exceptional. She is determined, persistent and she gets the job done. She is the next Governor of this great state of Texas, Ms. Jane “Bitzi” Johnson Miller.…

    • 967 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    From 1852 to 1855, Lee served as superintendent of West Point, and was therefore responsible for educating many of the men who would later serve under him - and those who would oppose him - on the battlefields of the Civil War. In 1855 he left the academy to take a position in the cavalry and in 1859 was called upon to put down abolitionist John Brown’s raid at Harpers Ferry. Because of his reputation as one of the finest officers in the United States Army, Abraham Lincoln offered Lee the command of the Federal forces in April 1861.…

    • 784 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Peter Romayev Mr. Daniel Jennings United States History 1 Academic May 7th, 2018 The Life of Ulysses S. Grant Hiram Ulysses Grant, later changed to Ulysses Simpson Grant, was the fifth general of the Union forces and the eighteenth president of the United States of America. He, along with General Robert E. Lee, signed the peace agreement between the Union forces and the Confederate forces. His presidency received heavy criticism from the public when he appointed corrupt politicians in his cabinet. After his presidency, he became a partner in a financial firm until it became bankrupt.…

    • 864 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Thaddeus Stevens was a Radical Republican who served in the U.S. House of Representatives from March 4, 1849 to August 11, 1868. Stevens strived to end slavery and secure equal rights for African-Americans during Reconstruction. Stevens played a major role in the impeachment of President Andrew Johnson, who took control of Reconstruction after the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. Thaddeus Stevens had a rough start to life, which ultimately helped him become the successful lawyer and House Representative that he was in his day. Early Life Thaddeus Stevens was born on April 4, 1792 in Danville, Vermont.…

    • 612 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Ambrose Burnside Outline

    • 393 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Burnside ordered the town to be shelled and using a total war tactic, injured and killed many. When the Union army of Potomac finally did cross the river, they fought at Prospect Hill, where the Confederates had the upper hand on top of a slope, while the Union fought below on muddy…

    • 393 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    George Mcclellan's Battle

    • 1598 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Early on in the Civil War, George McClellan was extremely successful. Originally, he started out as the leader of a volunteer Ohio army and did a phenomenal job of training the volunteer soldiers, which resulted in his promotion to major general of the main Union army. As a major general, he won a string of small battles in the western part of Virginia. However, as the Civil War progressed, McClellan was unable to make the right decisions in crucial moments. He was simply too cautious and believed that the Confederates had more firepower than they did in reality.…

    • 1598 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays