- Date:
- 1863
- Original Format:
- Photographic Print
- Item#:
- MES02972
- Photographer:
- Mathew Brady
Ambrose Everett Burnside (1824-1881)
Ambrose Everett Burnside was the son of a South Carolina slave owner, and raised in Indiana where his father moved after freeing his slaves. Burnside graduated 18th in the West Point class of 1847. During the Civil War, he was promoted to major general and commanded the Army of the Potomac. Lincoln removed him as general after a series of military blunders. After the war he was the governor of Rhode Island and a U.S. Senator. He originated the fashion of wearing long side whiskers, and the term burnsides or sideburns was born.