born May 23, 1824, Liberty, Ind., U.S.
died Sept. 13, 1881, Bristol, R.I.
Union general in the American Civil War .
A graduate of West Point, he was promoted to major general in 1862 and replaced George B. McClellan as commander of the Army of the Potomac; he was himself replaced after the Union loss at the Battle of Fredericksburg . He resigned in 1864 after the "Burnside mine" fiasco in the Petersburg Campaign, when a mine explosion intended to damage Confederate troops resulted in heavy Union losses. He was governor of Rhode Island (1866–69) and a U.S. senator (1875–81). He originated the fashion of side whiskers, later known as "sideburns."