THE BURNSIDE EXPEDITIONJ

BY AMBROSE E. BURNSIDE, MAJOR-GENERAL , U. S. A.

S OON after the 1st Rhode Island regiment was mus-tered out of service, I was appointed by PresidentLincoln to the office of brigadier-general. My com-mission was given to me on the 6th of August, 1861,and I was ordered to report to General McClellan ,who placed me in charge of the division and bri-gades which were formed of the new troops as theyarrived in Washington. My duty was to look afterthe drill and discipline of these brigades, with a viewto giving the men the efficiency necessary for assign-ment to the older divisions of the army, which werethen organizing in Washington under the name ofthe Army of the Potomac. The duty was interesting in some respects,but was in the main somewhat tame, so that I very naturally desired moreactive duty.

One evening in the following October, General McClellan and I were chat-ting together over the affairs of the war, when I mentioned to him a plan forthe formation of a coast division to which I had given some thought. Aftergiving him a somewhat detailed account of the plan,he asked me to put it in writing as soon as possible,which was done. The next day it was presentedto him, and it met his approval. He laid it beforethe Secretary of War, by whom it was also ap-proved. The general details of the plan were brieflyas follows: To organize a division of from 12,000to 15,000 men, mainly from States bordering on theNorthern sea-coast, many of whom would be famil-iar with the coasting trade, and among whom wouldbe found a goodly number of mechanics; and to fitout a fleet of light-draught steamers, sailing vessels,and barges, large enough to transport the division,its armament and supplies, so that it could be rap-idly thrown from point to point on the coast witha view to establishing lodgments on the Southerncoast, landing troops, and penetrating into theinterior, thereby threatening the lines of trans-portation in the rear of the main army then

J This paper was read by General Burnside before the Soldiers’ andSailors’ Historical Society of Rhode Island , July 7th, 1880, and isincluded here by permission of the Society , the text being somewhatabridged to conform to the plan of this work.— Editors.

UNIFORM OF THE 1ST RHODE ISLAND ,COLONEL A. E. BURNSIDE , WHICHSERVED AT THE BATTLE OFBULL RUN. (SEE ABOVE.)

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UNION LOOKOUT, HATTERAS BEACH.FROM A WAR-TIME SKETCH.

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