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NavSource Online: "Old Navy" Ship Photo Archive

USS General Burnside

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Civil War Medal
Sidewheel Steamer (Tinclad No.63):
  • Built in 1862 at Wilmington, DE
  • Sold to the War Department in 1863
  • Chartered by the Navy and commissioned USS General Burnside, 8 August 1864, at Bridgeport, AL., Acting Volunteer LT. H. A. Glassford in command.
  • Assigned as flagship of the upper Tennessee River Fleet, Mississippi Squadron, 15 October 1864
  • General Burnside patrolled the river to Whitesburg, Decatur, and Chattanooga
  • Assisted in repelling Confederate attacks, 27 December 1864, at Decatur
  • Her action in concert with Union land forces brought about the evacuation of Decatur by the Confederates and left the upper Tennessee region under Union control
  • USS General Burnside was returned to the War Department, 1 June 1865 at Bridgeport, AL.
    Specifications:
    Displacement 201 t.
    Length 171'
    Beam 26'
    Depth 4' 9"
    Draft unknown
    Speed unknown
    Complement unknown
    Armament
    two 20-pdrs
    three 24-pdr howitzers
    Propulsion
    steam engine
    two sidewheels
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Contributed
    By
    General Burnside 310k
    Namesake

    General Ambrose Everett Burnside, U.S. Army, was born 1824 at Liberty, Ind. He graduated from West Point in 1847. In the Civil War he commanded a brigade in the First Battle of Bull Run; led troops in Army Navy expeditions against Roanoke Island, New Bern, Beaufort, and Fort Macon. He next commanded the Army of the Potomac through the Battle of Fredericksburg. After that defeat, he was replaced by General Hooker. Thereafter, he was commander of the Department of Ohio (March-December 1963). He occupied East Tennessee, took Knoxville, and repulsed Longstreet's attempt to recapture the town. In 1864 he served under Meade and Grant in Virginia. General Burnside was governor of Rhode Island (1866-68). From 1875 to his death in 1881, he served in the United States Senate.    		 Tommy Trampp
    General Sherman
    098615003    		 75k Federal gunboats on the upper Tennessee River at Bridgeport, Tennessee in March 1865. Left to right:
    USS General Sherman (Tinclad #60),
    USS General Thomas (Tinclad #61),
    USS General Grant (Tinclad #62),
    USS General Burnside (Tinclad #63)
    US Naval History and Heritage Command. Photo # NH 109627. ©Review of Reviews, 1911.     		Robert Hurst
    USS General Burnside
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
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    Last Updated 3 December 2021