Bad Luck Burnside

[Stryker65]

I gotta say, Ambrose Burnside is a man with pretty bad luck. First the Burnside Bridge stuff, and then Fredericksburg, then the stuff at Knoxville, then the Crater ... he'd had a pretty bad time. So obviously when he wants to take a break from the press and Stanton and everyone else, he might just go to the theatre. Oh, and wow, he happens to sit right underneath President Lincoln's box. Just his luck. Cut to a couple hours later -- Burnside's had the worst night of his life. I read that since Lincoln was looking down when he was shot, Burnside was probably the last face he ever saw. Awkward ...
But in summary, Burnside was at Ford's Theatre, seated directly underneath the presidential box, and thus hears (and sees part of) the whole thing. Crazy sequence of events.
-Stryker

 

[TnFed]

Also unlucky in love. I believe Lottie Moon(the reb spy, not the baptist missionary) left him at the altar in Oxford Ohio. That said he was very much in luck at the Cumberland Gap when he took it without hardly firing a shot. No doubt muc h to the chagrin of my relative Lt. Colonel W N Garrett of the 64th NC.

 

[RedRover]

It was as a young tailor at Liberty, Indiana that Burnside got his first taste of military enthusiasm...

After some wranging, Burnside was appointed to a cadetship at West Point in 1843.

 

[Sheltowee]

Developed the Burnside carbine- but had to sell the patent to pay off creditors. Some say he was shafted when another gunmaker bribed the government to cancel the contract.

 

[jackt62]

Ambrose Burnside is a man with pretty bad luck. First the Burnside Bridge stuff, and then Fredericksburg, then the stuff at Knoxville, then the Crater ... he'd had a pretty bad time.

I can't agree that those instances had anything to do with Burnside's "bad luck." Burnside made calculated military decisions that were flawed or downright incompetent.

 

[OpnCoronet]

Burnside did well with independent commands. It seems to to me his main fault was that with others in command he did not always practice due diligence and seemed content to let each day take care of itself.

The Union got good service from Burnside when not having to deal with the internal politics of military command, present in all armies and meddling Presidents war dept. bureaucrats.

In the civil war armies of that time, he was often a square peg in a round hole.

 

[BillO]

I can't agree that those instances had anything to do with Burnside's "bad luck." Burnside made calculated military decisions that were flawed or downright incompetent.

I agree. Men make their luck.

 

[EHParks]

I agree. Men make their luck.

Lee was certainly out of luck at Gettysburg.

 

[General JJ]

I gotta say, Ambrose Burnside is a man with pretty bad luck. First the Burnside Bridge stuff, and then Fredericksburg, then the stuff at Knoxville, then the Crater ... he'd had a pretty bad time.

Why is Knoxville listed with the rest, he won the campaign?

 

[TnFed]

Lee was certainly out of luck at Gettysburg.

"Ain't no horse that can't be rode, ain't no rider that can't be throwed." Mead reminds me of Rocky Graziano the old middleweight fighter. While , Zale, LaMotta, Robinson could probable beat him three out of four times. If he got in that knockout punch, you were going nite nite. Does not pay to underestimate your opponents.

 

[Stryker65]

Why is Knoxville listed with the rest, he won the campaign?

According to the dispatches he sent out, it made him seem like he was in trouble, but when Sherman and the relief column got there, Burnside told them he'd been having a nice time, and threw a giant party for Sherman and his men. Then he was slow to pursue.

 

[jackt62]

Why is Knoxville listed with the rest, he won the campaign?

Knoxville is not in the same category as some of Burnside's major fiascos including Fredericksburg and the Crater.

 

[jackt62]

Lee was certainly out of luck at Gettysburg.

Was it simply a matter of being "out of luck." Lee was too smart an officer to rely on the whims of luck and fortune. But Lee's modus operandi was to conceive and develop battle plans, which were to be carried out by his corps commanders with minimal oversight. That worked for Lee under the 2 corps structure that lasted until Chancellorsville. But Lee was either remiss or too set in his ways to recognize that the abrupt change in commanders and corps before the Gettysburg campaign might have adverse consequences, particularly when faced with a new and steadfast federal commander.

 

[EHParks]

Was it simply a matter of being "out of luck." Lee was too smart an officer to rely on the whims of luck and fortune. But Lee's modus operandi was to conceive and develop battle plans, which were to be carried out by his corps commanders with minimal oversight. That worked for Lee under the 2 corps structure that lasted until Chancellorsville. But Lee was either remiss or too set in his ways to recognize that the abrupt change in commanders and corps before the Gettysburg campaign might have adverse consequences, particularly when faced with a new and steadfast federal commander.

Therein lies the irony of "making one's own luck". I was being a bit facetious, Lee's luck rode out on J.E.B. Stuart's jaunt and ran into Meade's good fortune in gaining the high ground first.

 

[Belfoured]

Burnside did well with independent commands. It seems to to me his main fault was that with others in command he did not always practice due diligence and seemed content to let each day take care of itself.

The Union got good service from Burnside when not having to deal with the internal politics of military command, present in all armies and meddling Presidents war dept. bureaucrats.

In the civil war armies of that time, he was often a square peg in a round hole.

Burnside did well with independent commands. It seems to to me his main fault was that with others in command he did not always practice due diligence and seemed content to let each day take care of itself.

I think there's something to your point. His 1862 campaign in North Carolina was pretty well-executed, including effective cooperation with the USN. He also had a tendency to end up in "complicated" command structures, such as at Antietam and the Wilderness. One interesting aspect of Fredericksburg is that he actually had a complicated attack plan that nearly saw success in the main effort on the Union left until Franklin and Reynolds fumbled it away. Burnside then made the inept decision to turn the diversionary attack on the Union right into the main effort, with the predictable and disastrous results we know about.

 

[bankerpapaw]

Also unlucky in love. I believe Lottie Moon(the reb spy, not the baptist missionary) left him at the altar in Oxford Ohio. That said he was very much in luck at the Cumberland Gap when he took it without hardly firing a shot. No doubt muc h to the chagrin of my relative Lt. Colonel W N Garrett of the 64th NC.

Correct me if I am wrong, but I believe Lottie Moon was the spy AND the missionary.

 

[Sheltowee]

Correct me if I am wrong, but I believe Lottie Moon was the spy AND the missionary.

No- actually two different individuals. Hard to believe with that name.
Here's the missionary-

Lottie Moon - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Bentonville]

I know the Crater was a Burside thing. To be honest I kinda blame him.and kinda don't. It seemed like a good idea on paper I'm sure.

Grant had to have gave the OK, no?

Burnside reallyshould have supervised the whole battle himself. I think he would have acquitted himself pretty well.

Leadly. That was the fatal flaw of the whole thing. It was terrible delegation. Burnside at least would have been there rather than hiding out drunk.

I never could figure why no one ever mentions that guy when the 'worst general' thread starts. He makes Custer seem downright knightly.

That all being said, my God what a walking disaster area.

 

[TnFed]

Correct me if I am wrong, but I believe Lottie Moon was the spy AND the missionary.

Charlotte Digges "Lottie" Moon. B. Dec. 12 1840 D. Dec. 24 1912...from Virginia

Cynthia Charlotte "Lottie" Moon
B. 1828. D.1895 also born in Virginia but raised in Oxford Ohio.

 

[Sheltowee]

Charlotte Digges "Lottie" Moon. B. Dec. 12 1840 D. Dec. 24 1912...from Virginia

Cynthia Charlotte "Lottie" Moon
B. 1828. D.1895 also born in Virginia but raised in Oxford Ohio.

Graduated from Miami University- I recall a bar called Lottie Moon's in Oxford.
And as a Baptist, I've heard of Lottie Moon.
For years, I thought they were one and the same.