was appointed colonel, immediately closed his desk of business, and repaired to Providence. There he devoted his time to the organization and equipment of the regiment; and so effectively was the work performed, that on Thursday, April 18th, the light battery of six guns, and one hundred and fifty men, was embarked on board a steamer, and sailed to New York, on the way to Washington. On Saturday, the first detachment of the regiment, five hundred and fortyfour officers and men-armed, uniformed, provisioned for a three weeks' campaign, and abundantly supplied with ammunition-left Providence by steamer. Transferred to the government transport Coatzocoalcos at New York, the command proceeded to Annapolis without delay, arriving on Wednesday, April 23d.

On Thursday morning the troops took up the line of march, and, bivouacking on the road, reached Annapolis Junction early on Friday morning. Taking cars at that point, they went on to Washington, reaching the capital at noon. The light battery, which had stopped at Easton, Pennsylvania, and the remainder of the regiment, arrived at Washington in the early part of the following week; and twelve hundred Rhode Island men, under the command of Colonel Burnside, were thus ready for any emergency. The regiment, under the thorough discipline of its commander, soon took high rank in the army for character and efficiency. Its camp, located in the northern suburbs of the city, became a favorite place of resort, and was considered a model of its kind. The excellent reputation which the regiment had acquired, was mainly due to the unwearied efforts and the unceasing vigilance of its colonel. In June, the regiment joined General Patterson's column, intended for the reduction of Harper's Ferry; but, on the evacuation of that place by the rebels, it was recalled to Washington, in anticipation of an attack upon the capital.

Upon the advance toward Manassas, in July, Colonel Burnside was placed in command of a brigade, consisting of four regiments and a battery, viz.: the first Rhode Island; the second Rhode Island, with its battery of light artillery, which had reached Washington in June; the second New Hampshire, which had also arrived in June; and the seventy-first New York, which had accompanied the Rhode Island troops on the march from Annapolis, in April. Colonel Burnside had been offered a brigadier-generalship upon his first arrival at Washington, but had declined it, on the ground of duty to his own regiment and state. But when it became necessary to organize the army, preparatory to an advance into Virginia, he did not hesitate to accept the post which was now pressed upon him. His brigade was joined to the division under Colonel David Hunter, and with the rest of the army left Washington on Tuesday, July 16th. The division bivouacked at Annandale, and on Wednesday, with Colonel Burnside's brigade in advance, pushed on to Fairfax Court House. On Thursday, the whole army encamped at Centreville, after a skirmish between a part of General Tyler's

division and the rebels at Blackburn's Ford. On Sunday morning, July 21st, the army moved toward Manassas Junction.

In the disastrous battle of Bull Run, Colonel Burnside and his brigade were conspicuous for their bravery and steadiness. They were among the troops to whom that day's events brought no disgrace. Burnside's own regiment showed, by its gallantry and coolness, that its colonel's labors had produced the finest results. The other regiments of the brigade also proved what good soldiers could do in the hands of a brave and able officer. The battery of the second Rhode Island was most efficiently served, and the regiment itself was particularly distinguished for its gallantry. General M'Dowell had already complimented Colonel Burnside upon his command, and declared that he should rely upon the brigade in the time of action. Accordingly, in the flank movement toward Sudley's Ford, by Colonel Hunter's division, Burnside's brigade took the advancethe second Rhode Island regiment, under Colonel Slocum, a most gallant and accomplished officer, leading the column.

Soon after crossing Bull Run at Sudley's Ford, about half-past nine o'clock, A. M., the leading regiment was attacked by the enemy. Colonel Hunter, who was in advance, was wounded very early in the action; and Colonel Burnside, being in command of the troops till Colonel Porter, who was in the rear, came up, at once led the residue of his brigade forward, and, posting them most advantageously, succeeded in beating back the enemy's attack, and driving him from the part of the field where he had taken position. Colonel Porter's brigade was deployed to the right, and Colonel Heintzelman's division took post still farther upon the right. Colonel Burnside's brigade, assisted by Major Sykes's battalion of regulars, stood the brunt of the enemy's attack in complete order for nearly two hours, when, having completed the work assigned to it, with a loss of three hundred killed and wounded, and being relieved by Colonel Sherman's brigade, it was withdrawn to replenish its now exhausted supply of ammunition, and to await orders to renew the contest. But the order which came was not to advance, but to retreat. Colonel Burnside at once collected his brigade, formed his regiments in column by the side of the road, waited till the larger portion of the disorganized troops had passed, and with Major Sykes's battalion of regulars and Captain Arnold's regular battery in the rear, prepared to cover the retreat along the forest-path over which the division had marched in the morning.

The admirable disposition thus made by Colonel Burnside and Major Sykes, under General M'Dowell's direction, contributed greatly to the safety of the broken army in its perilous march through the woods. On emerging from the forest-path, the artillery passed to the front, and the infantry were left unprotected. The retreat continued in good order till the army reached the bridge on

the Warrenton turnpike, crossing Cub Run. Near this place, the rebels had brought up a battery of artillery, a regiment or two of infantry, and a squadron of cavalry, and attempted to cut off our defeated forces. They succeeded in obstructing the bridge sufficiently to prevent the passage of many baggage-wagons, ambulances, and gun-carriages, and at this place the greatest loss of cannon by the national troops occurred. When Colonel Burnside reached the bridge, it was in such condition as to preclude the possibility of crossing, and he ordered the men to ford the stream, and rally at Centreville. The scattered forces sought the camps which they had left in the morning, and prepared to pass the night. General M'Dowell soon sent orders to continue the retreat to Washington. The brigade reached Long Bridge about seven o'clock on the morning of Monday, July 22d, and two hours later entered Washington, in the order in which it had quitted the city on the Tuesday previous. The regiments composing it immediately marched to their respective camps. Colonel Burnside's bearing, in all the experience of the day and night, was all that could be expected of a man and a soldier, and he at once attracted the attention of the country to his gallantry, generalship, and skill.

The term of service for which the first Rhode Island regiment had enlisted, expired on the day before the battle; but the regiment, having suffered little or no demoralization, was ready to remain longer at Washington, if its services should be required. Colonel Burnside was unwilling to return to Rhode Island till he was assured that the capital was beyond danger of an attack. His officers and men shared his feelings. But the war department had resolved upon a reorganization of the army, and the three months' regiments were all ordered to their homes. The second regiment from Rhode Island, with its battery, was left in the field; while the first returned to Providence, and was there mustered out of the service of the United States. Colonel Burnside, with his regiment, received the thanks of the general assembly of Rhode Island for the fidelity and bravery with which he and they had performed their duties. Colonel Burnside's services were also recognized by the general government, and he was at once promoted to the rank of brigadier-general, his commission dating August 6th, 1862.

Immediately upon receiving his commission, General Burnside was summoned to Washington, to assist in reorganizing the forces in front of the capital. He was employed in brigading the troops as they arrived, and assigning them places of encampment. To his excellent judgment in this respect, and his great executive skill, the efficiency of the army was to a great degree due, in those dark days of the republic.

Later in the season, several expeditions were projected, to operate at different points upon the Southern coast. The most hazardous and difficult of these, designed to effect a lodgement upon the dangerous shores of North Carolina, and,

carrying a force into the interior, in the rear of the rebel army in Virginia, to cut off communication with the South, was intrusted to the genius and ability of Burnside. For more than two months he was indefatigably employed at his head-quarters, in the city of New York, preparing for this important enterprise. The expedition finally set sail from Annapolis in the early part of January, 1862. Fifteen thousand men were embarked upon a large fleet of transports, and, convoyed by numerous gunboats, proceeded to the place of their destination. The route of the expedition lay through Hatteras Inlet into Albemarle Sound. It was a short voyage indeed, but a most perilous one. Cape Hatteras, noted for its storms, is the terror of every mariner whose course lies along the North American coast. The wintry season added to the dangers of the navigation. The expedition had hardly left the land-locked waters of Chesapeake Bay, when a most terrific storm burst upon the armada with frightful fury. The tortuous and shifting channel leading through the inlet into the sound was to be found and followed in the very teeth of the wind, when the storm was at its height. The inlet itself had been produced by the sea breaking across the narrow spit of sand from which Cape Hatteras projects, and the depth of the channel shifts and changes with the varying influence of the wind and tide. It was found, therefore, that several of the vessels which at New York had been certified to be of light draught, sufficient to pass through the channel, could not be got over the bar. The consequence was, that a large portion of the fleet was in imminent danger of shipwreck.

For nearly a week the storm continued, and the deplorable situation of affairs seemed to indicate the destruction of the entire expedition at the very threshold of its career. In this most trying crisis, General Burnside's admirable qualities shone forth in illustrious light. It is the universal testimony of all who were connected with this expedition, that the bearing of its brave commander was beyond all praise. He seemed to be omnipresent. Wherever the troops were to be rescued from their perilous position, wherever the danger was most threatening, wherever encouragement was needed, wherever help was most timely, there always appeared the general; and, by exertions beneath which any man with a less lofty purpose and a less persistent energy would have sunk exhausted, the expedition was brought to a safe anchorage within Albemarle Sound, and the forces landed in good order. Only a few vessels foundered, and two or three lives were lost by the accidental swamping of a life-boat. Encompassed by perils and threatened with disasters, General Burnside never lost his courage, his hope, and his faith. Buoyed up in the midst of misfortune by his unswerving trust in the care of a superintending Providence, he stood serene and unmoved at his post of duty, and conquered even the elements by an unwearied patience.

Harassed by the delays caused by the storm, active operations against the

rebels could not at once be commenced. The plan agreed upon by General McClellan and the authorities at Washington was, to threaten Norfolk by an attack upon the rebel stronghold of Roanoke Island, before proceeding to the mainland. Every thing was prepared for this initial step by the first of February; and on the 5th of that month, the troops being embarked on board the transports (and the gunboats, under the command of Commodore L. M. Goldsborough, being ready to move), the whole fleet steamed slowly up toward the entrance of Albemarle Sound. On the 6th, the gunboats entered Croatan Sound, engaged the rebel fleet, and bombarded the water-batteries of the enemy on Roanoke Island. On the afternoon of the 7th, the troops were landed; and on the morning of the 8th, the attack was made upon the key of the position, a battery in the centre of the island. The battle lasted two hours, and resulted in the complete victory of the national forces, which placed in General Burnside's hands six forts and batteries, forty cannon, over two thousand prisoners of war, and three thousand stands of arms. The national loss was thirty-five killed and two hundred wounded.

Commodore Goldsborough immediately sent a fleet of gunboats up the Pasquotank and Chowan Rivers, by which the rebel gunboats were sunk, captured, or driven away; and Elizabeth City, Hertford, Edenton, and Plymouth, fell into the possession of the Union troops.

These brilliant successes were hailed with the utmost enthusiasm by the people of the North. Following swiftly upon the defeat of the rebels under General Zollicoffer at Mill Spring, Kentucky, they served to revive the spirits of the loyal men, and to assure them of greater victories to come. By none was the intelligence of Burnside's triumph more gratefully received than by the people of Rhode Island. The general assembly, which was in session, immediately voted General Burnside a sword in honor of the victory, and the thanks of the representatives of the people to the officers and men under his command. Massachusetts, through her legislature, expressed her gratitude. The Congress of the United States and the heads of the government acknowledged by their action their sense of the importance of this great success; and the President nominated General Burnside a major-general of volunteers. The Senate confirmed the nomination on the 18th of March, 1862.

Meanwhile, General Burnside was not idle. Releasing his prisoners by exchange, in order that the record of Bull Run might be thoroughly effaced, he prepared to make further advances upon the enemy's forces. In pursuance of the instructions of the general-in-chief, Burnside once more embarked his troops on the 6th of March, and made ready to strike another and more decisive blow. This time it was Newbern that was destined to feel the weight of his loyal hand. On Wednesday, March 12th, the expedition passed the scene of its first disasters;