United States major general. Union County, Indiana, native. Married to Mary Richmond Bishop Burnside. Graduate of the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York, in 1847. Served in the 2nd United States Artillery Regiment from 1847 to 1853. Founded the Bristol Rifle Works in Bristol, Rhode Island, in 1853. Colonel of the 1st Rhode Island Volunteer Infantry Regiment from April 16, 1861, to August 6, 1861. Commissioned brigadier general of United States volunteers on August 6, 1861. Commissioned major general of United States volunteers on March 18, 1862. Assigned to command the Army of the Potomac on November 8, 1862. Assigned to command of the Department of the Ohio on March 16, 1863. Resigned from the United States Army on April 15, 1865.