Burnside and the 1st RI Militia at Camp Sprague

At the start of the Civil War, West Point graduate Ambrose Burnside was given command of the First Rhode Island Volunteer Infantry, which he led in the First Battle of Bull Run. He became a favorite of President Abraham Lincoln's, was given charge of an expedition against Confederates along the North Carolina coast, and rose to the position of major general of volunteers upon that expedition's success. In November 1862, over his own protests, Burnside was made commander of the Army of the Potomac. Shortly after his crushing defeat at Fredericksburg, the following month he was replaced by General Joseph Hooker. Later, in command of the Department of the Ohio, he ably defended Knoxville, and in 1863, under Ulysses S. Grant, he helped defeat Braxton Bragg at Chattanooga. But Burnside's poor performance at Petersburg in 1864 ultimately brought about his resignation from the service.