Everything about Stephen G Burbridge totally explained
Stephen Gano Burbridge (
August 19,
1831 –
December 2,
1894), also known as "Butcher" Burbridge or the "Butcher of
Kentucky", was a controversial
Union Major General during the
American Civil War.
Early life
Burbridge was born in
Georgetown, Kentucky. He attended college at
Georgetown College and the
Kentucky Military Institute in
Frankfort, and subsequently became a lawyer. Upon the outbreak of the Civil War, Burbridge formed his own Union regiment and ultimately officially joined the Union Army as a colonel.
Civil War
After participating in several Civil War campaigns, including the successful final
Battle of Cynthiana against
John Hunt Morgan, Burbridge in June 1864 was given command over the state of Kentucky to deal with the growing problem of
Confederate guerrilla campaigns. This began an extended period of military siege that would last through early 1865, beginning with
martial law authorized by
President Abraham Lincoln. On July 16, 1864, Burbridge issued Order No. 59 which declared: "Whenever an unarmed Union citizen is murdered, four guerrillas will be selected from the prison and publicly shot to death at the most convenient place near the scene of the outrages." During Burbridge's rule in Kentucky, he directed the
execution and imprisonment of numerous people, including public figures, on charges of
treason and other high crimes, many of which were baseless.
While continuing in charge of Kentucky, in October 1864, Burbridge led Union assaults against the salt works near the town of
Saltville, Virginia as part of the
Battle of Saltville. Burbridge controversially led
black troops into battle, which ultimately failed. Wounded troops left behind were killed by Confederate soldiers, with special ire directed toward the black troops.
For the sake of ensuring Lincoln was reelected, Burbridge tampered with the
1864 election in Kentucky. Burbridge arrested candidates and campaign participants he considered objectionable as well as people he thought might vote for someone other than Lincoln. Even
Lieutenant Governor Richard Taylor Jacob and
Kentucky Supreme Court Chief Justice
Joshua Bullitt were arrested and taken away. Despite Burbridge's efforts,
George B. McClellan won the state by a wide margin, even though Lincoln was reelected.
After a falling out with
Governor Thomas E. Bramlette, including an attempt to take control of Governor Bramlette's troops and arms, in February 1865, Burbridge was dismissed from his role of overseeing operations in Kentucky. He resigned from the army soon thereafter.
Later years
Burbridge later moved to
Brooklyn,
New York, where he died. He is buried in
Arlington National Cemetery.
Further Information
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