because our cause was just, he had the happy faculty of inspiring all those around him, his friends, the audiences he addressed, and his army with the same hope which lighted up his own heart. One of the first of the regular army officers to approve heartily of Mr. Lincoln's emancipation policy, he was also one of the first to favor the arming of black troops, and one of the most successful in training them for action. Utterly free from that jealousy of the fame of others which has detracted from the merits and impaired the efficiency of so many officers, he was quick to recognize the talent of all his comrades, and magnanimous almost to a fault in judging the motives of those who attempted by unworthy means to injure him. It is not strange that with these noble and generous traits he has been so beloved by all the officers and soldiers under him, and by the Nation at large. We doubt if any one of our prominent officers has more endeared himself to all who knew him than our warm-hearted, large-hearted, self-sacrificing, patriotic Burnside. We trust that wherever his business may call him, he will still regard Rhode Island as his home. She certainly will always claim him as her adopted

son.

Resuming the pursuits of civil life, General Burnside became identified with the construction of railroads, for which he was qualified by his West Point education. The stockholders of the Illinois Central Railroad Company, which he had served as treasurer before the war, elected him a director. In 1865 he was elected president of the Cincinnati and Martinsville Railroad, from Fairland to Martinsville, Indiana, a distance of forty miles. To complete the construction of this railroad, $400,000 of seven per cent. first mortgage bonds were issued, guaranteed by the Indianapolis, Cincinnati and Lafayette Railroad Company, to which the road was leased in advance of its completion. It required no small financial ability to negotiate a sufficient amount of these bonds to pay the contractors, but it was done, and the road was placed in working order.

NOMINATED AND ELECTED GOVERNOR OF RHODE ISLAND-RAILROAD OPERATIONS AT THE WEST SOLDIERS' MONUMENT AT PROVIDENCE-PRESENTATION-RE-ELECTION-A WEST POINT COMRADE AIDED THE KINGSBURY WILL-VINCENNES AND CAIRO RAILROAD.

T

HE announcement, in the spring of 1866, that the name of General Burnside would be presented to the convention called to nominate a Republican candidate for governor of Rhode Island, was received with great enthusiasm. His pure patriotism, his large heart, his noble bearing, his genial kindness, his willingness to suffer unduly rather than blame others, his love of duty rather than position, constituted the amplest claim to the regards of his adopted state. The people of Rhode Island, whose battle-flags bore the names of his victories, were delighted to inscribe his name upon their state banner. When the convention met, General Burnside was enthusiastically nominated by acclamation, and it was felt that Rhode Island, by inviting him to the chair of her chief magistrate, honored herself by calling him. At the election, which was held on the 4th of April, 1866, General Burnside received 7,725 votes; Lyman Pierce, his Demo

cratic opponent, received 2,776 votes, and there were 160 scattering votes.

On Tuesday, the 29th of May, 1866, General Burnside was inaugurated into his office, at Newport, amid a greater amount of enthusiasm than had ever before stirred the hearts of the people. On Election day the entire volunteer militia of the State came to Newport to participate in the pageant, and in their ranks were hundreds of veterans who had served under the general. The city sergeant proclaimed from the balcony of the State House, in accordance with the time-honored programme, "Hear ye! Hear ye! Hear ye! His Excellency Ambrose E. Burnside has been duly elected Captain-General and Commander-inChief of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations!" Then the cannon roared, the bands played, the assembled multitude cheered, and the governor was escorted through the streets by the military, receiving, all along the route, bouquets and the waving of handkerchiefs from the ladies, with cheers from the men.

As chief magistrate of Rhode Island, General Burnside exhibited in the strongest light those distinctive traits of character for which he was so remarkable. He had obeyed the commands of authority as a soldier, and he expected from every subordinate official, civil or military, that allegiance that alone can insure success. Independent in his disposition, with original ideas and fearless in expressing them, and jealous of the honor of his adopted state, he made a useful chief magistrate. He heard what was to be said on every disputed question which came before him, holding his judgment in abeyance until nothing more was said on either side, and then formed his opinion with inflexible firmness. The only exception was when petitioners appeared before him, asking pardon for

those who were alleged to be undergoing unjust sentences. On such occasions mercy predominated over justice.

While discharging the duties of governor, General Burnside was also actively engaged as president of the Cincinnati and Martinsville Railroad Company, as president of the Rhode Island Locomotive Works at Providence, as president of the Indianapolis and Vincennes Railroad Company, and as a director of the Illinois Central Railroad Company, and the Narragansett Steamship Company. In these varied enterprises, as in the performance of his duties as chief magistrate, personal responsibility was General Burnside's secret of success. Every official, every clerk, and every engineer was made to know that he must perform his duty. The acts of every one were subjected to a careful supervision, and every minor detail was closely looked after. Inspiring his associates and subordinates with a consciousness of strength, the spirit of energetic determination, and well-regulated habits of industry, General Burnside found it an easy task to secure their zealous coöperation.

General Burnside was the chairman of a committee of the General Assembly, appointed in June, 1866, to invite designs for a monument to the memory of the officers and men in the army and navy of the United States who fell in battle, and who died of their wounds or from sickness, during the late Rebellion. A number of designs were submitted, and the committee finally selected that of Mr. Randolph Rogers, in which architecture and sculpture combined to express public gratitude. In concluding a report stating the selection which they had made, the committee said:

The awful storm of war has passed. Peace, at least in our borders, has resumed her gracious sway; but the men who called her home from the

bloody field and the stormy wave are not all here. Their resting-places are on distant battle-grounds, or rebel prison-yards, or under the unmarked and remote soil; but here are their empty places; here are those to whom when in life they were dear, and who now cherish their memories with a proud sorrow; here is the State for which they sacrificed

themselves; here, if anywhere, must the records of their deeds be preserved. When the danger was imminent, the State sent forth her sons; it is no wonder that now, when that danger is past, she should remember their devotion, and should resolve to erect for the coming ages, a memorial of their self-sacrifice, and an incentive to imitate their patriotism. To such a purpose, who would not say God-speed? Who would not open the purse of the State to honor her patriot dead? Who would not invite the greatest of arts to commemorate the noblest of virtues? All of which is respectfully submitted by your committee,

A. E. BURNSIDE, Chairman.