It is probably safe to assume no one born in Indiana ever had as much impact on Rhode Island as Ambrose Burnside. command of Fort Adams in Newport brought Burnside to the Ocean State in 1852 where he found a wife and a permanent reputation as the inventor of a famous rifle that bore his name - the Burnside carbine. That reputation propelled a Civil War career that led Abraham Lincoln to offer him command of the Union Army. Major General Burnside turned him down believing, correctly, that he lacked the appropriate experience.
After the war ended Burnside was immediately elected to three one-year terms as Governor of Rhode Island and then mixed a successful business career with his political ambitions. At its inception in 1871, the National Rifle Association chose him as its first president. In 1874 he was elected to the United States Senate and was serving a second term when he died of a heart attack in Bristol in 1881 at the age of 57.
The erection of this memorial, now serving use as a town building, was quite a big deal in 1883 when it was planned. A crowd of some 5,000 overwhelmed the streets of Bristol to hear President Chester A. Arthur speak at the laying of the cornerstone. The building itself was designed by Stephen C. Earle of Worcester, Massachusetts and displays many of the hallmarks of the Richardsonian Romanesque style including prominent arches, multi-chromatic materials and pillar groups. Long completely clad in ivy, an award-winning restoration revealed the design details and red mortar between the stones. To the side and rear is the Bristol War Veterans Honor Roll Garden.
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