John L. Burns

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John L. Burns after the Battle of Gettysburg, July 1863 (Photography by Timothy H. O'Sullivan)

John L. Burns (born September 5, 1793 in Burlington , United States ; † February 7, 1872 in Gettysburg ) was a veteran of the British-American War and took part in the Union Army on July 1, 1863 as a civilian at the age of 70 participated in the Battle of Gettysburg during the American Civil War. Wounded during the battle, he survived and became a national celebrity of the United States.

Life

Burns was born to a Scottish family in Burlington, New Jersey. His father claimed to be related to the writer Robert Burns . Burns served as a United States soldier in the British-American War in 1812 and participated in numerous battles such as: B. participated in the battle at Lundy's Lane . He volunteered for the army at the beginning of the Mexican-American War (1846) and the American Civil War (1861), but was rejected for direct frontline deployment, in the Civil War mainly because of his advanced age. However, he was initially allowed one in the Union Army as a motorman transit station to serve. However, he was soon sent home against his will to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania , where he was elected constable , a kind of volunteer local police officer.

During the brief occupation of Gettysburg on June 26, 1863 by Confederate troops under Major General Jubal Anderson Early , Burns was arrested because he was relentlessly trying to enforce his civil authority against Early. After the withdrawal of the Confederate Army , Burns was released and arrested Confederate stragglers, until he finally handed over authority in the city to the cavalry of the Union Army under Brigadier General John Buford .

Participation in the Battle of Gettysburg

On the morning of the first day of battle, July 1, 1863, Burns picked up his old flintlock rifle and headed for the battlefield. In the ranks of the Union Forces, Sergeant George Eustice of the 7th Wisconsin Volunteers handed him a more modern weapon and a box of cartridges. However, he preferred to put the cartridges loosely in his trouser pockets and is reported to have said:

" I can get my hands in here quicker than in a box. I'm not used to them newfangled things. "(Eng. I can get my hands in here faster than in a box. I'm not used to these newfangled things. )

Burns reported to Major Thomas Chamberlin of the 150th Pennsylvania Infantry and asked to join the force. Chamberlin later wrote that Burns marched with a determined step and his Enfield musket . His unusual and already old-fashioned clothes for the time consisted of dark trousers, a yellow doublet, a blue tailcoat with swallowtail and brass buttons and a high black silk hat.

Despite his concerns, Chamberlin referred Burns to regimental commander Col. Langhorne Wister, who in turn sent him to a wooded area near McPherson Farm, where he would find sufficient cover from enemy bullets.

In this wooded area Burns fought alongside the 7th Wisconsin Infantry and later joined the 24th Michigan Regiment at the eastern end of the wooded area. He served successfully as a sniper in both regiments that were part of the famous Iron Brigade , and even shot an officer from his horse during a Confederate attack. When the Union front line gave way and was pushed back onto Seminary Ridge to the west of Gettysburg, Burns was wounded in the arm, leg and various places on the torso and had to be left on the battlefield. Though wounded and exhausted, Burns managed to step away from his rifle and bury his ammunition. When he was captured by the Confederates, he was able to convince them that he was not a soldier but had looked for help for his sick wife in the Union camp. He was then taken care of by Confederation medics. In the evening he managed to hide in the basement of a nearby house and a little later he was able to return to his house, where Dr. Charles Horner were taken care of.

After the battle

After the battle, Burns became a national hero. Mathew Brady's photographer Timothy H. O'Sullivan photographed him recovering from his wound at his home on Chambersburg Street and brought the veteran's story to Washington. When US President Abraham Lincoln came to Gettysburg to inaugurate the military cemetery and hold his famous Gettysburg Address , he is said to have asked to be introduced to Burns. Its popularity grew quickly and it was immortalized in a poem by Bret Harte .

According to Appleton's Cyclopedia of American Biography , Burns' mental abilities deteriorated significantly in the last two years of his life, and his family could not prevent him from leaving his home and wandering the local area. On a cold winter evening in December 1871, he was found and cared for in New York in a miserable condition. He was sent home but died of pneumonia the following February.

He was buried in the Evergreen Cemetery in Gettysburg.

Appreciation

Although John Burns' fame continued to grow after the war, his home was demolished after his death. Veterans of the battle campaigned for proper appreciation, and in response to a request from the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War , the government funded the construction of a memorial. It was set up near the wood at McPherson Farm where Burns had fought.

The sculptor Albert G. Bureau chose to depict Burns with his old shotgun in hand rather than the borrowed rifle he actually carried. The bronze statue, placed on a boulder and showing Burns in a determined posture with clenched fists, was inaugurated on the 40th anniversary of the battle on July 1, 1903.

Statue of John Burns

literature

Web links

Remarks

  1. ↑ There is no complete record of the middle name. Many sources leave it out entirely.
  2. ↑ Different sources, including the National Park Service , give different dates of life. However, all sources agree that Burns was 70 years old on July 1, 1863.
  3. ↑ Appleton's Cyclopædia of American Biography
  4. ^ John MacDonald: Great Battles of the Civil War , 1992, p. 105
  5. ↑ David G. Martin, p. 372
  6. ↑ Harry W. Pfanz, p. 357; John MacDonald, p. 105
  7. ↑ Harry W. Pfanz, p. 358
  8. ↑ David G. Martin, p. 374
personal data
SURNAME Burns, John L.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American veteran and participant in the Battle of Gettysburg
DATE OF BIRTH September 5, 1793
PLACE OF BIRTH Burlington, New Jersey, USA
DATE OF DEATH February 7, 1872
Place of death Gettysburg , Pennsylvania, USA