Burnside Post #27Decatur, Van Buren County, Michigan Organized September 18, 1881 This Post was named to Honor Maj. Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside who was born in Liberty, Indiana on May 23, 1824. Following his graduation from West Point in 1847, he was ordered to Mexico City. He also served at Fort Adams in Las Vegas and at Jefferson Barracks in Missouri. In 1853 he resigned his commission to focus on manufacturing a rifle which he invented. In the spring of 1861 hrewas appointed Colonel of the 1st Rhode Island Volunteers and took his troops to Washington. He commanded a brigade at the First Battle of Bull Run. He led an expedition into North Carolina in 1861-62 with success. At the Battle of Antietam his division held the stone bridge and saved the day for the Union forces. Burnside assumed the blame for the disastrous results of the battle of Fredericksburg He concluded the was leading the 9th Corps with considerable success. He was elected Governor of Rhode Island in 1866 and was elected to the U. S. Senate in 1875 and again in 1880. He died in Bristol , R. I. , September 3, 1881. The Post was mustered with 26 Charter Members. The first Post Commander was Henry Babcock who enlisted as a Private in Company M, 1st Michigan Cavalry and concluded his service in the grade of Sergeant. The Post met at a several different locations. In 1881 they met at Trowbridge Hall on Phelps Street and the Town Hall on Sherwood Street. In 1885 they met at Chadwick's Hall on Main Street. They met at Stewart's Hall in 1891 and Copley's Hall in 1892, both on Phelps Street. By June of 1896 they were meeting at a location designated as the Post Hall. The last Post Commander was D. W. Broadhead who enlisted August 1, 1864 as a Private in Company A, 19th Michigan Infantry and was discharged June 26, 1865. The Post was disbanded in October 1926.
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