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Description:
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This study examines the career of Union Brigadier General William Wallace
Burns , focusing on the circumstances surrounding his mysterious resignation of his
volunteer rank in March 1863 , at the height of the Civil War . General Burns , a rising
star in the Army of the Potomac , seemingly assured of rapid promotion to major general ,
relinquished his field rank and returned to his Regular Army rank of major in the
Commissary Department . Why would a well -regarded officer , not suffering from any
debilitating physical problems , choose to destroy his career in such a manner ? General
Burns claimed in his personal letters that he was forced out through the duplicity of
Secretary of War Edwin M . Stanton . A War Department inquiry found no evidence to
support Burns ? ? allegation . This thesis , after a thorough examination of the subject ,
offers a conclusion as to whether General Burns was wronged or if he was the victim of
his own paranoia . |