Henry Cornelius Burnett (October 25, 1825 – October 1, 1866) was an American politician who served as a
Confederate States senator from
Kentucky
Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...
from 1862 to 1865. From 1855 to 1861, Burnett served four terms in the
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...
. A lawyer by profession, Burnett had held only one public office—circuit court clerk—before being elected to Congress. He represented
Kentucky's 1st congressional district immediately prior to the
Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
. This district contained the entire
Jackson Purchase region of the state, which was more sympathetic to the
Confederate
Confederacy or confederate may refer to:
States or communities
* Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities
* Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...
cause than any other area of Kentucky. Burnett promised the voters of his district that he would have
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...
arraigned for
treason
Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...
. Unionist newspaper editor
George D. Prentice
George Dennison Prentice (December 18, 1802 – January 22, 1870) was an American newspaper editor, writer and poet who built the ''Louisville Journal'' into a major newspaper in Louisville, Kentucky, and the Ohio River Valley, in part by the vir ...
described Burnett as "a big, burly, loud-mouthed fellow who is forever raising
points of order
In parliamentary procedure, a point of order occurs when someone draws attention to a rules violation in a meeting of a deliberative assembly.
Explanation and uses
In ''Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised'' (RONR), a point of order may be rai ...
and objections, to embarrass the
Republicans
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
in the House".
Besides championing the secession in Congress, Burnett also worked within Kentucky to bolster the state's support of the Confederacy. He presided over a sovereignty convention in
Russellville in 1861 that formed a
Confederate government for the state. The delegates to this convention chose Burnett to travel to
Richmond, Virginia
(Thus do we reach the stars)
, image_map =
, mapsize = 250 px
, map_caption = Location within Virginia
, pushpin_map = Virginia#USA
, pushpin_label = Richmond
, pushpin_m ...
to secure Kentucky's admission to the Confederacy. Burnett also raised a Confederate
regiment
A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation.
In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted ...
at
Hopkinsville, Kentucky
Hopkinsville is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of Christian County, Kentucky, United States. The population at the 2010 census was 31,577.
History
Early years
The area of present-day Hopkinsville was initially claimed in 1796 b ...
, and briefly served in the
Confederate States Army
The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...
. Camp Burnett, a Confederate recruiting post two miles west of
Clinton
Clinton is an English toponymic surname, indicating one's ancestors came from English places called Glympton or Glinton.Hanks, P. & Hodges, F. ''A Dictionary of Surnames''. Oxford University Press, 1988 Clinton has frequently been used as a given ...
in
Hickman County, Kentucky, was named after him.
[''Camp Burnett, Kentucky'']
Burnett's actions were deemed treasonable by his colleagues in Congress, and he was
expelled from the House in 1861. He is one of only five members of the House of Representatives ever to be expelled.
["Members of Congress Expelled From House"] Following his expulsion, Burnett served in the
Provisional Confederate Congress
The Provisional Congress of the Confederate States, also known as the Provisional Congress of the Confederate States of America, was a congress of deputies and delegates called together from the Southern States which became the governing body ...
and the First and Second
Confederate Senates. He was indicted for treason after the war, but never tried. He returned to the practice of law, and died of
cholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine by some strains of the bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea that lasts a few days. Vomiting and ...
in 1866 at the age of 40.
Early and family life
Henry Cornelius Burnett was born to Dr. Isaac Burnett (1801-1865) and his wife, the former Martha F. Garrett on October 25, 1825, in
Essex County, Virginia.
[''Trigg County, Kentucky Veterans''][Craig, ''The Kentucky Encyclopedia'' p. 144] In his early childhood, the family moved to
Cadiz,
Trigg County, Kentucky.
Henry was educated privately at an academy in
Hopkinsville
Hopkinsville is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of Christian County, Kentucky, United States. The population at the 2010 census was 31,577.
History
Early years
The area of present-day Hopkinsville was initially claimed in 1796 b ...
, the neighboring
Christian County Christian County is the name of several counties in the United States:
* Christian County, Illinois
* Christian County, Kentucky
* Christian County, Missouri
Christian County is located in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Missouri. ...
government seat.
["Burnett, Herny Cornelius". United States Congress] He then read law and was a member of the Cadiz Christian Church.
On April 13, 1847, Burnett married Mary A. Terry, the daughter of a prominent Cadiz merchant.
They had four children: John, Emeline, Henry, and Terry (who died shortly after birth).
The younger Henry C. Burnett (educated at the University of Virginia after his father's death) became a successful lawyer in
Paducah and, later,
Louisville.
[Johnson, p. 615]
Early career
Admitted to the bar in 1847, Burnett established his legal practice in Cadiz.
He also began owning slaves of his own. He owned five slaves in Trigg County in 1850. Ten years later, in 1860, Burnett owned seven slaves in Cadiz, as well as leased three slaves to J.L. Parrish in Christian County.
In the first election following the ratification of the
Kentucky Constitution of 1850, Trigg County voters elected Burnett clerk of the
circuit court; he defeated James E. Thompson.
[Allen, p. 279][Perrin, p. 47] Burnett resigned in 1853 to run for Congress.
Later that year, he was elected as a
Democrat
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (United States) (D)
**Democratic ...
to the
34th Congress
The 34th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C., from March 4, 1855, ...
, succeeding
Speaker of the House
The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England.
Usage
The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hungerf ...
Linn Boyd
Linn Boyd (November 22, 1800 – December 17, 1859) (also spelled "Lynn") was a prominent US politician of the 1840s and 1850s, and served as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1851 to 1855. Boyd was elected to the Hou ...
.
He was re-elected to the three succeeding Congresses; during the
35th Congress
The 35th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1857, ...
, he chaired the Committee of Enquiry regarding the sale of
Fort Snelling
Fort Snelling is a former military fortification and National Historic Landmark in the U.S. state of Minnesota on the bluffs overlooking the confluence of the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers. The military site was initially named Fort Saint Anth ...
and served on the Committee on the
District of Columbia
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
.
Outset of the Civil War
Burnett supported fellow Kentuckian
John C. Breckinridge
John Cabell Breckinridge (January 16, 1821 – May 17, 1875) was an American lawyer, politician, and soldier. He represented Kentucky in both houses of Congress and became the 14th and youngest-ever vice president of the United States. Serving ...
for president in the
1860 presidential election, but Breckinridge lost to Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln had campaigned against the expansion of slavery beyond the states in which it already existed. His victory in the election resulted in seven Southern states declaring their
secession
Secession is the withdrawal of a group from a larger entity, especially a political entity, but also from any organization, union or military alliance. Some of the most famous and significant secessions have been: the former Soviet republics le ...
from the Union. Despite this, most Americans believed the Union could still be saved. Burnett, however, disagreed. In the January 7, 1861 issue of Paducah's ''Tri-Weekly Herald'', he declared, "There is not the slightest hope of any settlement or adjustment of existing troubles."
[Craig, "Henry C. Burnett", p. 266] Despite his pessimism, Burnett endorsed the ill-fated
Peace Conference of 1861
The Peace Conference of 1861 was a meeting of 131 leading American politicians in February 1861, at the Willard's Hotel in Washington, D.C., on the eve of the American Civil War. The purpose of the conference was to avoid, if possible, the secess ...
.
Following the rapid secessions of
Mississippi
Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...
,
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
,
Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...
,
Georgia,
Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
, and
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
, Congress began preparing the nation for war, including by strengthening the
army
An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
and
navy
A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...
and raising funds for the treasury. Burnett attempted to circumvent these measures by proposing an amendment stipulating that none of these new appropriations could be used to subdue or make war against any of the southern states, but the amendment was defeated.
![Hon](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9f/Hon._Burnett_-_NARA_-_528754.jpg)
To avert war then, the
Kentucky General Assembly
The Kentucky General Assembly, also called the Kentucky Legislature, is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Kentucky. It comprises the Kentucky Senate and the Kentucky House of Representatives.
The General Assembly meets annually in the ...
called for a meeting of
border states to convene in
Frankfort on May 27. Kentucky's twelve delegates to the convention were to be chosen by special election on May 4. However, after the Confederates fired on
Fort Sumter on April 12, the secessionist candidates withdrew from the election. Expressing the view of the majority of these delegates, Burnett opined in the ''Tri-Weekly Herald'' that the convention would not occur. He was wrong; the convention was held as scheduled, but it failed to accomplish anything of significance.
Special congressional elections of 1861
President Lincoln called for special congressional elections to be held in Kentucky in June 1861. The voters of the First District's Southern Rights party called a meeting to be held May 29, 1861 at the
Graves County
Graves County is a county located on the southwest border of the U.S. Commonwealth of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 36,649. Its county seat is Mayfield. The county was formed in 1824 and was named for Major Benjamin Fr ...
courthouse in
Mayfield. The purpose of the meeting was ostensibly to re-nominate Burnett for his congressional seat, but some Unionists believed an ulterior motive was in play.
George D. Prentice
George Dennison Prentice (December 18, 1802 – January 22, 1870) was an American newspaper editor, writer and poet who built the ''Louisville Journal'' into a major newspaper in Louisville, Kentucky, and the Ohio River Valley, in part by the vir ...
, editor of the Unionist ''Louisville Journal'', wrote on May 21, 1861 that "the object of
he Mayfield Convention though not officially explained, is believed to be the separation of the First District from Kentucky if Kentucky remains in the Union, and its annexation to
Tennessee
Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
".
![Henry C](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/24/Henry_C._Burnett.jpg)
Most of the records of the Mayfield Convention were lost, presumably in a fire that destroyed the courthouse in 1864. The most extensive surviving record comes from the notes of James Beadles, a Unionist observer of the proceedings. After a number of speeches were delivered, a majority committee chaired by Paducah circuit judge James Campbell presented a report containing seven resolutions. The resolutions declared the region's sympathy with the South, although it pledged to abide by Kentucky's present policy of neutrality. It condemned President Lincoln for waging an unjust war, and praised
Governor
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
Beriah Magoffin
Beriah Magoffin (April 18, 1815 – February 28, 1885) was the 21st Governor of Kentucky, serving during the early part of the Civil War. Personally, Magoffin adhered to a states' rights position, including the right of a state to secede from t ...
for refusing Lincoln's call for troops. The report also condemned the federal government for arming Union sympathizers in the state with so-called "Lincoln guns". A minority committee report was given by
Ballard County resident and future U.S. Representative
Oscar Turner. This report called Kentucky's neutrality "futile" and "cowardly," promised to fight off any invasion by the North, and recommended calling for aid from Tennessee and the Confederate States in the event of such an invasion. It further warned that if the entire state did not adopt this position, the Purchase region would secede and align itself with Tennessee.
Burnett, along with
Lyon County's
Willis B. Machen and
Union County's Benjamin P. Cissell, initially endorsed Campbell's majority report. After some debate, Burnett proposed four resolutions in lieu of both reports. The resolutions condemned President Lincoln for the war against the South and the federal government for the provision of the "Lincoln guns". They also praised Governor Magoffin for rebuffing Lincoln's call for troops and encouraged him to drive away any Union invasion of the state. Burnett's resolutions were passed by large margins in preference to both the majority and minority reports.
Finally, the convention turned to the issue of nominating Burnett. Four others, including Turner, Machen, and Cissell, were also offered as nominees. Burnett received 124 of 155 votes on the first ballot and was chosen unanimously on the second ballot. In his acceptance speech, Burnett declared that he was undecided as to whether he would take the
oath of office
An oath of office is an oath or affirmation a person takes before assuming the duties of an office, usually a position in government or within a religious body, although such oaths are sometimes required of officers of other organizations. Such ...
if elected. This statement alluded to an earlier comment by Turner that "no man who is engaged in the cause of the South could go to Congress and take the oath of office without
perjuring himself."
[Craig, "The Jackson Purchase Considers Secession" p. 353] Burnett promised that if he did assume his seat, he was determined to arraign President Lincoln for treason.
In the special elections, Burnett defeated
Lawrence Trimble of Paducah. He was the only
states' rights candidate elected in the statewide canvass. He won handily in the Jackson Purchase region, which was by far the most pro-Southern area of the state. However, outside the Purchase, he won only his home county of Trigg, and that by a slim margin of 20 votes. (Besides the Purchase counties, the First District also included
Caldwell
Caldwell may refer to:
People
* Caldwell (surname)
* Caldwell (given name)
* Caldwell First Nation, a federally recognized Indian band in southern Ontario, Canada
Places
Great Britain
* Caldwell, Derbyshire, a hamlet
* Caldwell, East ...
,
Crittenden,
Hopkins
Hopkins is an English, Welsh and Irish patronymic surname. The English name means "son of Hob". ''Hob'' was a diminutive of ''Robert'', itself deriving from the Germanic warrior name ''Hrod-berht'', translated as "renowned-fame". The Robert spell ...
,
Livingston
Livingston may refer to:
Businesses
* Livingston Energy Flight, an Italian airline (2003–2010)
* Livingston Compagnia Aerea, an Italian airline (2011–2014), also known as Livingston Airline
* Livingston International, a North American custom ...
, Lyon, Trigg, Union, and
Webster
Webster may refer to:
People
*Webster (surname), including a list of people with the surname
*Webster (given name), including a list of people with the given name
Places Canada
*Webster, Alberta
*Webster's Falls, Hamilton, Ontario
United State ...
counties.)
Burnett took his seat in the
37th Congress
The 37th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1861, ...
; sources make no mention of his making good on his threat not to take the oath of office. Just days after the
First Battle of Bull Run, Burnett's fellow Kentuckian,
John J. Crittenden proposed a resolution blaming the war on the disloyal Southerners and defining the war's aim as preservation of the Union without interference in the rights or institutions of the states. Burnett asked that the question be
divided
Division is one of the four basic operations of arithmetic, the ways that numbers are combined to make new numbers. The other operations are addition, subtraction, and multiplication.
At an elementary level the division of two natural numb ...
. His request was granted, but he only found one colleague willing to vote with him against blaming Southerners for the war.
Confederate military service and expulsion
After Congress adjourned on August 6, 1861, Burnett returned home to Cadiz and spoke at a number of pro-Southern rallies. On September 4, 1861, Confederate
Major General
Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...
Leonidas Polk violated Kentucky's neutrality by ordering
Brigadier General
Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...
Gideon Johnson Pillow to occupy
Columbus
Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to:
* Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer
* Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio
Columbus may also refer to:
Places ...
. In response,
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...
captured Paducah on September 6, 1861. With neutrality no longer a tenable option, Burnett presided over a conference of Kentucky's Southern sympathizers that occurred at Russellville between October 29 and October 31, 1861. The self-appointed delegates to this conference called for a sovereignty convention on November 18, 1861 for the purpose of establishing a Confederate government for the state.
In the interim between the two conventions, Burnett traveled to Hopkinsville, where he and
Colonel
Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations.
In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...
W.C.P. Breckinridge raised a Confederate regiment dubbed the
8th Kentucky Infantry
The 8th Kentucky Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War.
Service
The 8th Kentucky Infantry Regiment was organized in September 1861, at Camp Boone in Montgomery County ...
.
[Kerr, p. 68][Craig, "Henry C. Burnett", p. 272] On November 11, 1861, Burnett himself enlisted in the
Confederate States Army
The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...
at Camp Alcorn; he was chosen as colonel of the 8th Kentucky, but never took command.
![Clark House Russellville KY](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a8/Clark_House_Russellville_KY.png)
The sovereignty convention gathered at the
William Forst House
The William Forst House, also known as the Clark House and the First-Clark House, is a historic house located in the Russellville Historic District of Russellville, Kentucky. Built in 1820, it made history between November 18 and 20, 1861, as t ...
in Russellville as scheduled on November 18, 1861. Burnett also presided over this convention.
Fearing for the safety of the delegates, he first proposed postponing proceedings until January 8, 1862, but
Scott County's
George W. Johnson convinced the majority of the delegates to continue.
[Harrison in ''Register'', p. 13] By the third day, the military situation was so tenuous that the entire convention had to be moved to a tower on the campus of
Bethel Female College, a now-defunct institution in Russellville.
The convention passed an ordinance of secession and established a provisional Confederate government for Kentucky. Burnett,
William Preston of
Fayette County and
William E. Simms
William E. Simms (born William Elliott Simms; January 2, 1822 – June 25, 1898) was a U.S. Representative from Kentucky.''The Kentucky Encyclopedia'' gives the name as "Elliott" He also served as a commissioner for the Confederate government o ...
of
Bourbon County were chosen as commissioners for the provisional government and were dispatched to Richmond, Virginia to negotiate with Confederate President
Jefferson Davis
Jefferson F. Davis (June 3, 1808December 6, 1889) was an American politician who served as the president of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865. He represented Mississippi in the United States Senate and the House of Representatives as a ...
to secure Kentucky's admission to the Confederacy.
[Harrison, ''The Civil War in Kentucky'', p. 22] For reasons unexplained by the delegates, Dr.
Luke P. Blackburn
Luke Pryor Blackburn (June 16, 1816September 14, 1887) was an American physician, philanthropist, and politician from Kentucky. He was elected the 28th governor of Kentucky, serving from 1879 to 1883. Until the election of Ernie Fletcher in 200 ...
, a native Kentuckian living in
Mississippi
Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...
, was invited to accompany the commissioners.
[Brown, p. 85] Despite the fact that Kentucky's elected government in
Frankfort had opposed secession, the commissioners convinced Davis to recommend Kentucky's admission to the Confederacy; the Confederate Congress officially admitted Kentucky on December 10, 1861.
Following his successful mission to Richmond, Burnett joined the 8th Kentucky at
Fort Donelson.
[Craig, "Henry C. Burnett", p. 273] On February 16, 1862,
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...
led a combined Federal army-navy attack against the fort.
Most of the Confederate garrison was captured, including the 8th Kentucky, but Burnett escaped in
General
A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry.
In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...
John B. Floyd
John Buchanan Floyd (June 1, 1806 – August 26, 1863) was the 31st Governor of Virginia, U.S. Secretary of War, and the Confederate general in the American Civil War who lost the crucial Battle of Fort Donelson.
Early family life
John Buchan ...
's retreat following the defeat.
This battle ended Burnett's military service.
Burnett's subversive activities did not go unnoticed by his colleagues in Congress. He was absent when the body reconvened December 2, 1861. The following day,
Indiana
Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
representative
W. McKee Dunn introduced a resolution to expel Burnett from Congress. The resolution passed easily, removing Burnett from the seat he had occupied continuously since 1855.
Confederate political service
Burnett represented Kentucky in the Provisional Confederate Congress from November 18, 1861 to February 17, 1862, and served as a member of that body's Finance Committee.
[''Kentucky Members of the Confederate Congress (1861–1862)''] He was then elected as a senator to the
First
First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1).
First or 1st may also refer to:
*World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement
Arts and media Music
* 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...
and
Second Confederate Congress
The 2nd Confederate States Congress, consisting of the Confederate States Senate and the Confederate States House of Representatives, met from May 2, 1864, to March 18, 1865, during the last year of Jefferson Davis's presidency, at the Virginia S ...
es, serving from February 19, 1862 to February 18, 1865.
In the Confederate Senate, he served on the Engrossment and Enrollment and Military Affairs Committees.
On March 29, Confederate president
Jefferson Davis
Jefferson F. Davis (June 3, 1808December 6, 1889) was an American politician who served as the president of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865. He represented Mississippi in the United States Senate and the House of Representatives as a ...
called on the Confederate Congress to pass a
conscription
Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...
bill. The bill would require a three-year term of service for all able-bodied white men between the ages of 18 and 35. At first, the bill was unpopular, but as the military situation grew more desperate for the Confederacy, both houses quickly passed it. Still, the measure caused some to question Davis' military decisions; among them was Burnett, usually one of Davis' staunchest allies. In an April 19, 1862 address to the legislature, Burnett denounced Davis' preference for those who were, like Davis himself, graduates of
West Point. The speech drew such a vigorous positive response from the gallery that some of the most zealous had to be removed.
[Walther, pp. 339–340]
Following the conclusion of the Civil War, Burnett sought an audience with President
Andrew Johnson
Andrew Johnson (December 29, 1808July 31, 1875) was the 17th president of the United States, serving from 1865 to 1869. He assumed the presidency as he was vice president at the time of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Johnson was a Dem ...
, an old congressional colleague, but Johnson told him to go home.
[Craig, "Henry C. Burnett", p. 274] Burnett was indicted for treason at Louisville, but released on bond and never prosecuted.
He partnered with Judge John R. Grace and resumed the practice of law in Cadiz.
He died of cholera in Hopkinsville on September 28, 1866.
Initially buried in the Old Cadiz Cemetery, he was moved to the East End Cemetery in Cadiz.
His tombstone bears no mention of his Confederate service.
See also
*
References
Bibliography
*
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*
*
*
*
*
*
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*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Burnett, Henry C.
1825 births
1866 deaths
19th-century American lawyers
19th-century American politicians
American Disciples of Christ
American members of the Churches of Christ
Confederate States Army officers
Confederate States of America senators
Deaths from cholera
Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Kentucky
Deputies and delegates to the Provisional Congress of the Confederate States
Expelled members of the United States House of Representatives
Kentucky lawyers
People from Cadiz, Kentucky
People from Essex County, Virginia
People of Kentucky in the American Civil War