A lawyer when the war erupted, Burbridge raised the 26th Kentucky infantry and was commissioned its Colonel. As part of the Union Army of the Ohio, the regiment took part in the Battle of Shiloh in April, 1862. Promoted to Brigadier General of Volunteers on June 9, 1862, Burbridge commanded a brigade in the XIII Corps during the Arkansas Post and Vicksburg campaigns. Assigned temporarily, at first, to command the District of Kentucky, Burbridge relieved General Jeremiah Boyle in February, 1864. As Civil Administrator, he incensed the people of Kentucky and was charged with interference in the general election of November, 1864. He was removed in January, 1865.
As part of Grant's spring offensive, Burbridge was ordered to mount a raid into southwest Virginia, aimed at saltworks and lead mines near Saltville, Virginia. To forestall such a raid, Confederate General John Hunt Morgan staged his own raid into Kentucky from Virginia in June, 1864, so Burbridge abandoned his plan in order to follow Morgan. After a forced march of ninety miles in twenty-four hours, he caught the dismounted portion of Morgan's command at Mount Sterling and dispersed it.
Unable to prevent the taking of Lexington and then Cynthiana, he did keep Morgan from fully exploiting the situation by staying as close as possible to his rear guard. At Cynthiana, June 12, 1864, Burbridge caught Morgan again and delivered a crushing defeat, capturing or scattering Morgan's entire command. In recognition of his success, he was brevetted Major General of Volunteers and was congratulated by President Lincoln, among others. He also led two raids against Saltville in the fall and winter of 1864; the first raid was repulsed and the second was only partly successful.
Because Burbridge had joined the Federal army, he found that he was not welcome in Kentucky after the war and died in Brooklyn, New York, on December 2, 1894.
Confederate General Benjamin Hardin Helm
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