Editing Ambrose Burnside (section)

===East Tennessee===
[[File:Ambrose Burnside in Uniform.jpg|thumb|upright=1|Engraving of General Burnside in full dress uniform]]
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Burnside offered to resign his commission altogether but Lincoln declined, stating that there could still be a place for him in the army. Thus, he was placed back at the head of the IX Corps and sent to command the Department of the Ohio, encompassing the states of Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, and Illinois. This was a quiet area with little activity, and the President reasoned that Burnside could not get himself into too much trouble there. However, antiwar sentiment was riding high in the Western states as they had traditionally carried on a great deal of commerce with the South, and there was little in the way of abolitionist sentiment there or a desire to fight for the purpose of ending slavery. Burnside was thoroughly disturbed by this trend and issued a series of orders forbidding "the expression of public sentiments against the war or the Administration" in his department; this finally climaxed with General Order No. 38, which declared that "any person found guilty of treason will be tried by a military tribunal and either imprisoned or banished to enemy lines".

On May 1, 1863, Ohio Congressman [[Clement L. Vallandigham]], a prominent opponent of the war, held a large public rally in [[Mount Vernon, Ohio]] in which he denounced President Lincoln as a "tyrant" who sought to abolish the Constitution and set up a dictatorship. Burnside had dispatched several agents to the rally who took down notes and brought back their "evidence" to the general, who then declared that it was sufficient grounds to arrest Vallandigham for treason. A military court tried him and found him guilty of violating General Order No. 38, despite his protests that he was expressing his opinions publicly. Vallandigham was sentenced to imprisonment for the duration of the war and was turned into a martyr by antiwar Democrats. Burnside next turned his attention to Illinois, where the Chicago ''Times'' newspaper had been printing antiwar editorials for months. The general dispatched a squadron of troops to the paper's offices and ordered them to cease printing.

Lincoln had not been asked or informed about either Vallandigham's arrest or the closure of the Chicago ''Times''. He remembered the section of General Order No. 38 which declared that offenders would be banished to enemy lines and finally decided that it was a good idea so Vallandigham was freed from jail and sent to Confederate hands. Meanwhile, Lincoln ordered the Chicago ''Times'' to be reopened and announced that Burnside had exceeded his authority in both cases. The President then issued a warning that generals were not to arrest civilians or close down newspapers again without the White House's permission.<ref>McPherson, pp. 596–97. McPherson remarked that Burnside's "political judgment proved no more subtle than his military judgment at Fredericksburg."</ref>

Burnside also dealt with Confederate raiders such as [[John Hunt Morgan]].

In the [[Knoxville Campaign]], Burnside advanced to [[Knoxville, Tennessee]], first bypassing the Confederate-held Cumberland Gap and ultimately occupying Knoxville unopposed; he then sent troops back to the Cumberland Gap. Confederate commander Brig. Gen. [[John W. Frazer]] refused to surrender in the face of two Union brigades but Burnside arrived with a third, forcing the surrender of Frazer and 2,300 Confederates.<ref>Korn, p. 104.</ref>

Union Maj. Gen. [[William S. Rosecrans]] was defeated at the [[Battle of Chickamauga]], and Burnside was pursued by [[Lieutenant General (CSA)|Lt. Gen.]] [[James Longstreet]], against whose troops he had battled at Marye's Heights. Burnside skillfully outmaneuvered Longstreet at the [[Battle of Campbell's Station]] and was able to reach his entrenchments and safety in Knoxville, where he was briefly besieged until the Confederate defeat at the [[Battle of Fort Sanders]] outside the city. Tying down Longstreet's corps at Knoxville contributed to Gen. Braxton Bragg's defeat by Maj. Gen. [[Ulysses S. Grant]] at [[Battle of Chattanooga III|Chattanooga]]. Troops under Maj. Gen. [[William T. Sherman]] marched to Burnside's aid, but the siege had already been lifted; Longstreet withdrew, eventually returning to Virginia.<ref name=WWS/>