BURTON, Henry S., soldier, b. in New York in 1818 ; d. in Fort Adams, Newport, R. I., 4 April, 1869. He was appointed to the U. S. military academy from Vermont, was graduated in 1839, and served as second lieutenant of the 3d artillery in the Florida war from 1839 till 1842. He was made first lieutenant, 11 Nov., 1839, and was an assistant instructor at West Point from 16 June, 1843, till 5 Aug., 1846. He served in the Mexican war as lieutenant-colonel of New York volunteers, distinguished himself by his defence of La Paz. Lower California, and was also engaged at Todos Santos. He was made captain, 22 Sept., 1847, and remained in California on duty in various forts most of the time till 1862, when, having been pro- moted to major on 14 May, 1861, he had charge of the prisoners of war at Fort Delaware until Sep- tember, 1863. He was made colonel of the 5th ar- tillery, 11 Aug., 1863, and commanded the artillery reserve of the army of the Potomac from January 1ill May, 1864. He was inspector of artillery in the Richmond campaign, and held the same office in the department of the east from 7 Sept. till 2 Dec, 1864, when he became a member of the retir- ing board, and served there till 15 May, 1865. He was brevetted brigadier-general, U. S. army, 13 March, 1865, for services at the capture of Peters- burg, and commanded his regiment, stationed in various forts, for the remainder of his life. From October, 1868, till March, 1869, he was member of a court-martial in New York city.
BURTON, Napier Christie, British soldier, b.
in America in 1759 ; d. in England in January,
1835. He entered the service in August, 1775, as
ensign of the 22d regiment, and was made captain
in September. He served in the Jerseys during the
winter of 1779-'80, in the actions of Elizabethtown
and Springfield in 1780, went to Portsmouth, Va.,
in August, and thence to South Carolina. He was
engaged in the affairs of the Catawba and Yadkin,
in the battles of Guilford and Cross Creek, and
was taken prisoner at Yorktown. He was made
lieutenant-colonel in 1789, served in Flanders, and
was appointed lieutenant-governor of Upper Cana-
da in 1799. He became lieutenant-general, 1 Jan.,
1805, general, 4 June, 1814, and from 1796 till 1806
was incinlicr of parliament for Beverley.
BURTON, Ralph, British soldier, d. in 1768.
He was lieutenant-colonel of the 48th foot, and
was wounded at Braddock's defeat. He com
manded the 3d brigade in the expedition against
Louisburg in 1758, was wounded at the capture of
<5uebec, and commanded the reserve on the Plains
of Abraham. He was made lieutenant-governor of
Quebec, brigadier-general in 1760, and major-gen-
eral, 10 July, 1762. In Gen. Murray's operations
at the reduction of Montreal he commanded the
1st brigade.
BURTON, Robert, soldier, b. in Mecklenburg
CO., Va., in 1747 ; d. in Granville co., N. C, in 1825.
He was a planter, removed to Granville about
1775, and served in the revolutionary army, attaining the rank of colonel. From 1787 till" 1788 he
was a member of congress under the confederation.
In 1801 he was a member of a commission to fix the
boundary between the Carolinas and Georgia.
BURTON, Warren, author, b. in Wilton, N. H.,
13 Nov., 1800; d. in Salem, Mass., 6 June, 1866.
Having attended the district school of his native
town, he prepared himself for Harvard, and was
graduated there in 1821. After teaching for some
time, he entered the Cambridge theological school,
and, on 5 March, 1828, was ordained at East Cam
bridge, Mass., but, after a brief ministry, devoted
himself to objects of reform, still continuing to
preach occasionally. He was a minister at large
in Boston from 1844 till 1848, chaplain of the
Worcester prison in 1849, to the state senate in 1852,
to the house in 1858 and 1860, and to the state con-
vention in 1853. He labored to promote true cul-
ture, to raise the condition of schools, and especially
to secure universal attention to the sphere of home
education, by lectures, meetings for discussion, and
through the newspaper press. His publications are
" Cheering Views of Man and Providence " ; " My
Religious Experience at my Native Home " (1829) ;
"Essay on thi' Dinne Agency in the Material Uni-
verse," maintaining the immediate activity of the
Creator in all his w -rks (1834) ; " Uncle Sam's
Recommendations .f Phrenology" (New York,
1842) ; " District School as it was " (Boston, 1850,
republished in England) ; " Helps to Education in
the Homes of Our Country" (1863); "Discipline
of the Observing Faculties" (New York, 1865);
" Scenery Showing, or W rd-Paintings of the
Beautiful, Picturesque, and Grand in Nature " ; be-
sides articles in annuals and periodicals.
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BURTON, William Evans, actor, b. in London, England, 24 Sept., 1804; d. in New York, 10 Feb., 1860. His father, George Burton, was the author of “Biblical Researches” and other writings, and was likewise a printer. Burton was a pupil at St. Paul's school in his native city, an institution associated also with the dramatic names of Elliston and Mathews. At the age of eighteen, in consequence of the death of his father, the youth was called to take charge of the printing-office; and also to be the main-stay of a widowed mother. His first effort was to establish a monthly magazine. The attempt was a failure, but it brought him theatrical acquaintances, and under their influence he presently drifted toward the stage. The first step, as usual, was to join an amateur dramatic society, and it is said that about this time he gave a performance of “Hamlet” somewhere on the Strand. In 1825 he was associated with a provincial company acting at Norwich, and elsewhere in England, and he played low comedy. His aspirations at the start were for the tragic, and it is known that late in life he still at times entertained the fancy that nature had intended him to be a tragedian. This is a peculiarity of mental bias by no means unusual with actors; and it is furthermore to be observed that, in actual experience, tragic actors are often found to be cheerful, and even hilarious, as private individuals, while comedians are extremely apt to prove serious, pensive, and even melancholy. Burton was one of the funniest creatures that ever lived, but his interior nature was thoughtful and saturnine. He thought, felt, and understood tragedy, but when he came to act, he was all comedian. At the outset of his career he led the usual life of an itinerant actor. There is a tradition that in the course of his wanderings he once played before George IV. at Windsor. His first professional appearance in London
