Birth and Early Years
Burns was born in Coshocton, Ohio, son of future U.S. congressman Joseph Burns and a distant relative of George Washington through his mother's family. He entered the United States Military Academy in 1842 and graduated 28th in his class in 1847, a year late due to failing English as a freshman. He accepted a commission as a second lieutenant in the infantry and served in the Mexican-American War without seeing any combat. He was then assigned to various army posts in the Old West and Southwest, marrying in Arkansas in 1849. He served on recruiting duty in Philadelphia from 1854–1856 and then as a regimental Quartermaster in Florida during the Third Seminole War (1856–1857). After the conclusion of that conflict, Burns was part of an expedition sent to Utah in 1857 to quell Mormon unrest. In 1858, he accepted a staff commission to serve as Chief Commissary of Subsistence for Albert Sidney Johnston, with the rank of captain.
Read more about this topic: William Wallace Burns
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