Henry Lawrence Burnett
Henry Lawrence Burnett (December 26, 1838 – January 4, 1916) was an American lawyer and, after serving as a major in the Cavalry Corps (Union Army), he was a colonel and Judge Advocate in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He was a prosecutor in the trial that followed the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.[1] He was appointed to the grade of brevet brigadier general of volunteers in 1866, to rank from March 13, 1865.
Henry Lawrence Burnett
December 26, 1838
Youngstown, Ohio, U.S.
January 4, 1916 (aged 77)
New York City, New York, U.S.
1861–1865
Early life[edit]
Burnett was born in Youngstown, Ohio, in 1838. He was the son of Henry Burnett (1801–1876), an abolitionist, and Nancy (née Jones) Burnett (d. 1880).[2] His paternal grandfather, Samuel Burnett, a native of Morristown, New Jersey, was well educated and at one time was prominent and influential. He had a considerable fortune, but lost most of his property during the Revolutionary War, along with Robert Morris,[2] and emigrated west to Ohio around 1798.[3] He was also a descendant of William Burnett, a colonial governor of New York and New Jersey.[4]
Determined not to become a farmer, he ran away from home to get an education. He attended Chester Academy and, later, Hiram College where he was taught by later President James A. Garfield.[5]
In 1855, he began his studies at Ohio State National Law School, in Poland, Ohio, graduating in 1859.[1] Following his graduation, he began reading law with Judge Benjamin F. Hoffman, law partner of David Tod, who later served as Governor of Ohio. He was admitted to the bar in 1860, and began practicing in Warren, Ohio.[5]