DOB/DOD: April 22, 1841 (New Haven, CT) – May 29, 1911 (Portland, OR); 70 years old
MARITAL STATUS: Married Sarah J. McBride (1842-1915) on November 17, 1862, in Washington, D.C.
CHILDREN: Two daughters, Cornelia Burke Nugent (1856-1934) and Margaret R. Burke (1865-1937).
ENLISTMENT: June 10, 1858.
DISCHARGE: Retired from the Army on October 21, 1899.
FAMILY: Born to Richard (1816-1880) and Margaret Howard Burke (?-?) [both parents born in County Cork, Ireland, according to General Burke’s death certificate]. Two brothers, Richard (1846-1900) and William (1849-?).
MEDAL OF HONOR CITATION
AWARDED FOR ACTIONS DURING: Civil War
BRANCH OF SERVICE: Army
UNIT: Company B, 2nd U.S. Infantry
DATE OF ISSUE AND PRESENTATION: April 21, 1892 (30 years later)
AGE ON THE DAY OF THE EVENT: 21
CITATION:
The President of the United States of America, in the name of Congress, takes pleasure in presenting the Medal of Honor to First Sergeant Daniel Webster Burke, United States Army, for extraordinary heroism on 20 September 1862, while serving with Company B, 2nd U.S. Infantry, in action at Shepherdstown Ford, Virginia. First Sergeant Burke voluntarily attempted to spike a gun in the face of the enemy.
Civil War Medal of Honor Recipient. He served in the Civil War as a 1st Sergeant in Company B, 2nd United States Regular Infantry. He was awarded the CMOH for his bravery at Shepherdstown Ford, Virginia, on September 20, 1862. During a retreat of a small Union force in the face of a larger Rebel one, a number of artillery pieces had been abandoned and rendered unusable. However, one gun was overlooked. Sergeant Burke volunteered to try to spike it, which he proceeded to attempt to do heedless of the Confederates, who were trying to prevent him from achieving his task. When the fire became too great, he reluctantly returned to the Union lines without being able to disable the gun after repeated attempts. However, he was warmly commended by his superior officers for his coolness and bravery. Later in the War, he was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Regular Army and was awarded brevets of Captain, Major, and Lieutenant Colonel for his gallantry during the Battle of Gettysburg, where he was wounded in the fighting in the Wheatfield area. He remained in the Army after the war, retiring with the rank of Brigadier General in 1899. His medal was awarded to him on April 21, 1892.
From Beyer, W. F., & Keydel, O. F. (2000). Deeds of valor: How America’s Civil War Heroes won The Congressional Medal of Honor. Smithmark Publishers.
ATTEMPTED TO SPIKE AN ABANDONED GUN
When the Union troops fell back across the Potomac at Shepherdstown Ford, Virginia, on the 20th of September 1862, they had to leave a number of fieldpieces to the advancing Confederates. The enemy, however, gained nothing by their capture, as almost every gun had been spiked. As the Second U.S. Infantry was retiring, an officer of the regiment presently remembered that one large gun had been overlooked and left unspiked.
Who is willing to go and spike that gun?” he inquired.
First Sergeant Daniel W. Burke of Company B, at once offered his services. The fire from the enemy was severe, but nothing daunted; he started out on his perilous task and boldly attempted to unfit this gun for further service. After repeated attempts to fulfill his mission, he saw that the task was impossible to accomplish and reluctantly returned to his own lines, which he reached in safety. He was thereupon complimented by his superior officers for his display of coolness and courage.
From the Hartford Courant June 2, 1911
General Daniel Webster Burke, U.S. Army, retired, a native of Connecticut, died Tuesday in Portland, Oregon, where he had lived a number of years. He was born on April 22, 1841, and enlisted in the Army on June 10, 1858, when only 17 years old. He was a Private, Corporal, and First Sergeant in Companies E and B, Second Infantry, and became a Second Lieutenant when he was 21 and a Captain five years later. He was made a Major of the Twenty-third Infantry on August 13, 1894, Lieutenant Colonel in 1897, and on September 8, 1899, he became Colonel of the Seventeenth Infantry. The following month, he became Brigadier General and shortly afterward retired at the end of more than forty years of service. General Burke was honored for distinguished work in the Army. He was brevetted a Captain on July 2, 1863, and Major on January 22, 1865, for “gallant and meritorious services in the battle of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.” Congress awarded him a medal in 1892 for distinguished gallantry in action at Shepherdstown Ford, West Virginia.
From The Our Sunday Visitor in Lincoln, Nebraska, June 16, 1911
DEATH OF DISTINGUISHED CATHOLIC SOLDIER
General Daniel Webster Burke, retired, who died at Portland, Oregon, on May 30, was 70 years old. He was born in Connecticut on April 22, 1841, and served in the Army as a young man. He rose from the ranks to a Second Lieutenant in the Second Infantry when he was 21 years of age and became a Captain five years later. He was made a Major of the Twenty-third Infantry on August 13, 1894, Lieutenant Colonel in 1897, and on September 8, 1899, achieved the Colonelcy of the Seventeenth Infantry. The following month, he became Brigadier General and shortly afterward retired at the end of more than forty years of service. General Burke was honored for distinguished work in the Army. He was brevetted a Captain on July 2, 1863, and Major on January 22, 1867, for “gallant and meritorious services in the Battle of Gettysburg.” Congress awarded him a medal in 1892 for distinguished gallantry in action at Shepherdstown Ford, West Virginia. Of General Burke, the Catholic Sentinel says:
“Although the general had a distinguished career as a soldier of his country, he is more to be esteemed as a soldier of Christ. We are taught by the inspired writer that ‘the patient man is better than the valiant, and he that ruleth his spirit, than he that taketh cities.’ Self-conquest is, after all, the supreme achievement of every truly commendable life; a man’s most formidable enemies are those of his own household, and when these are put to route, the issues of other conflicts are relatively unimportant.
“General Burke was one of those men whom the passing show never distracted from the vivid realization of the meaning and end of his own existence. He was permeated with faith, and in the light of that faith, he aimed steadily at the mark. In all that pertained to the fulfillment of his duties as a Catholic, his faithfulness was well-nigh perfect. Holy Mass and the sacraments were to him fountains of refreshment and delight. He loved his religion and never found its practice irksome. In his private life, he was pre-eminently a man of prayer. He had a special fondness for the rosary and a particular relish for a sermon devoted to the honor of Heaven’s Queen. And the piety of his soul manifested itself in the gentleness and amiability of his manner. The fine courtesy that always distinguished him was in him. Christian charity applied at all points of social contact. He was a gentleman, not by artifice or studied affectation, but by reason of the intrinsic goodness of his Christian spirit. The confidence, respect, and affection which he inspired in those who knew him were the reflected beauty of the cultured, righteous soul.”
Buried in Arlington National Cemetery, 1 Memorial Drive, Arlington, Virginia; Section 2, Grave 3739. Photo by Jeff DeWitt.
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