AHC: Keep General Ambrose Burnside in command until the very end of the ACW

I need help with this for a TL I'm working on. For it I need a Union General with at least decent skills and at least a passing interest in engineering. The best fit for this bill that I have found so far is General Ambrose Burnside since over the course of his life he was a Soldier, inventor, and industrialist. Sadly I also need the person in question to have command over at least a small group of men during 1865 but Burnside was removed from command during the summer of 1864 after the Union loss at The Battle of the Crater. So my challenge for you is to help me create a POD that leaves Burnside in a position of command during 1864. Achieve this by whatever means you please be it changing the outcome of The Battle of the Crater, changing how the people involved where punished in OTL, having Burnside's command given back after is suspension, etc.

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Simplest is for Meade to not interfere in the Battle of the Crater. The trained USCTs go first and follow the plan. It doesn't win the war, but Burnside stays in command and may even get a commendation.
 
When, howm why? Also what do you mean by the Pacific and what would he do there?

The Pacific. Head west from Missouri, keep going straight. Can't miss it.
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Ok, I apologize. The evil monkey in my closet made me do that. :p

Anyways, if by "command" you just mean command of some troops somewhere, there are any number of middle-of-nowhere outposts he could be placed at, or he could be in charge of recruitment somewhere.

Or you could leave him in overall field command and shorten the war that way. After the resulting CSA victory (;)) he will have qualified as being in command until the end of the war.
 
The Pacific. Head west from Missouri, keep going straight. Can't miss it.
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Ok, I apologize. The evil monkey in my closet made me do that. :p

*sarcasticly* rofl, rofl, rofl :rolleyes:

Anyways, if by "command" you just mean command of some troops somewhere, there are any number of middle-of-nowhere outposts he could be placed at, or he could be in charge of recruitment somewhere.

Or you could leave him in overall field command and shorten the war that way. After the resulting CSA victory (;)) he will have qualified as being in command until the end of the war.
Do you really think that he was that bad?
 
Do you really think that he was that bad?
The man himself admitted he was pretty bad when it came to high command. And he adamantly refused a higher posting until the threat of Joe Hooker was brought out.
 
Burnside's march to Fredericksburg actually caught Lee completely by surprise. When Burnside arrived the town and heights were empty. Had he gotten the Army across then matters might have been different. But his pontoon trains had been misplaced (I can't remember why). And so he stayed put giving Lee time to come up.

Burnisde's plans weren't bad at all, he just stuck to them lonnnnngggg after he should have given up on them.
 
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