Liberty, Indiana - May 19, 2006
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All Photographs Copyright © 2006 by Robert E Pence
Liberty, Indiana (population 2,000) is the seat of Union County. The 1890-1891limestone courthouse was designed by George W. Bunting of Indianapolis. He
designed eight Indiana courthouses, but only this one and the Wells County
Courthouse at Bluffton are Romanesque. In July, 1891, after the building was
complete and occupied, the 100-foot tower collapsed. There were no reported
injuries, but reconstruction took almost nine months. Ambrose E. Burnside was born in Liberty in 1824 (Some sources erroneously
say Liberty, Maryland; the error is traceable to an 1882 biography by Ben
Perley Poore). As an adult he moved to Rhode Island and served a brief, not-
illustrious military career there. In 1853 he invented a breech-loading carbine,
but the army rejected it and he went into bankruptcy. Later, during the Civil
War, his creditors made millions from the patent.
Photo by Matthew Brady ca. 1862
Found on Wikipedia In the Civil War, Burnside attained the rank of Major General in the Union
Army, but resigned his commission after mismanaging the attack on
Petersburg, Virginia. After his resignation he served three terms as governor
of Rhode Island and was serving that state in the United States Senate at the
time of his death in 1881. His name became associated with the style of
facial hair now known as sideburns. The courthouse was undergoing renovation when I took these photos, and I
wasn't able to go inside.
