Weird Island

15. WEIRD BEARD: The First Set of Sideburns

Episode Summary

Weird Beard! Okay, so technically sideburns aren’t considered a beard. But, did you know that Rhode Island was home to the first set of sideburns? The state is known for a lot of “firsts,” but this might be the strangest one!

Episode Notes

Check this out! 130 years of facial hair trends, in one chart

Episode Source Material:

Episode Transcription

Hi! I’m Sara, and you’re listening to Weird Island. Each week I’ll be telling you about the strangest stories I can dig up, from my tiny little state of Rhode Island. This week, I’ll be telling you about a weird Rhode Island “first” - the first set of sideburns.
Rhode Island is known for a lot of firsts. It’s home to the first Baptist church. The first diner. The first Polo match in the US. It was the first colony to renounce allegiance to Great Britain and declare independence. It’s the first state to kickstart the Industrial Revolution in America. It’s famous for having implemented the first traffic law. Rhode Island created the first clam cake. But with all of those monumental firsts based in little Rhode Island, here I am, talking about how Rhode Island was home to the first set of sideburns.
I’ve never really spent much time actively thinking about sideburns. I really only have thought about them after seeing someone with really notable, standout sideburns. And usually the thought at that time is more along the lines of, “Uh, why?”
But if you had asked me about the name--sideburns--I would have said it was a pretty standard, descriptive name, seeing as sideburns are on the side of your face.
But, come to find out--the word “sideburns” was not intended to be descriptive at all. Sideburns are named after a person. And, okay, that’s normal. There are so many things and brands and items named after people--Graham Crackers, the Heimlich Maneuver, Kellogg’s cereal--people love to name things after themselves (and also sometimes other people). And I wouldn’t have been surprised to find out some hairstyles are named after people who became really well known for rocking that style--like “the Rachel” haircut, from friends or the Van Dyke beard. Wikipedia has a whole page devoted to “Eponymous hairstyles.”
But, I didn’t expect that was the case with sideburns--because the name just seemed appropriate. Sideburns are on the side of your face. I never considered the “burns” part of the word, but if asked I probably would have come up with some sort of reasonable explanation--like, “Of course, it’s because it looks like a burn on the side of your face.”
But, in reality we have one special guy to thank for this hairstyle--and his name is Ambrose Burnside. His story is kind of a strange one. General Ambrose Burnside is rather notable for a number of reasons. He was described as “dashing, charming and humble.” He was not only a Civil War veteran, but a commander of the principal Union Army --the Army of the Potomac. He invented a breech-loading rifle that was widely used during the Civil War. He was the first president of the National Rifle Association, became governor of Rhode Island, and finished out his career as a senator. There was a comical failed engagement, spies and intrigue. And yet, despite all of these claims to fame, he is best-known for his facial hair. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary’s history of the word, “Burnside was a truly unimpressive general, but his facial hair was on point.” So there you have it.
As a boy, Burnside apprenticed to become a tailor, but realized it wasn’t what he wanted to do with his life. His father helped him get into West Point Academy, and after he graduated, though he had mostly missed the Mexican-American War, he went to Mexico City to perform garrison duties until the war closed out. After the war, he served two years on the western frontier, protecting the Western mail routes through Nevada to Claifornia. During that time, he was wounded, taking an arrow in the neck. And while he spent time recovering, Burnside had an idea.
At the time, army cavalrymen used sabers to fight on horseback, because muzzle-loaded rifles were too hard to load while mounted. So Burnside came up with an idea for a light, breech-loaded rifle that could be used on horseback--an idea he would later bring to life. It was also at this time that Burnside met a young woman named Charlotte “Lottie” Moon, who he proposed to. But, according to legend, when their wedding day came around and the minister asked if she would take Ambrose Burnside as her husband, she paused before responding, “No siree Bob, I won’t,” before walking out the door. When I heard this story, I thought, “there is no way that happened.” But then I read that Lottie later became engaged to 16 different young soldiers at the same time, stating that “If they died in battle, they’d have died happy. And if they lived, I didn’t give a damn.” So maybe it’s true.
After all of this, Burnside relocated to Rhode Island, where he was appointed to command Fort Adams. It was in Rhode Island that he met his wife and where he started manufacturing his Burnside Carbine--in Bristol. It looked like success was around the corner--as the Bristol Rifle Works was poised to secure a large government contract for the innovative rifles. But, poor Burnside would be struck with bad luck again. The contract fell through, leaving Burnside bankrupt. He sold everything he had to pay off his debts, including his patents, and took a job in Chicago, working for the Illinois Central Railroad. He eventually rose to company treasurer, paid off his debts, and was able to move back to Rhode Island, where his wife had been living with relatives waiting on his return.
As the Civil War broke out, both Burnside and his rifles were called into service. Burnside began as colonel of the 1st Rhode Island Volunteer Infantry and quickly rose through the ranks to a position of prominence. And 55K Burnside carbines were ordered, making them the third most used carbine in the war, landing in hands of both Union and Confederate soldiers. Today, some military scholars believe Burnside rose through the ranks due in part to the popularity of his Burnside carbine, because Burnside just wasn’t a very good general. Even he admitted it. President Lincoln offered Burnside command of the Union Army of the Potomac TWICE, and he refused both times, believing he wasn’t up to the task. According to the New England Historical Society’s article on Burnside, when he finally received orders to take command of the army in 1862, it’s said he wept like a child.
Turns out, his reticence was warranted, because Burnside led the army to a devastating defeat at the Battle of Fredericksburg which resulted in nearly 13K casualties and defined his military career. He would later resign from military service after another failed battle--the Battle of the Crater--but not before having an incredibly odd experience I thought was worth mentioning.
At one point, two women, a mother and daughter, were apprehended and accused of being Confederate spies. Burnside was called in, and he felt sympathy for the two women and decided to handle their punishment himself. He put them both under house arrest in a Cincinnati hotel, where they were allowed to go out, but were under surveillance. Not long after they were apprehended, another young woman was caught and brought before Burnside--and wouldn’t you know it, it was his old fiance, Lottie Moon. He put her under house arrest as well, alongside the two women who ended up being her sister and mother. The two sisters are famous for their espionage today. So, it sounds like he dodged a bullet when she called off their marriage!
Burnside’s life improved significantly after the Civil War. He returned home to Rhode Island, was appointed director of several railroads, won the election to become governor of Rhode Island, and then finished out his life as a US Senator. But before his death, he became a household name--and it wasn’t for his military service or his firearms or his super weird ex-fiance turned spy story. It was for his incredible facial hair.
At the time, men were allowed to have facial hair in the military, and Burnside sported a particularly excellent look. Let me paint you a picture, because these aren’t any old sideburns. Burnside had thick, bushy strips of hair that ran down the side of his face and all the way to the bottom of his cheek and connected to a full mustache. But, his chin was clean-shaven. They were so iconic during his military and political career that people began calling them “Burnside Whiskers.”
Newspaper references to his iconic look go back as far as 1866, when the Philadelphia Evening Telegraph described the trial of three thieves, who were notably attractive. The most well-groomed and handsome one sported “Burnside Whiskers” that very much impressed the ladies in attendance. Somewhere along the line, Burnside Whiskers were called just burnsides and later the word was reversed to become “sideburns.” Probably because, like I mentioned earlier, they’re on the side of your face, so it just makes sense.
Of course, the hairstyle existed before Burnside popularized it and became the namesake, but Rhode Island was home to the first sideburns by that name. Today, Burnside’s unique look--sideburns attached to a mustache with a clean-shaven chin--is referred to as “Friendly Mutton Chops,” and it’s part of a family of styles called the “Imperial Beard Family.” It’s not a super popular look anymore, but while Burnside was alive, it really was! He wasn’t a one-off. There’s an interesting visual--I’m linking it in the show notes--showing Men’s Facial Hair Trends, based on sociologist Dwight Robinson’s study of the Illustrated London News from 1842 to 1972. It’s not a perfect method of study, by any means, but you’ll see that most men were not clean-shaven prior to 1900. Sideburns really hit their peak in the 1850s and 60s. And the more specific look “sideburns & mustache” peaked in 1878 during the height of Burnside’s political career. Of course, this is a study of a London paper, but Burnside’s look became globally popular!
Sideburns remained popular throughout the 1800s, but the look’s popularity declined in the early 20th century, when cleanshavenness became the new normal. During WWI, in order to securely seal a gas mask, men had to be clean-shaven, and beards haven’t been allowed in the military ever since. This, in addition to the advent of the safety razor, dramatically shifted the facial hair trends, and today 80+% are clean-shaven--vs. Robinson’s estimate of less than 5% in 1887. And there hasn’t been a president with facial hair since Taft left office in 1913--over 100 years ago!
Sideburns did reemerge for a moment in the 1950s and 60s, as stars like Marlon Brando and Elvis Presley popularized the look for a new crowd. Sideburns transitioned from a military and conservative style to a symbol of counterculture, associated with rock and roll, bikers and greasers as well as hippies. And even women’s sideburn styles appeared.
Today, tons of magazines recommend sideburns, whether male or female, with a beard or with a clean-shaven look. (though vocabulary.com’s definition of sideburns claims that if your sideburns cover your chin, they’re no longer sideburns, they’re just a beard). Perhaps the Burnside look--or the Friendly Mutton Chops--will come back into style, but I’d personally prefer not to see that.
Well, that’s all I’ve got! I’ll leave you with this last fun fact, though, if you’re now inspired to grow some sideburns. There seems to be one fact that every online magazine agrees on when it comes to trimming sideburns: You should never use your ears as a guide to get them even. It turns out, most people have uneven ears. Mine were super wonky when I really looked! So, go find a mirror. Now, quickly! And I’ll see you next week, as we uncover more stories like this one, of all things weird and wonderful in the little state of Rhode Island.
Thank you so much for listening! If you like this episode, share it with family and friends! Or leave a rating or review wherever you get your podcasts. If you have a topic you’d like to hear about, you can email me at Weird Rhode Island at Gmail.com. Until next time!