Gentleman

Abstract

Burbridge grew up as a member of the Bluegrass gentry in Scott County. His grandfather emigrated from Virginia, like thousands of others in the 1790s, with a Kentucky land warrant for his service in the Revolutionary War. His father built up his holdings of land and slaves to become one of the wealthiest men in Scott County. Stephen would eventually relocate to Logan County, but never appeared to question the culture in which he was raised: He was a wealthy slaveowner descended from a line of wealthy slaveowners. When he assaulted these values as military commander of the state, his contemporaries hated him as a traitor to his class and his race.