Rhode Island may be the nation’s smallest state but as we have come to find its contributions to history have made a big impact. Let’s, for example, give some credit to Ambrose Burnside, who was a Civil War Union general, Rhode Island governor and an influential U.S. Senator. Take a look at his photo below and you’ll notice his glorious muttonchops. Yes, it’s said that Burnside gave us the term “sideburns,” still in use today.