He became a seaman after learning the trade at the ports in Swansboro and Beaufort, a nearby town situated in Carteret County.

After acquiring the skills needed to become a merchant captain, Burns sailed along the East Coast of the United States, all the way north up to Maine.

[2] Burns received financial support for his trading activities from Edward Pasteur, a physician and local political leader from New Bern.

[10] For over two hours, Burns led Snap Dragon away from danger, toward Ship Rock passage, which unknowingly, was blocked by two British brigs.

[11][12] The next morning, Burns and his crew encountered HMS Dominica, another British man of war, but again they successfully escaped.

Months before he completed his third cruise in 1814, Burns's wife Joanna and son Owen left him to live with relatives in Jones County.

In September, Joanna died, leaving her son in the custody of her family for five years before Burns obtained legal guardianship over Owen.

[2] From the wealth he gained from privateering, Burns became a shipbuilder at Swansboro, North Carolina, and made investments in local businesses.

[16] During much of the 1820s, he managed a store and taproom on his Beaufort property, and also had a partnership in a Taylor's Creek salt distribution company.

[17] Among other things, he also co-owned brick kilns used by the federal government to build Fort Macon, in the largest public works project in the history of the area, and enslaved 11 people, whose forced labor was used for his businesses and on his 340-acre (1.4 km2) plantation in Carteret County.

[16] Burns's political career started with his 1821 election to represent Carteret County in the North Carolina House of Commons and his appointment to serve as the commissioner of a local canal connecting Neuse and Newport Rivers.

[18] In 1835 President Andrew Jackson appointed him keeper of the Brant Island Shoal Light, a position he held until his death.