William Francis Bartlett

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William Francis Bartlett (1840-76) was an American soldier. He was born at Haverhill, Mass., and studied at Harvard for three years, but left college in 1861 to join the Federal army. He received a captain's commission in August, served in the battle of Ball's Bluff, and at the siege of Yorktown received a wound which necessitated the amputation of his leg. By the spring of 1862 he had recovered sufficiently to graduate with his class at Harvard. He organized the Forty-ninth Massachusetts Volunteers in September, 1862, and served as colonel in General Banks's Louisiana expedition. He was wounded at Port Hudson and again in the Wilderness campaign, was taken prisoner at the explosion of the Petersburg mine, was confined for a time in Libby Prison, and after his release was placed in command of the First Division of the Ninth Army Corps. In June, 1864, he was raised to the rank of brigadier general of volunteers, and in March, 1865, was brevetted major general of volunteers for "gallant and meritorious services during the war." As a soldier he was noted for his intrepidity, coolness, and daring in action. After the war, until the time of his death, he was engaged in business in Richmond, Va. and Pittsfield, Mass.