Henry Harnden

Henry Harnden (March 4, 1823 – March 17, 1900) was an American sailor, Republican politician, and Wisconsin pioneer. He served as a Union Army officer during the American Civil War and led the Wisconsin cavalry regiment which was credited in the capture of Confederate president Jefferson Davis. After the war, he was granted an honorary brevet to brigadier general. He also went on to serve one term in the Wisconsin State Assembly, representing eastern Jefferson County.

Early life Henry Harnden was born in March 1823 at Wilmington, Massachusetts. He had a common school education there, but left school at age 18 to work as a deckhand on a merchant ship, inspired by his uncles' tales of their seafaring careers. He traveled at sea for five years, visiting the west coast of Africa, navigating around Cape Horn, and traveling along the entire west coast of South America and Mexico. In subsequent trips, he spent time in the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico, making trips between the south coast of the United States and the islands. He soon gave up farming and engaged in lumbering instead, establishing and managing a steam-powered sawmill. The regiment was relocated to Kenosha, Wisconsin, where they completed their recruitment and formation. Harnden was promoted to sergeant, and then captain of nowrap|Company L. He spent most of the remainder of 1864 recuperating, but returned to his regiment around the time of the Battle of Nashville, and joined General James H. Wilson's pursuit of the Confederate forces under John Bell Hood into northern Alabama. He was granted two honorary brevets, first to colonel then to brigadier general.

Harnden died of pneumonia at his home in Madison, and was buried there in the historic Forest Hill Cemetery.

Due to the controversies surrounding the capture of Jefferson Davis, Harnden authored a short book, The Capture of Jefferson Davis, published in 1898.

Personal life and family Henry Harnden was the son of Jonathan and Rhoda Harnden, and was a descendant of Puritan settlers of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. His earliest American ancestors settled at Andover, Massachusetts, in 1640. His grandfather was a lieutenant and his grandfather's brother was a captain in the continental army during the American Revolutionary War. One of his maternal uncles served aboard the USS Hornet and was wounded when it famously captured and sunk the British ship HMS Peacock in the War of 1812. Two of his brothers and thirteen of his nephews served in the Union Army or Union Navy during the Civil War.

He married Mary A. Lightner in December 1848. His wife was a daughter of a Boston attorney. They had four daughters together.

Published works