William Birney

William Birney (May 28, 1819 – August 14, 1907) was an American professor, Union Army general during the American Civil War, attorney and author. An ardent abolitionist, he was noted for encouraging thousands of free black men to join the Union army.

Birney was a son of prominent Southern abolitionist leader James G. Birney and the older brother of Civil War general David B. Birney. Another brother, James M. Birney, served as Lieutenant Governor of Michigan in 1860. A cousin, Humphrey Marshall, was a U.S. Congressman and a general in the Confederate States Army.

Birth and early years William Birney was born May 28, 1819, on his father's plantation near Huntsville, Alabama. In 1864, he marched his regiments (7th USCI, 34th USCI and 35th USCI) to fight in South Carolina as a part of the Department of the South. They were mainly unsuccessful in South Carolina, but were able to defeat confederate forces in Florida, after the Battle of Olustee. In December 1864, the X Corps black regiments were combined with those of the XVIII Corps in the new all-black XXV Corps under Maj. Gen. Godfrey Weitzel. Birney's regiments became the 2nd Division of the XXV Corps, and participated in the last assaults during the Siege of Petersburg in early 1865. He then led his division in the pursuit of Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia during the Appomattox Campaign. Birney was mustered out of the volunteer army on August 24, 1865.

Birney resided in Florida for several years after the war before moving north in 1874 to establish a law practice in Washington, D.C. He served as U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia and as a school board trustee until 1886. He wrote profusely on the subjects of religion and history and authored a biography of his father, James G. Birney and His Times; the Genesis of the Republican Party, in 1890.

Birney died at his home in Forest Glen, Maryland, on August 14, 1907, and was buried in the Oak Hill Cemetery in Georgetown (Washington, D.C.).