William Francis Bartlett

William Francis Bartlett (June 6, 1840 – December 17, 1876) was a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War and, later, an executive in the iron industry.

Bartlett enlisted as a private to serve in the Civil War, leaving in the midst of his studies at Harvard College. By the end of the war, he had risen to the grade of brigadier general, U.S. Volunteers and was awarded the honorary grade of brevet major general, U.S. Volunteers. He successively commanded two regiments, a brigade and a division. Over the course of the war, he was wounded four times.

At the close of the war, Bartlett became the manager of several iron works, most notably the Tredegar Iron Works in Richmond, Virginia.

Civil War service Bartlett initially enlisted in the 4th Battalion Massachusetts Infantry, also known as the New England Guards, which was garrisoned to defend Fort Independence in Boston Harbor. At the time, the three forts in Boston were entirely unmanned and Boston harbor almost defenseless. Fort Independence was the only of the three forts equipped with cannon, however most of them were facing the city and not the water.

20th Massachusetts On August 8, 1861, Bartlett was commissioned captain in a new regiment then forming—the 20th Massachusetts Infantry—and given command of Company I. During the siege, on April 24, 1862, Capt. Bartlett was shot in the left knee by Confederate pickets. The wound required the amputation of his leg. Bartlett returned to Boston to recuperate and, during the summer of 1862, finished his degree at Harvard. Bartlett was placed in command of the 57th which was formed in Worcester, Massachusetts. The unit was sent to Virginia before it was fully organized, and Bartlett would not receive his new commission as colonel of the 57th until April 9, 1864, although the commission was made retroactive to August 1863. Bartlett returned to the Army of the Potomac in July 1864.

Brigade command Upon his return, Bartlett was placed in command of a brigade (1st brigade, 1st division of the IX Corps) consisting almost entirely of Massachusetts regiments. In July 1865, the IX Corps was disbanded, however Bartlett remained in the army another year until his resignation on July 18, 1866.

Post-war career

After the war, Bartlett sought employment as a manager of industrial manufacturing. He became the manager of Tredegar Iron Works in Richmond, Virginia, the Pomeroy Iron Works and the Powhatan Iron Company. He eventually settled in Pittsfield, Massachusetts where he died from tuberculosis in December 1876.

In 1904, a statue of William Francis Bartlett was dedicated in the Massachusetts State House.