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. Early life Bartlett, the son of Charles Leonard Bartlett and his wife Harriett Dorothy Plummer, was born in Haverhill, Massachusetts, attended Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts and entered Harvard College in 1858. The Civil War began during his junior year and, almost immediately after hearing of the surrender of Fort Sumter, Bartlett enlisted as a private with the Massachusetts Volunteer Militia.