William Henry Gilder (August 16, 1838 – February 5, 1900), was an American soldier, journalist, explorer and writer.

Biography

He was born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, the son of a clergyman, also named William Henry Gilder. At the beginning of the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, the younger Gilder enlisted in the 5th New York Infantry ( Duryée's

Zouave The Zouaves were a class of light infantry regiments of the French Army serving between 1830 and 1962 and linked to French North Africa; as well as some units of other countries modelled upon them. The zouaves were among the most decorated unit ...

s), was transferred to the 40th New York, and was mustered out with the rank of

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

and

brevet Brevet may refer to: Military * Brevet (military), higher rank that rewards merit or gallantry, but without higher pay * Brevet d'état-major, a military distinction in France and Belgium awarded to officers passing military staff college * Aircre ...

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

. During a large part of the war he served on the staff of Gen.

Thomas W. Egan Thomas Wilberforce Egan (1836 – February 24, 1887) was a Union Army officer who led the Mozart Regiment during most of the American Civil War, later becoming a general. Early life Egan was born in New York City of Irish immigrant parents in 1 ...

. From 1871 to 1877, he was managing editor of the

Newark Newark most commonly refers to: * Newark, New Jersey, city in the United States * Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey; a major air hub in the New York metropolitan area Newark may also refer to: Places Canada * Niagara-on-the ...

''Register'' and from 1878 to 1880 was second in command on the expedition of

Frederick Schwatka Frederick Gustavus Schwatka (29 September 1849 – 2 November 1892) was a United States Army lieutenant with degrees in medicine and law, and was a noted explorer of northern Canada and Alaska. Early life and career Schwatka was born in Galena ...

to King William Land in search of the relics of Sir John Franklin. This expedition was marked by the longest sledge journey on record at that time — 3,251 statute miles. He accompanied the De Long expedition on ''Rodgers'' under Captain Berry and, after the burning of the vessel on the western shore of Bering Strait, made a midwinter journey of nearly 2,000 miles (3,200 km) across

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...

to telegraph to the government the news of the disaster. He afterwards participated in the search for De Long in the

Lena Lena or LENA may refer to: Places * Léna Department, a department of Houet Province in Burkina Faso * Lena, Manitoba, an unincorporated community located in Killarney-Turtle Mountain municipality in Manitoba, Canada * Lena, Norway, a village in � ...

delta. In 1883 he was in

Tongking Tonkin, also spelled ''Tongkin'', ''Tonquin'' or ''Tongking'', is an exonym referring to the northern region of Vietnam. During the 17th and 18th centuries, this term referred to the domain ''Đàng Ngoài'' under Trịnh lords' control, includi ...

as a war correspondent during the French-Annamese conflict and in 1884 visited the region of the earthquakes in Spain. On his expeditions and travels he was a correspondent of the ''

New York Herald The ''New York Herald'' was a large-distribution newspaper based in New York City that existed between 1835 and 1924. At that point it was acquired by its smaller rival the ''New-York Tribune'' to form the '' New York Herald Tribune''. His ...

''. He published ''Schwatka's Search: Sledging in the Arctic in Quest of the Franklin Records'' (1881) and ''Ice-Pack and Tundra'' (1883). He was the brother of Richard Watson Gilder, Jeannette Leonard Gilder and

Joseph Benson Gilder Joseph Benson Gilder (June 29, 1858 – December 9, 1936) was an American editor. He was the brother of Richard Watson Gilder and Jeannette Leonard Gilder and the explorer William Henry Gilder. Biography Gilde was the son of the clergyman Willia ...

Notes

References

External links

* * American explorers Explorers of the Arctic Union Army officers 1838 births 1900 deaths Writers from Philadelphia 19th-century American journalists American male journalists 19th-century American male writers Journalists from Pennsylvania {{AmericanCivilWar-bio-stub