William Henry Harman (February 17, 1828 – March 2, 1865) was a

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

in the Virginia militia and

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

in the

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

, who was killed in action during the Battle of Waynesboro, Virginia (the town where he was born), on March 2, 1865.Allardice, Bruce S
''More Generals in Gray''.
Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1995. (pbk.). Retrieved September 16, 2012. p. 116. A lawyer, Harman had served as a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

in the 1st Virginia Infantry Regiment during the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the 1 ...

, and became the commonwealth's attorney for

Augusta County, Virginia Augusta County is a county in the Shenandoah Valley on the western edge of the Commonwealth of Virginia. The second-largest county of Virginia by total area, it completely surrounds the independent cities of Staunton and Waynesboro. Its county ...

(from 1851 until Virginia's secession). A brigadier general in the Virginia militia, Harman became one of the commanders whose forces seized the Harper's Ferry Armory and Arsenal on April 18, 1861, the day after the Virginia Secession Convention of 1861 voted for secession. Later

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

of the

5th Virginia Infantry The 5th Virginia Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment raised in Virginia for service in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. It fought in the Stonewall Brigade, mostly with the Army of Northern Virginia. The regime ...

Regiment of the Stonewall Brigade (from May 7, 1861 to April 1862), Harman suffered health problems and was not appointed colonel in the April 1862 reorganization of the Confederate Army. Harman served briefly as an aide-de-camp to Brigadier General Edward Johnson during Jackson's Valley Campaign, after which he was appointed an assistant adjutant general on February 19, 1864. He also led a regiment of reservists at the Battle of Piedmont on June 5, 1864.

Early and family life

William Henry Harman was born in Waynesboro, Virginia on February 17, 1828.Eicher, John H., and

David J. Eicher David John Eicher (born August 7, 1961) is an American editor, writer, and popularizer of astronomy and space. He has been editor-in-chief of ''Astronomy'' magazine since 2002. He is author, coauthor, or editor of 23 books on science and American ...

. ''Civil War High Commands''. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2001. . p. 281.Allardice, Bruce S. ''Confederate Colonels: A Biographical Register''. Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 2008. . p. 182. His parents were Lewis and Sally (Garber) Harman. His maternal grandfather, John Cunningham, has been a member of Staunton's Committee of Safety during the American Revolutionary War, as well as captain of a cavalry company in the Virginia militia. William received a private education suitable to his class. He had elder brothers Michael Garber Harman (1823–1877) and John A. Harman (1824–1874), as well as younger brothers Asher Waterman Harman (1830–1895) and Thomas Lewis Harman (1831–1861). Michael Garber Harman ran a stage line with the help of their brother Asher Waterman Harmon, as well as a hotel in Staunton with William H. Garber. By 1860, Michael Harman owned 41 slaves, three of them leased out to others. His brothers would likewise fight in the

, and the youngest, T.L. Harman, a Lieutenant in the Staunton Artillery, died in September 1861 of typhoid fever in Prince William County, Virginia. William H. Harman served as a second lieutenant in the 1st Virginia Infantry Regiment during the Mexican–American War. After the war, he studied law and became a lawyer at Staunton, Virginia. He was commonwealth's attorney for

from 1851 until the beginning of the Civil War. This Harman married the former Margaret Singleton Garver.Tyler, Lyon Gardiner
''Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography, under the editorial supervision of Lyon Gardiner Tyler''
Volume V. New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1915. . Retrieved September 16, 2012. p. 819. They had eight children: Kenton, Fannie, Arthur C., Albert Garver, Ellen, Augusta, Louis and Edward Valentine.

Confederate States Army officer

Governor John Letcher appointed William Henry Harman brigadier general of the 13th Brigade of Virginia militia on April 10, 1861. After the

battle of Fort Sumter The Battle of Fort Sumter (April 12–13, 1861) was the bombardment of Fort Sumter near Charleston, South Carolina by the South Carolina militia. It ended with the surrender by the United States Army, beginning the American Civil War. Follo ...

April 12–13, 1861, ex-governor

Henry A. Wise Henry Alexander Wise (December 3, 1806 – September 12, 1876) was an American attorney, diplomat, politician and slave owner from Virginia. As the 33rd Governor of Virginia, Wise served as a significant figure on the path to the American Civil W ...

approached Captain

John D. Imboden John Daniel Imboden (; February 16, 1823August 15, 1895), American lawyer, Virginia state legislator, and a Confederate army general. During the American Civil War, he commanded an irregular cavalry force. After the war, he resumed practicing la ...

of the Staunton Artillery, Virginia militia, then in

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

, and proposed a preemptive strike directed at the United States Armory and Arsenal at Harpers Ferry. Wise and Imboden met with a number of militia officers at the Exchange Hotel, among them Turner Ashby and Harman. When Governor Letcher refused to give his official approval of the action, the men decided to act on their own. Harman was sent to Staunton to raise volunteers to follow Imboden's battery to Harpers Ferry. When the Virginia convention passed the secession ordinance, Governor Letcher gave his blessing to the action, and Harpers Ferry was taken on April 18. Harman's troops were under the overall command of Virginia militia

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Kenton Harper Kenton Harper (1801 – December 25, 1867) was an American newspaper editor, soldier, Indian agent, plantation owner, banker and politician. An officer of the Virginia militia then U.S. Army during the Mexican–American War, Harper later becam ...

. VMI professor

Stonewall Jackson Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson (January 21, 1824 – May 10, 1863) was a Confederate general during the American Civil War, considered one of the best-known Confederate commanders, after Robert E. Lee. He played a prominent role in nearl ...

arrived on April 28, 1861 to organized and train the raw Virginia forces. On May 7, 1861, the

Regiment, with Kenton Harper as colonel and William Henry Harman as lieutenant colonel was formed at Harper's Ferry. The regiment was assigned to Stonewall Jackson's brigade; his elder brother, Col. Michael Garber Harman, was quartermaster, succeeded by their brother Major John A. Harman. The regiment fought at the First Battle of Bull Run where Jackson received his famous nickname on July 21, 1861. Harman succeeded Harper as colonel of the regiment on September 11, 1861 when Harper resigned. Harman led the regiment at the First Battle of Kernstown on March 23, 1862. However, his men did not re-elect him as colonel when the Confederate Army reorganized in April 1862. Thereafter, Harman briefly served as aide-de-camp to Brigadier General Edward "Allegheny" Johnson in Jackson's Valley Campaign during April 1862. Harman was appointed an assistant adjutant general on February 19, 1864. He commanded a regiment of reservists at the Battle of Piedmont, a Confederate defeat in the

Shenandoah Valley The Shenandoah Valley () is a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. The valley is bounded to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the eastern front of the Ridge- ...

on June 5, 1864 during the Valley Campaigns of 1864.Allardice, 1995, p. 116 states that Harman commanded a brigade of reservists but he changed this to a regiment in Allardice, 2008, p. 182.

Death and legacy

William Henry Harman was killed in action while attempting to rally his troops during the Confederate rout at the Battle of Waynesboro, Virginia, the town where he was born, on March 2, 1865. He is buried in Thornrose Cemetery,

Staunton, Virginia Staunton ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 25,750. In Virginia, independent cities a ...

. At the time of his death, Harman was serving his second term as Grand Master Mason of Virginia. His brothers would rebuild and expand the railroads connecting at Staunton and son Arthur C. Harman would follow his father's political career and serve in both houses of the

Virginia General Assembly The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere, the first elected legislative assembly in the New World, and was established on July 30, 161 ...

Notes

References

* Allardice, Bruce S. ''Confederate Colonels: A Biographical Register''. Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 2008. . * Allardice, Bruce S
''More Generals in Gray.''
Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1995. (pbk.). Retrieved September 16, 2012. * Eicher, John H., and

. ''Civil War High Commands''. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2001. . * Eicher, David J. ''The Longest Night: A Military History of the Civil War''. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2001. . * Tyler, Lyon Gardiner
'Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography, under the editorial supervision of Lyon Gardiner Tyler'
Volume V. New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1915. . Retrieved September 16, 2012. {{DEFAULTSORT:Harman, William Henry 1828 births 1865 deaths Confederate States of America military personnel killed in the American Civil War Confederate militia generals People of Virginia in the American Civil War County and city Commonwealth's Attorneys in Virginia People from Waynesboro, Virginia American military personnel of the Mexican–American War People from Staunton, Virginia 19th-century American politicians

Early and family life

Confederate States Army officer

Death and legacy

See also

Notes

References