Henry Bridge Atherton (21 September 1835 – 6 February 1906) was a soldier in the American Civil War from Vermont,[1] a lawyer and state legislator for New Hampshire during the late 19th century.

He was educated at Duttonsville School and then at Black River Academy from 1851 to 1855, Leland Seminary in Townsend, Massachusetts, where he excelled.

Atherton, who had yet to graduate, advocated his support by inviting Brown to use his office, whilst he was Secretary to the Vermont Senate.

Atherton studied the legal position of the supply of guns to the recent arrivals in Kansas Territory, settled by the New England Emigrant Aid Company.

On March 9, 1882, Atherton wrote to Brown's biographer, John Redparth of his personal involvement, and that of the former Governor, Ryland Fletcher.

Atherton also described Vermont's direct aid of $20,000, which assisted in creating a shift in the balance of political power in Kansas Territory.

[7] Prior to joining the law offices of John F Dean, he served under Joseph Sawyer of Alton, New Hampshire.

[8] During August 1861, Atherton entered the service of the Union Army and was commissioned to serve under Colonel Edwin H. Stoughton, as Captain of Company C, 4th Vermont Infantry Regiment in Brattleboro, Vermont, having first offered his services to Governor Erastus Fairbanks to raise at least thirty recruits.

He had been nominated to fill the position of land commissioner for American Samoa by President Benjamin Harrison,[21] under the Treaty of Berlin (1889)[22][23] where Germany ceded this territory to the United States of America.

Records of pension claims prepared by Atherton and received by the Adjutant General for Civil War veterans and their heirs have survived.

With soft, black shinning curls, And looketh more bewitching Than an host of romping girls; Her laugh is so delicious- So, knowing, clear, beside.

A notable sketch is of Henry Turner, an African-American, whom he described in a letter to his wife dated March 13, 1862, as "a contraband 16 years old, bright and active".

A sketch of Vort by Atherton forms part of the Rauner Special Collections Library, of Dartmouth College.

"The papers of Henry B. Atherton", contain a range of personal and business documents, as well as other memorabilia, such as sketches from the civil war.

[34] He was a Mason and a past commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, a fraternity organization for veteran union soldiers.

[36] His personal papers relating to the origins of various branches of his family tree have been preserved by local historical societies, in both Vermont (his place of birth) and New Hampshire (his adoptive state).