Henry Brockholst Ledyard Jr. (February 20, 1844 – May 25, 1921[1]) was an American soldier and businessman who served as president of the Michigan Central Railroad and the Union Trust Company.

He was later transferred to the 37th Infantry as Quartermaster and later to the 4th Artillery and was detailed Chief of Subsistence on the staff of General Winfield Scott Hancock of the Department of Missouri.

After the Civil War, he was involved in battles with Native Americans in 1867 and, for a year, was Assistant Professor of French at West Point.

Under Ledyard's supervision, the road smartly avoided issuing bonds and stockjobbing, and in 1883 he succeeded Vanderbilt as president of the Michigan Central.

As president, he doubled the capacity of the railroad cars and had longer trains pulled by more powerful locomotives which reduced the cost of transportation.

Ledyard had every steel railroad bridge in the eastern division torn down and rebuilt miles of trackage in an effort to eliminate curves and steep grades.

[8] In 1916, Ledyard purchased the Detroit Belt Line Railroad which bordered many large factories, including the Ford Motor Company.