Henry Heth (/ˈhiːθ/ not /ˈhɛθ/) (December 16, 1825 – September 27, 1899) was a career United States Army officer who became a Confederate general in the American Civil War.

He is generally blamed for accidentally starting the Battle of Gettysburg by sending half his division into the town before the rest of the army was fully prepared.

Later in the day, Confederate troops succeeded in routing two Union corps, but at a heavy cost in casualties.

All sixteen of his great-great-grandparents came to Virginia from England, specifically from the rural areas of Hertfordshire, Hampshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire and Surrey.

Born in Virginia's Tidewater region, Heth was unpopular with the mountain farmers and was known as a strict disciplinarian.

In turn, Heth was frustrated by the illiteracy and lack of discipline of his men, as well as General John B. Floyd's actions as commanding officer in the region.

Heth wrote of Floyd, "I soon discovered that my chief was as incapacitated for the work he had undertaken as I would have been to lead an Italian opera."

In the spring of 1862 Heth was in command of the "Army of the New River," (in actuality the 22nd and 45th Virginia Infantry regiments, with attached cavalry and artillery).

The actions were critical to keeping federal forces tied up and out of the southern Shenandoah Valley while Stonewall Jackson was conducting his own campaign 120 miles to the north.

He fought in the Battle of Chancellorsville, showing aggressive, but misguided, qualities in his first large-scale combat, attacking without reserves against a Union force emerging from the Wilderness.

Finally, Heth attacked again in conjunction with the division of Maj. Gen. Robert E. Rodes and the Union corps were routed, retreating back through town to Cemetery Hill, but Confederate losses were severe.

The papers probably deflected the bullet to avoid a fatal wound, but Heth was knocked unconscious and effectively out of the battle.

Gen. Johnston Pettigrew, saw more action two days later in Pickett's Charge, and Heth recovered enough to command during the retreat back to Virginia and the minor engagements of the fall of 1863.

Heth also participated in the Siege of Petersburg, playing direct roles in the battles of Globe Tavern; Second Ream's Station; Peebles' Farm; Boydton Plank Road; and Hatcher's Run.

After the war, Heth worked in the insurance business and later served the government as a surveyor and in the Office of Indian Affairs.

[7] Heth was portrayed by Warren Burton in the 1993 film Gettysburg, based on Michael Shaara's novel, The Killer Angels.