William Atherton (January 10, 1793 – September 11, 1863) was an American soldier, rifleman and veteran of the War of 1812 from Shelbyville, Kentucky.

[13] His subsequent experiences being held captive by the Potawatomi, a Native American tribe, followed by internment in Quebec, is taught today at schools in the United States.

[16] His narrative provides a rare common soldier's perspective of the War of 1812, and as such his account, is considered to be a critical source for studying the conflict.

[19] In 1842, he reluctantly published his account[20] of the suffering & defeat of the North-Western Army, under General James Winchester,[21] the massacre of the U.S. prisoners and his own sixteen months imprisonment, with the following goal: "I think it is proper that the rising generation should know what their fathers suffered, and how they acted in the hour of danger; that they sustained the double character of "Americans and Kentuckians"In 1890, historians described accurate how Atherton described the hardships that both he and others endured.

[24] The American public broadcaster PBS,[25] reviewed Atherton's narrative [26] as follows: "The substantial first-person record of the war comes primarily from the educated classes – officers and their wives.

Two exceptions to this are the excellent memoirs written by of the British foot soldier, Shadrach Byfield, and the American militiaman, William Atherton.