William Francis Bartlett (June 6, 1840 – December 17, 1876) was a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War and, later, an executive in the iron industry.

Bartlett enlisted as a private to serve in the Civil War, leaving in the midst of his studies at Harvard College.

The Civil War began during his junior year and, almost immediately after hearing of the surrender of Fort Sumter, Bartlett enlisted as a private with the Massachusetts Volunteer Militia.

[2] Bartlett initially enlisted in the 4th Battalion Massachusetts Infantry, also known as the New England Guards, which was garrisoned to defend Fort Independence in Boston Harbor.

[2] Hoping to avoid any further such defeats, Major General George B. McClellan, the commander of the Army of the Potomac, to which the 20th Massachusetts was attached, developed a plan to by-pass the difficult overland route to the Confederate capital of Richmond.

The Peninsular Campaign was intended to be a rapid movement of the Army of the Potomac by water, then by land, up the relatively short Virginia Peninsula.

The campaign stalled, however, when McClellan chose to lay siege to Yorktown, Virginia rather than assaulting the far smaller Confederate force there.

[1] Instead, Bartlett accepted a colonel's commission and was placed in charge of forming a new regiment in Berkshire County, Massachusetts—the 49th Massachusetts Infantry.

Due to the amputation of his leg, he was required to remain on horseback during battle, making him an easy target for Confederates.

[4] During one of several assaults on Port Hudson on May 27, 1863, Bartlett was shot twice— a bullet shattered his left wrist, while buckshot struck his right leg.

This was a bold attempt to break the Siege of Petersburg by digging a mine beneath Confederate entrenchments and detonating a massive amount of gunpowder to create a gap through which Union forces could assault the city.

Although hostilities had ended, a large portion of the Union Army still remained on active duty and Bartlett was promoted to the command of the 1st Division of the IX Corps on June 17, 1865.

On January 13, 1866, President Andrew Johnson nominated Bartlett for the award of the honorary grade of brevet major general, U.S.