William Henry Gilham (January 13, 1818 – November 16, 1872) was an American soldier, teacher, chemist, and author.
[1] William Henry Gilham was born in Vincennes, Indiana on January 13, 1818. his father's family came from Virginia.
From September 1841 to August 1844, he was Assistant Professor of Natural and Experimental Philosophy at the U.S. Military Academy (West Point).
During the next five years, he developed VMI's departments of Chemistry and Agriculture, taught infantry tactics and served as the Commandant of Cadets.
Wise, Major Gilham led a contingent of the VMI Cadets Corps to Charles Town to provide an additional military presence for at the execution by hanging on December 2, 1859, of militant abolitionist John Brown following his raid on the federal arsenal at Harper's Ferry.
In response to the raid on Harper's Ferry, Governor Wise ordered Gilham to write a manual to train volunteers and militia.
Finished in the fall of 1860, it was entitled Manual of Instruction for the Volunteers and Militia of the United States and was initially published in Philadelphia.