William Gurdon Saltonstall (December 22, 1831 – July 21, 1889) was an American naval officer during the U.S. Civil War and a prominent merchant.

His paternal uncle, U.S. Representative Leverett Saltonstall I, married his maternal aunt, Mary Elizabeth Saunders, and his first cousin was Leverett Saltonstall II, the Collector of Customs for the Port of Boston who married Rose Smith Lee, a sister of William's wife.

[3] During the U.S. Civil War, Saltonstall commanded in succession two gunboats in the Federal Navy and rendered distinguished service.

[1] During the blockade off of the Carolinas especially, he won commendation for "gallant conduct" while commander of a gunboat,[2] and in the Little Washington affair made himself known as a brave officer.

[2] Saltonstall died of heart disease at Domo d'Ossola, Italy, a town near the Swiss border, on July 21, 1889.