William Worth Belknap (September 22, 1829 – October 12, 1890) was a lawyer, Union Army officer, government administrator in Iowa, and the 30th United States secretary of war, serving under President Ulysses S. Grant.

After declining a regular Army commission, Belknap was appointed Iowa's Collector of Internal Revenue by President Andrew Johnson; he served with distinction for four years.

During the Reconstruction era, Belknap's War Department and the U.S. military worked under the supervision of President Ulysses S. Grant and the United States Attorney General's office to occupy the former Confederacy and attempt to implement changes in government and the economy, while protecting freedmen from an increasingly violent insurgency.

The withdrawal of troops allowed a gold rush of white settlers to take place, and the US took de facto possession after the Lakota refused to sell their sacred lands.

At over six feet tall and 200 pounds, with blue eyes, and fair hair, mustache, and beard, Belknap was regarded a natural leader described as "a fine type of Saxon-American manhood".

[22] Traveling by steamer from St. Louis, Belknap was sent to the front at the Battle of Shiloh; arriving at Pittsburgh Landing on April 6 joining the Army of the Tennessee, under the authority of Union General Ulysses S.

[28] In the midst of the fierce fighting the burly Belknap grabbed the wounded Lampley by the collar, spun him around to face the Confederate lines, and shouted, "Look at your men!

He was a brawny, red-bearded giant in appearance, and it was told of him that he had captured a number of prisoners by pulling them over the breastworks by main force, so closely were the lines engaged.

[25][31] On July 30, Belknap was promoted to brigadier general as commander of the 4th Division, XVII Corps, and participated in Major Gen. Sherman's operations in Georgia and the Carolinas.

In terms of Reconstruction, historian Jean Edward Smith, notes that Grant, a former General of the Army, personally supervised the use of the U.S. military and that Belknap "had less freedom of action than other cabinet members.

[40] Upon assuming office in 1869, Belknap conceived the idea of creating portraits of previous civilian heads of the War Department in honor of the upcoming 1876 U.S. Centennial,[41] and hired renowned artists Daniel Huntington, Robert Weir, and Henry Ulke.

[41] During the summer of 1870, Belknap successfully lobbied Congress to grant him the sole power to appoint and license agents, known as sutlers, with ownership rights to highly lucrative "traderships" at U.S. military forts in the Western frontier.

[47] The policy had a negative effect on the firepower of the U.S. troops and may have contributed to the defeat of George Armstrong Custer and the 7th Cavalry at Battle of the Little Big Horn in June 1876, several months after Belknap was out of office.

[49] The Belknaps could not afford to pay for the damages, and were faced with leaving Washington society and reducing expenses by living in a boarding house, or finding a way to increase their income.

[50] Amanda was a beautiful young socialite; intending to keep the modest fortune she inherited from her family while also attaining a high position in Washington society, she required Belknap to sign a prenuptial agreement.

[50][51] Amanda was considered to be more self-indulgent than her sister Carita, donning gorgeous gowns, jewelry and other accessories for parties and other events, and called the "spendthrift belle" by Washington society.

[55] Belknap had been accused by Grant administration critics, including Senators Charles Sumner and Carl Schurz, of violating neutrality and selling arms to French agents.

Major General Oliver O. Howard, an advocate for African-American civil rights and in charge of the trial, acquitted Smith and gave him a light punishment for unruly conduct.

[62] Belknap concurred when Major General Thomas H. Ruger, appointed superintendent of West Point in 1871, reduced the hazing of cadets by 1873 and made strong efforts to eradicate the "discreditable" practice.

Rival political factions fought for power in the state government, and white insurgents frequently attacked freedmen and their sympathizers, requiring the deployment of federal troops to keep peace.

[84] During the discussion, Brady offered to sell a second set of negatives; Congress appropriated up to $25,000 for the purchase, and after reviewing the materials and obtaining advice from a War Department attorney as to their value, Belknap authorized payment in full.

On November 3, 1875, as the crisis escalated, President Grant held a secret meeting at the White House including Belknap, Secretary of Interior Zachariah Chandler and general Philip Sheridan.

"[95] On February 8, 1876, Generals Crook and Terry were ordered to start winter military campaigns against hostile Indians and the Great Sioux War commenced.

Upon Belknap's sudden resignation in March, Grant had to hastily ask his secretary of navy George M. Robeson to run the War Department ad interim, which lasted a week.

[110] Grant, who as former commanding general put more scrutiny into military matters than presidents usually did, had ordered Pierrepont to launch a criminal investigation into Belknap's War department.

[110] After Belknap's Senate acquittal on August 1, the guards around his house were removed; he was indicted by a grand jury on the same day, and set for trial in the District of Columbia federal court.

[123] The bronze relief (2 ft. x 2 ft.) bust shows Belknap wearing a dress uniform with his hair parted on the right side as well as a long, full beard.

Even up to 1876, Belknap, under Grant, was believed to be a faithful judicious Secretary of War, publicly recognized for aiding and protecting 100,000 homeless Chicago fire victims.

[126] According to Cooper, Belknap "willingly turned to graft to support the social ambitions of his wives" while living a lavish lifestyle in Washington, D.C., at the expense of soldiers and Indians during the Gilded Age.

[127] Belknap is positively credited by Cooper for creating and expanding the weather bureau, reforming the military justice system, and for preserving Mathew Brady's photographic record of the Civil War.