William S. Harney

William Selby Harney
Bvt. Maj. Gen. William S. Harney
Born(1800-08-22)August 22, 1800
Madison, Tennessee, US
DiedMay 9, 1889(1889-05-09) (aged 88)
Orlando, Florida, US
Place of burial
Allegiance United States of America
Union
Service / branch United States Army
Union Army
Years of service1818–1863
Rank Brigadier general
Brevet Major general
Unit1st U.S. Infantry
Commands2nd U.S. Dragoons
Military Department Number Five
Department of Oregon
Department of the West
Battles / warsIndian Wars Mexican–American War
Pig War
Utah War
Bleeding Kansas
American Civil War
Signature

William Selby Harney (August 22, 1800 – May 9, 1889), otherwise known among the Lakota as "Woman Killer" and "Mad Bear," was an American cavalry officer in the US Army, who became known during the Indian Wars and the Mexican–American War for his brutality and ruthlessness. One of five general officers (including Winfield Scott, David Twiggs, John Wool, and Joseph E. Johnston) in the US Army at the beginning of the American Civil War, he was removed from overseeing the Department of the West because of his Southern sympathies early in the war, although he kept Missouri from joining the Confederacy. Under President Andrew Johnson, he served on the Indian Peace Commission, negotiating in several treaties before spending his retirement partly in Missouri and partly trading reminiscences with Jefferson Davis and Ulysses S. Grant in Mississippi, eventually moving to Florida afterwards, where he spent the last few years of his life.