 | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (June 2023) |
William Selby Harney | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Bvt. Maj. Gen. William S. Harney | |
| Born | August 22, 1800 Madison, Tennessee, US |
| Died | May 9, 1889 (aged 88) Orlando, Florida, US |
| Place of burial | |
| Allegiance |  United States of AmericaUnion |
| Service/ | United States Army Union Army |
| Years of service | 1818–1863 |
| Rank |  Brigadier general Brevet Major general |
| Unit | 1st U.S. Infantry |
| Commands held | 2nd U.S. Dragoons Military Department Number Five Department of Oregon Department of the West |
| Battles/wars | Indian Wars
Mexican–American War Pig War Utah War Bleeding Kansas American Civil War |
| Signature | .png){kind=small} |
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 four general officers 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.