William J. Hardee (1817-1873) was a Confederate general in the American Civil War.
He graduated from the U. S. Military Academy at West Point in 1838 (26th out of 45). Serving in the Seminole and Mexican conflicts, he won two brevets in the latter and was wounded at La Rosia , Mexico. He returned to his alma mater as a tactics instructor and served as commandant of cadets. He served as the senior major in the 2nd US Cavalry when that cavalry regiment was formed in 1855. In 1856, he published "United States Rifle and Light Infantry Tactics" in New York which became the best-known drill manual of the Civil War. He was promoted to lieutenant-general in October 1862. He commanded a Corps at the battles of Shiloh (1862), Perryville (1862) and Murfreesboro (1863), Chickamauga (1863), Chattanooga (1863) and in the Atlanta Campaign (1864). He requested a transfer after John B. Hood replaced Joseph E. Johnston as commander of the Confederate Army of Tennessee in July 1864 and was sent to command the Departement of South Carolina, Georgia and Florida. He opposed William T. Sherman's march through Georgia and South Carolina. He took part in the Battle of Bentonville, NC (a last ditch effort in stopping Sherman marching towards Ulysses S. Grant in Virginia) in 1865 where his only son was killed in a cavalry charge. After the war he settled on an Alabama plantation.
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