Henry Harnden (March 4, 1823March 17, 1900) was an American sailor, Republican politician, and Wisconsin pioneer. He served as a Union Army officer during the American Civil War and led the Wisconsin cavalry regiment which was credited in the capture of Confederate president Jefferson Davis. After the war, he was granted an honorary brevet to brigadier general. He also went on to serve one term in the Wisconsin State Assembly, representing eastern Jefferson County. Early life Henry Harnden was born in March 1823 at Wilmington, Massachusetts. He had a common school education there, but left school at age 18 to work as a deckhand on a merchant ship, inspired by his uncles' tales of their seafaring careers. He traveled at sea for five years, visiting the west coast of Africa, navigating around Cape Horn, and traveling along the entire west coast of South America and Mexico. In subsequent trips, he spent time in the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico, making trips between the south coast of the United States and the islands. He was still working in the Gulf of Mexico at the outbreak of the Mexican–American War. He witnessed General Zachary Taylor land his army at Brazos Santiago and assisted ferrying wounded American soldiers back to New Orleans after the Battle of Palo Alto. He fell ill shortly after this trip and returned home to Massachusetts to recuperate. He went to work as a clerk in a store at Lowell, Massachusetts, for several years. In 1850, he left Massachusetts for California, traveling over land, to participate in the California Gold Rush. His trip was difficult, and he ran into hostilities with Native American groups along the way. His gold pursuits in California were also unsuccessful, and he quickly abandoned the idea. To return home, he went to work as a sailor again on a voyage from California to Boston around the southern end of South America. In 1852, he sought out farm land in the new state of Wisconsin. He settled in the town of Sullivan, in Jefferson County, Wisconsin. He soon gave up farming and engaged in lumbering instead, establishing and managing a steam-powered sawmill. Civil War service At the outbreak of the American Civil War, Harnden summoned his employees at the sawmill. He informed the men that the mill would shut down, that he would personally enlist in the Union Army, and that he encouraged all