Seth Williams

Seth Williams (March 22, 1822 – March 23, 1866) was an American military officer who served as assistant adjutant general of the Union's Army of the Potomac during the American Civil War. Early life Williams was born in Augusta, Maine. He graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1842, 23rd in a class of 56. He served as aide-de-camp to General Robert Patterson in the Mexican–American War with the rank of second lieutenant. Williams received a brevet to the rank of captain for his conduct at the Battle of Cerro Gordo as a first lieutenant. He was adjutant at West Point from 1850 to 1853 before moving to the adjutant general's office in Washington, D.C. Civil War Williams was promoted to the rank of major in August 1861 and lieutenant colonel on July 7, 1862. On September 28, 1861, President Abraham Lincoln appointed Williams a brigadier general of volunteers, to rank from September 23, 1861. President Lincoln nominated Williams for the promotion on December 21, 1861, and the U.S. Senate confirmed the appointment on July 17, 1862. He was a groomsman at George McClellan's wedding in New York City on May 22, 1860. Seth Williams served as assistant adjutant general to Major General George B. McClellan in the Department of the Ohio in the summer of 1861. From August 20, 1861, to March 1864, Williams was assistant adjutant general of the Army of the Potomac, responsible for the routine drafting of orders, correspondence, and reports. McClellan named him to that position after unsuccessfully requesting the assignment to Maj. Gen. Fitz John Porter. McClellan and Williams became friends during their service together. Williams was called before the United States Congress Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War to testify about the Battle of Gettysburg. Williams's testimony was especially helpful to Meade.