William B. Britton | |
State: | Wisconsin |
State Assembly: | Wisconsin |
District: | Rock 2nd |
Term Start: | January 1, 1883 |
Term End: | January 5, 1885 |
Predecessor: | John Winans |
Successor: | Pliny Norcross |
Party: | Republican |
Birth Date: | 8 January 1829 |
Birth Place: | Monmouth County, New Jersey, U.S. |
Death Place: | Janesville, Wisconsin, U.S. |
Restingplace: | Oak Hill Cemetery, |
Spouse: | Elizabeth Combs (died 1912) |
Allegiance: | United States |
Branch: | United States Army Union Army |
Rank: | Colonel, USV |
Serviceyears: | 1861 - 1865 |
Commands: | 8th Reg. Wis. Vol. Infantry |
Battles: | American Civil War |
William B. Britton (January 8, 1829December 19, 1910) was an American merchant and Republican politician. He served one term in the Wisconsin State Assembly, representing Rock County, and was a Union Army officer throughout the American Civil War.[1]
Britton was born on January 8, 1829, in Monmouth County, New Jersey. In 1855, he moved to Janesville, Wisconsin. Britton was a merchant by trade. He died on December 19, 1910.
Early on in the American Civil War, Britton enlisted in the Union Army. Soon after, he was commissioned an officer and assigned to the 8th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment. Britton eventually achieved the rank of colonel and assumed command of the regiment. Engagements he participated in include the Battle of Jackson, Mississippi, the Red River Campaign and the Battle of Nashville.
Later, Britton became a colonel with what is now the Wisconsin Army National Guard.
Britton was a member of the Assembly in 1883. Previously, he had been a member of the common council of Janesville in 1874 and 1875. He was a Republican.