William Henry Harman William Henry Harman ( February 17 , 1828 – March 2 , 1865 ) was a brigadier general in the Virginia militia and colonel in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War ( Civil War ) . Prior to the war , Harman had served as a second lieutenant in the 1st Virginia Infantry Regiment during the Mexican - American War , after which he had become a lawyer . He was commonwealth ' s attorney for Augusta County , Virginia from 1851 until the beginning of the Civil War , when he was appointed a brigadier general in the state militia . As a brigadier general , Harman commanded part of the militia force that seized the Harper ' s Ferry Armory and Arsenal near the beginning of the war on April 18 , 1861 . He served as lieutenant colonel of the 5th Virginia Infantry Regiment of the Stonewall Brigade from May 7 , 1861 to April 1862 , when he failed to be appointed colonel in the April 1862 reorganization of the Confederate Army . Harmon next served briefly as an aide - de - camp to Brigadier General Edward Johnson in Jackson ' s Valley Campaign , after which he was appointed an assistant adjutant general on February 19 , 1864 . He commanded a regiment of reservists at the Battle of Piedmont on June 5 , 1864 . Harman was killed in action while commanding a regiment of reservists during the Battle of Waynesboro , Virginia , the town where he was born , on March 2 , 1865 . Early life . William Henry Harman was born in Waynesboro , Virginia on February 17 , 1828 . His parents were Lewis and Sally ( Garber ) Harman . William H . Harman served as a second lieutenant in the 1st Virginia Infantry Regiment during the Mexican - American War . After the war , he studied law and became a lawyer at Staunton , Virginia . He was commonwealth ' s attorney for Augusta County , Virginia from 1851 until the beginning of the Civil War . Harman ' s wife was the former Margaret Singleton Garver . They had eight children : Kenton , Fannie , Arthur C . , Albert Garver , Ellen , Augusta , Louis and Edward Valentine . American Civil War service . William Henry Harman was appointed brigadier general of the 13th Brigade of Virginia militia on April 10 , 1861 . He commanded part of a militia force under the overall command of Virginia militia Major General Kenton Harper , which seized the Harper ' s Ferry Armory and Arsenal near the beginning of the war on April 18 , 1861 . The Virginia forces at Harper ' s Ferry were relieved by Stonewall Jackson ' s men on April 28 , 1861 . On May 7 , 1861 , the 5th Virginia Infantry Regiment , with Kenton Harper as colonel and William Henry Harman as lieutenant colonel was formed at Harper ' s Ferry . The regiment was assigned to Stonewall Jackson ' s brigade . The regiment fought at the First Battle of Bull Run where Jackson received his famous nickname on July 21 , 1861 . Harman succeeded Harper as colonel of the regiment on September 11 , 1861 when Harper resigned . Harman led the regiment at the First Battle of Kernstown on March 23 , 1862 . He failed to be re - elected colonel of the regiment during the reorganization of the Confederate Army in April 1862 . Thereafter , Harman briefly served as aide - de - camp to Brigadier General Edward " Allegheny " Johnson in Jackson ' s Valley Campaign in April 1862 . Harman was appointed an assistant adjutant general on February 19 , 1864 . He commanded a regiment of reservists at the Battle of Piedmont , a Confederate defeat in the Shenandoah Valley on June 5 , 1864 during the Valley Campaigns of 1864 . Harman commanded a regiment of reservists when he was killed in action while attempting to rally his troops during the Confederate rout at the Battle of Waynesboro , Virginia , the town where he was born , on March 2 , 1865 . Aftermath . At the time of his death , Harman was serving his second term as Grand Master Mason of Virginia . William Henry Harmon is buried in Thornrose Cemetery , Staunton , Virginia .