soldier, politician, b. Wilmington, Mass. He moved to Wisconsin in 1852, settling near Sullivan, Jefferson County, and later lived in Ripon for several years. In 1861 he enlisted in the 1st Wisconsin Cavalry, serving as captain (1862-1864), major (1864-1865), and lieutenant colonel (1865). In 1865 he was brevetted colonel and a few months later was promoted to the brevet rank of brigadier general. Hamden took part in many major engagements during the Civil War, and led the detail that captured Jefferson Davis at Irwinsville, Ga., in 1865. After being mustered out of the service (July, 1865), he returned to Wisconsin and lived in Madison. He served one term in the state assembly as a Unionist (1866), and was for a time financial agent of the soldiers' orphans' home in Madison. Harnden was U.S. assessor (1867-1873) and U.S. collector of internal revenue (1873-1883). After 1883 he lived in retirement in Madison, and was department commander of the Wisconsin GAR at his death. U.S. Biog. Dict.... Wis. (Chicago, 1877); Colls. State Hist. Soc. Wis., 14 (1898); Proc. State Hist. Soc. Wis., 1900 (1901); Madison State, Mar. 23, 1900.

The Wisconsin Historical Society has manuscripts related to this topic. See the catalog description of the Henry Harnden Autobiographical Sketch for details.

View newspaper clippings at Wisconsin Local History and Biography Articles.

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[Source: Dictionary of Wisconsin biography]