William Atherton (soldier)

William Atherton (January 10, 1793 – September 11, 1863) was an American soldier and a veteran of the War of 1812 from Kentucky. He was a private in the 1st Rifle Regiment commanded by Lieutenant Colonel John Allen, and served in the Army of the Northwest under Brigadier General James Winchester and Major General William Henry Harrison. In 1842, Atherton published an account that detailed his wartime service with the Kentucky militia, including their defeat at the Battle of Frenchtown and the subsequent murder of a number of wounded prisoners by Indigenous allies of the British. In his narrative, Atherton recounted his time as a captive of the Potawatomi and his later imprisonment by the British.