William McClelland was born on March 2, 1842, in Mount Jackson, Pennsylvania, to Robert and Mary McClelland. His father was a farmer who owned $5,500 of real estate and $1,000 of personal property by 1860. He grew up and attended school in North Beaver, Pennsylvania.

 

He enlisted in the Union army on June 28, 1861, and he mustered in as a private in Battery B of the 1^st Pennsylvania Light Artillery. The regiment took part in the Seven Days Battles, the Second Battle of Manassas, the Battle of Antietam, the Battle of Fredericksburg, the Battle of Chancellorsville, the Battle of Gettysburg, the Overland Campaign, and the siege of Petersburg. He was promoted to 2^nd lieutenant in April 1864, to 1^st lieutenant in September 1864, and finally to captain in February 1865. He mustered out on June 9, 1865.

 

He returned to North Beaver after the war, and he earned a living as a lawyer. He supported the Democratic Party, and he was elected to Congress in 1870. He served for one term, and he was defeated in his bid for reelection. He subsequently resumed his legal practice. He moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, around 1873, and he served several terms as secretary of the Democratic State Committee. In 1891, he received an appointment as adjutant general of the Pennsylvania National Guard. He died in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, on February 7, 1892.

 

Image: William McClelland (courtesy Wikicommons)

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