William was born in Somerset, Ohio on the 1st of March, 1848, and he enlisted in the 4th Iowa Cavalry as a Private on the 21st of March, 1864 at the age of sixteen. He was mustered out shortly after Civil War ended and he then entered the US Military Academy, graduating West Point on the 15th of June, 1870, and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant. William went on to Artillery School, where he became the Honor Graduate in 1873, and was promoted to First Lieutenant in 1879. In addition to teaching natural and experimental philosophy, he also was a Judge Advocate for the Department of Columbia, which was a military division of the Pacific States. William was promoted to Captain in 1898 and it was his actions on the 13th of May, 1899, with the 3rd US Artillery in Luzon that would earn him the Medal of Honor. The citation reads:

With 12 men charged and routed 300 of the enemy.

William was promoted to Colonel of volunteers shortly after, and then to Major of Regular Army in 1901. He received his Medal of Honor on the 15th of July, 1902 and would reach the rank of Brigadier General the day before his retirement on the 16th of February, 1906. William and his wife Geraldine had one daughter that I could find and Edith had two sons, Williston and Charles Palmer, that would both go on to serve in the US Army during World War 2 and the Korean War, and become four star Generals. William Edward Birkhimer died on the 10th of June, 1914, at the age of 66 and is buried with his wife in Arlington National Cemetery: Section 1, Grave 339.