William Duckworth

William Duckworth was a colonel in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. He was under the command of Nathan Bedford Forrest. In March 1864, Duckworth was able to bluff Union Colonel Isaac Hayes into surrendering his far superior forces at Union City, Tennessee.

Forrest remembered this success at the Battle of Fort Pillow, and decided to issue a surrender ultimatum. Forrest and his aide-de-camp, Charles W. Anderson, fondly reminisced about Duckworth's success as they prepared the ultimatum.