William Miller (1820-1909) was born in New York, but his family moved to Louisiana when he was an infant. He served with General Zachary Taylor in the United States Army during the Mexican War but changed his allegiance to the Confederacy early in the Civil War. He was commissioned Brigadier General in August 1864 and is best remembered militarily for his leadership in the Battle of Perryville, Kentucky, in 1862 and at the Battle of Natural Bridge outside Tallahassee in 1865. Prior to the war, he operated a sawmill in Santa Rosa County. He settled in Point Washington after the war and, by 1870, operated a sawmill there in partnership with William Criglar, who was married to Miller’s sister Louisiana (1835-1903). He also operated a steam sawmill in Vernon beginning in 1891. Through the years, he was generous to the Point Washington community and served it as a teacher, justice of the peace, delegate to the Florida House of Representatives, and State Senator.
Burial: St. John’s Cemetery, Pensacola