William W. Loring

William W. Loring
William Loring in his Army uniform
Birth name	William Wing Loring
Nickname(s)	"Old Blizzards"
Born	(1818-12-04)December 4, 1818 Wilmington, North Carolina
Died	December 30, 1886(1886-12-30) (aged 68) New York City, New York
Allegiance	United States Confederate States of America Khedivate of Egypt
Service/branch	United States Army  Confederate States Army Egyptian Army
Years of service	1846–1861 (USA) 1861–1865 (CSA) 1869–1878 (Egypt)
Rank	Colonel (USA) Major General (CSA) Major General (Egypt)
Commands held	Regiment of Mounted Riflemen (USA) Army of the Northwest (CSA)
Other work	Author

William Wing Loring (December 4, 1818 – December 30, 1886) was a soldier from North Carolina who served in the armies of the United States, the Confederacy, and Egypt.

William was born in Wilmington, North Carolina, to Reuben and Hannah Loring. He was a fifth great grandson of New England pioneer Deacon Thomas Loring. When he was four, his family moved to Saint Augustine, Florida, where, at the young age of fourteen, he began a military career that spanned fifty years. As a fourteen-year-old, Loring joined the Florida Militia and gained his first combat experience fighting the Seminole Indians in minor skirmishes that would culminate in the Seminole Wars. When he was seventeen, he ran away to fight in the Texas War for Independence, but was soon retrieved by his father and taken home. For the next few years he would fight in the second Seminole War and end up being promoted to second lieutenant. In 1837, Loring was sent to Alexandria Boarding School in Alexandria, Virginia, completing his secondary education. He attended Georgetown University from 1839 to 1840 and then went on to study law, and was admitted to the Florida bar in 1842. In 1843, he was elected to the Florida House of Representatives where he served from 1843 to 1845. In 1845 he ran unsuccessfully for the Florida Senate.

In 1846, Loring joined a newly formed regiment, the Regiment of Mounted Rifles, originally created to protect the Oregon Territory. He was promoted to major even before the regiment saw battle. Shortly thereafter the Mounted Rifles were sent to Mexico to fight in the Mexican-American war. Loring's regiment saw action in most of the battles of the war and he was wounded three times. While leading the charge into Mexico City, Loring's arm was shattered by a Mexican bullet, and he would later have it amputated. He received two brevets for bravery, one to lieutenant colonel, and another to colonel.