William Pittenger (January 31, 1840 Knoxville, Jefferson County, Ohio - April 24, 1904 Fallbrook, California) was a Union Army soldier during the American Civil War. He was one of the first recipients of the Medal of Honor. On the outbreak of the Civil War, he enlisted as a private in Company H of the 2nd Ohio Infantry Regiment on April 17, 1861, for three months of service, during which time he participated in the First Battle of Bull Run. He soon re-enlisted in the Army for a three-year term, being mustered in on September 11, 1861, at Camp Dennison, Ohio, and days later joining the reconstituted 2nd Ohio Infantry as a corporal in Company G. Promoted to sergeant on March 13, 1862, Pittenger saw action in Andrews' Raid, also referred to as the Great Locomotive Chase.

Sir Oliver Tressilian, Cornish gentleman and sometime naval commander against the Spanish Armada, turns Barbary pirate and wins for himself the title of Sakr-el-Bahr, "Hawk of the Sea."