William M. Beebe, Jr. (1840-1883) was a Civil War veteran and also served on the first relief expedition for the Lady Franklin Bay Expedition.

William M. Beebe, Jr. (1840-1883), was born in Hudson, Ohio, to William Melvin Beebe, Sr. (1807-1880) and Mary Jane Hillis Beebe (1808-1881). David Duncan Beebe (1830-1889), his brother, once served as the mayor of Hudson and an Ohio Senator.

In August 29, 1861, William enlisted in the Civil War in the 41st Ohio Volunteer Infantry and was made a 2nd lieutenant. The 41st OVI saw action at many battles including Shiloh, Corinth, Chickamauga, Mission Ridge, Atlanta, and Nashville. For his gallantry in battle during the Atlanta campaign, he was breveted to captain. In 1865, Beebe was made lieutenant-colonel of the 128th Colored Infantry. In March 1867, following the war, he was appointed captain in the Regular Army in the 38th Infantry, and received the rank of brevet Major for his service during the Civil War. He mustered out of the army on January 1, 1871.

After the Civil War, Beebe served as a signal clerk in Washington, D. C. under General William B. Hazen (1830-1887) and was later selected to be part of the relief effort for the Greely Expedition (also known as the Lady Franklin Bay Expedition). The Greely Expedition was an endeavor by the United States government to collect scientific data from the Arctic. Adolphous Greely (1844-1935) along with his crew set out from St. John's, Newfoundland and reached Lady Franklin Bay in the summer of 1881.

The expedition was supposed to receive regular relief provisions to their post at Fort Conger. Captain Beebe led the first resupply mission in 1882. On May 17, 1882 Hazen and Beebe sailed aboard a supply ship steamer Neptune. However, due to ice and weather, the Neptune was unable to reach the men and had to turn back. A second relief effort was organized in 1883 with Beebe again named to the team, but at the last minute, he was not included.

Both relief efforts ultimately failed to deliver supplies to the crew in the Lady Franklin Bay. The 25 men in the crew left their post at Fort Conger and traveled south to Cape Sabine. The ill-fated expedition soon faced a lack of provisions and extreme exposure to the elements. Of the 25 individuals who traveled to the arctic circle for this expedition, only 7 survived.

William M. Beebe, Jr. died by suicide on August 6, 1883 by taking laudanum. The last part of his obituary in the New York Times describes his later years and death: "Colonel Bebe [sic] went to the Arctic regions last year in command of the Greely Relief Expedition, the failure of [which], although due to difficulties beyond human control, preyed upon his mind and subjected him at times [to] great depression of spirits. He had hoped to accompany the expedition of this year and began preparations to do so, when it was decided to be better that he should remain in Washington. This also was a disappointment to him, which, in addition to other troubles, real, and imaginary, resulted in temporary aberration of mind and his death by his own hand. His remains have been sent to Hudson, Ohio."