Pender, William Dorsey, 1834-1863

Pender, of Edgecombe County, N.C., was a West Point graduate and U.S. Army officer. He served briefly as colonel of the 3rd North Carolina Infantry Regiment, C.S.A., and as a colonel of the 6th North Carolina Infantry Regiment before transferring to A. P. Hill's division and being promoted to major general, May 1863. He participated in many of the major engagements in Virginia and died in July 1863 as the result of a wound received at Gettysburg.

William Dorsey Pender (1834-1863) of Edgecombe County, N.C., was a West Point graduate and United States Army officer. In 1860 he served with the United States Army in Oregon and other parts of the Western Territory. In March 1861 he decided to join the Confederacy and served briefly as colonel of the 3rd North Carolina Infantry Regiment, Confederate States of America, and as a colonel of the 6th North Carolina Infantry Regiment before transferring to A. P. Hill's division and being promoted to major general, May 1863. He participated in many of the major engagements in Virginia and died in July 1863 as the result of a wound received at Gettysburg.

His wife was Mary Francis ( Fanny ) Sheppard Pender, daughter of former congressman Augustine H. Shepperd of Forsyth County, N.C.