William Laurence Saunders

Saunders was born in Raleign on July 30, 1835. A graduate of the University of North Carolina, he was a lawyer prior to the War. Saunders rose from the rank of captain to command of the 46th North Carolina. He was wounded at both Fredericksburg and the Wilderness, but served until Appomattox.

Post-War, he was a newspaper editor in Raleigh, Sailsbury, and Wilmington. He served as Secretary of State for North Carolina and, infamously, was the head of the Ku Klux Klan in the state as well. Saunders authored a book, Colonial Records of North Carolina. He died in Raleigh on April 2, 1891.