Maj. Gen. William Pender
Born: February 6, 1834
Edgecombe County, North Carolina
Died: July 18, 1863
Stauton, Virginia
1854: West Point Graduate
1854: 2nd Lieutenant
March 21, 1861: Resigned U.S. Army
March 21, 1861: Captain, CSA
May 1861: Colonel
June 1862: Brigadier General
May 1863: Major General
Maj. Gen. William Pender
1854: West Point Graduate - 19th out of 54 - Commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in the 2nd U.S. Artillery
Later served in the 1st Dragoons in Washington Territory fighting in the Indian Wars
March 21, 1861: Resigned from U.S. Army and appointed Captain of Artillery in the Confederate State Army
May 1861: Promoted to Colonel of the 3rd North Carolina Infantry which became the 6th North Carolina Infantry
June 1862: Battle of Seven Pines
Promoted to Brig. General and command of brigade of North Carolinians in Maj. Gen. A.P. Hill's Light Division
President Davis personally promoted Pender on the Seven Pines battlefield
June 25-July 1, 1862: Seven Days Battles
June 30, 1862: Battle of Glendale - Wounded in the arm
August 9, 1862: Battle of Cedar Mountain
August 29-30, 1862: 2nd Battle of Bull Run - Received another wound from an exploding shell
September 12-15, 1862: Battle of Harper's Ferry
September 17, 1862: Battle of Antietam - Arrived in the nick of time with Gen. A.P. Hill to prevent a serious defeat of the Army of Northern Virginia on its right flank
December 13, 1862: Battle of Fredericksburg - was wounded in the left arm, but didn't break any bones and continued to command
Maj 2, 1863: Battle of Chancellorsville - Gen. A.P. Hill was wounded and Pender assumed command. The next day, Pender was wounded again in the arm by a spent bullet that killed an officer who was standing in front of him
With the death of Gen. Stonewall Jackson, Gen. Lee promoted Gen. A.P. Hill to command the newly formed III Corps. Pender was promoted to Maj. Gen. and division command
July 1-3, 1863: Battle of Gettysburg
July 1, 1863: Gen. Hill ordered Pender to attack the Union position on Seminary Ridge. The 30 minutes was very bloody as one of his brigades
was almost completely destroyed
July 2, 1863: Pender was posted near the Lutheran Seminary. Pender's division was to continue the assault on Cemetery Hill. He was injured in the thigh by shell fragment. Was evacuated to Stauton, Virginia where an artery in his leg ruptured. Surgeons amputated his leg in an attempt to save him, but he died a few hours later.
Boatner, Mark M. III. The Civil War Dictionary. New York: David McKay, 1967. p 631
William Dorsey Pender. 3 Febraury 2022. web. 11 June 2022.
Warner, Ezra J. Generals in Gray Lives of the Confederate Commanders. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State, 1999. p 233-234