William P. Sanders

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William Price Sanders
United States of America
Union
Service/branchUnited States Army
Union Army
Years of service1856–1863
Rank Colonel, USV
Brigadier General, USV (unconfirmed)
Battles/warsAmerican Civil War

William Price Sanders (August 12, 1833 – November 19, 1863) was an officer in the Union Army in the American Civil War who died at the Siege of Knoxville.

Birth and early years

William Sanders was born near Frankfort, Kentucky to wealthy attorney Lewis Sanders (Saunders), Jr., and his wife Margaret Hubbel (Price). Through his mother he was a descendent of John Gano, a Revolutionary War patriot.[1] His family moved circa 1839 to Natchez, Mississippi, where he was raised. He was a cousin of Jefferson Davis, and his sister Elizabeth Jane married attorney, mining magnate and thoroughbred horse breeder James Ben Ali Haggin (December 9, 1822 – September 13, 1914), a business partner of George Hearst and the owner of Elmendorf Farm in Lexington, Kentucky. The Haggin family lived next door to the Sanders family in Natchez.[2] William Price Sanders went by the nickname "Doc", but he did not have a medical degree. He was purportedly named in honor of his uncle, a physician. NOTE: Presumably Lewis Bennett P. Sanders, M.D.[3]

Military career

Sanders attended the

2nd U.S. Dragoons on May 27, 1857.[4]

Despite a pre-war reputation for being sympathetic to the South, Sanders remained loyal to the

Peninsula Campaign and the Battle of Antietam. After Antietam, Ambrose Burnside gave him a command in the Department of the Ohio, resulting in his transfer to Cincinnati, Ohio. On March 4, 1863, Sanders was appointed colonel of the 5th Kentucky Cavalry Regiment.[5][6]

Sanders was appointed chief of cavalry of the District of Central Kentucky, Department of the Ohio on April 16, 1863.[5] Burnside then decided to have Sanders lead a raid into East Tennessee, where he was to scout out the enemy, as well as disrupt communication and transportation networks. He also pursued Morgan's Raiders in July 1863.[6]

Sanders was appointed chief of the cavalry corps of the Department of the Ohio in September 1863.

Knoxville Campaign.[6][5]

On November 18, 1863, Sanders was shot in the side and mortally wounded by a sharpshooter of the forces under the command of

Lamar House.[6] He died the next day in the bridal suite.[5]

Sanders was initially buried in the cemetery of Second Presbyterian Church under cover of darkness, but his remains were later moved to the Chattanooga National Cemetery.[6] He was a bachelor at the time of his death but was dating Sue Boyd, a Knoxville relative of Confederate spy Belle Boyd. Miss Boyd is not believed to have betrayed him and is reported to have mourned his death.

The

Knoxville Campaign
, occurred approximately ten days after his death.

Namesakes and honors

The Union fortification "Fort Loudon" was renamed "Fort Sanders" in his memory. Knoxville's

Kingston Pike
denotes the location where he was mortally wounded. Ironically, the marker is on the property of Second Presbyterian Church, which relocated from downtown Knoxville to the place where William Sanders was hit.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Research, Kentucky Kindred Genealogical (2014-10-19). "Versailles Cemetery – Sanders/Haupt/Amsden Families". Kentucky Kindred Genealogy. Retrieved 2023-01-16.
  2. ^ 1850 Federal Census, Mississippi, Adams County, City of Natchez South, Page 4A.
  3. ^ Kentucky State Historical Society, Volume 41, Number 134, January 1943, pages 44-62. (Leavy, William A. Part Four: A Memoir of Lexington and Its Vicinity)
  4. ISBN 978-0-8047-3641-1
    . p. 609.
  5. ^ a b c d e f Eicher, 2001, p. 610.
  6. ^
    ISBN 978-0-8071-0822-2
    . p. 420.
  7. ^ Warner, 1964, pp. 419-420 lists Sanders as a brigadier general without mention that the appointment was not confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

References

External links
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