William L. Saunders

William Laurence Saunders (1835-1891) was an American attorney, newspaper editor, historian, Ku Klux Klan chief organizer in North Carolina, and the North Carolina Secretary of State from 1879 until his death in 1891.

Biography

Saunders served as a colonel in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War; commanding the 46th North Carolina Infantry Regiment. He was wounded at the Battle of Fredericksburg and the Battle of the Wilderness. Saunders served as chief clerk of the North Carolina Senate for several years. In 1879, he was appointed Secretary of State by Gov. Thomas Jordan Jarvis to replace his brother-in-law, Joseph A. Engelhard, who had died in office. Saunders then won election to the office in 1880, 1884 and 1888.

He was the editor of the ten-volume Colonial Records of North Carolina, and was a member and secretary-treasurer of the Board of Trustees of his alma mater, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Carolina Hall at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill was formerly named Saunders Hall, to recognize Saunders' "work as a compiler of historical documents." In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, there were calls from UNC students to remove his name from the building because of his leadership role in the Ku Klux Klan. In 2015, the building was renamed "Carolina Hall".

He is buried in the graveyard at Calvary Episcopal Church, Tarboro, North Carolina.