Wilson and Edgecombe County Legend

                      General William Dorsey Pender

                                        1834 - 1863

He was affectionately called, “Dorsey” or “Dorse” by family and friends. Penders Crossroads, like most of the country, had stories of the War. There were stories of brother against brother and about heroes and tragedies. William Dorsey Pender was the most famous soldier from the Penders Crossroads area. There have been a number of books and publications about Pender’s military accomplishments and bravery on the battlefields. This is a glimpse into the General’s personal relationships and especially with the love of his life, Fanny.

Some stories are based on information passed down by family and some by documents and two books: The General To His Lady by William W. Hassler and William Dorsey Pender, A Military Biography written by Edward G. Longacre.

William Dorsey Pender was born on February 6, 1834, in Edgecombe County (now Wilson County).  His parents were James and Sarah Routh Pender. James was brother of Joseph John “Jack” Pender.

Dorsey Pender spent his childhood on the several hundred acre farm owned by his parents who he said were flighty and that his father was indulgent and had a tendency to be disagreeable. He said his mother was affectionate and kind. He was not always complimentary of his parents and he said their home was a lonely place for him. He was the youngest of several children so it is possible that he was a bit spoiled.

Pender noted that his education was secular. Later in his life he talked about his family’s lack of interest in religion and the family did not attend church on any regular basis and he had little acquaintance with Scriptures. After Dorsey married Fanny, his lack of Scripture knowledge was troubling to him and he was constantly striving to be a better person in his wife’s eyes. Fanny was both a Christian and had knowledge of Scriptures. As a young teen on his father’s farm, in addition to his schooling, he performed farm chores and enjoyed recreational activities such as riding, hunting and fishing. He got along well with his older brothers, Robert and David, and with his sister, Patience. He became an accomplished horseman and had hands on knowledge of firearms.

Dorsey’s older brother, Robert, left the farm and moved to Tarboro, N. C., to start a business known as Pender & Bridgers Mercantile. Robert was fourteen years older than Dorsey. By 1849 Robert’s business had achieved both commercial and financial success in partnership with his cousin, R. R. Bridgers.

At the age of fourteen, Dorsey moved to Tarboro and became a clerk in the mercantile store. He was restless in this job and his dream still was to attend West Point and become a soldier.

R.R. Bridgers, Attorney and Robert’s business partner, used his friendship with Congressman John R.J. Daniel and on April 26, 1850 the Congressman placed William Dorsey Pender’s name before Secretary of War, George W. Crawford. The appointment was confirmed. Dorsey made the trip to West Point, accompanied by family and friends travelling by Stage Coach, train and a Hudson River steamer. He arrived at West Point in style and well chaperoned.

Pender was less prepared than most of his West Point classmates since he quit his formal education in his mid teens to work in Robert’s store. Pender and 70 other candidates qualified for admission to the Military Academy.

He worked and studied hard and he made friends. It was noted that he was lightly educated among more learned classmates who were more familiar with the issues of the day. He possibly lacked a passionate commitment to either side of the political division. When these discussions took place, Pender had a tendency to remain silent.  He appeared to feel that slavery was not a social good. He had fellowship and friendship of Southern classmates and Northern classmates and he considered those interactions the greatest rewards of his experience at West Point.

Pender became friends with classmates Samuel Turner Shepperd who was the son of Congressman Augustine H. Shepperd He was also friends with Stephen D. Lee and James Ewell Brown Stuart.

A few days after commencement Pender and two of his classmates took advantage of a two-month furlough. This furlough was granted to all West Point graduates. Pender spent a short time at Town Creek visiting family and then went to the family estate of his friend, Samuel Turner Shepperd, near Salem, North Carolina. There he met his friend’s sister, Fanny. He was smitten. The time spent at Good Spring, was only about three weeks. Pender left to perform duties as a United States Army soldier in Mexico, Kansas, Texas, New Mexico and other locations. His absence from Fanny was over a year but they corresponded regularly. Fanny’s brother and Pender’s friend got malaria and died. This sorrow and their shared grief in letters brought Dorsey and Fanny closer.  Late in 1858 Pender made a trip to Good Spring and he claimed Fanny Shepperd as his bride. They were married in 1859.

The book The General To His Lady shares dozens of letters Pender wrote to his wife in which he told her of some of the conditions on the battlefield and he also opened up his heart and shared his deepest feelings. In one of his letters posted from Suffolk, Virginia on June 2, 1861, he told Fanny: “I am treated with the greatest kindness by the people. Several invitations today, as well as Sunday invitations to tea. Dined today with the most beautiful girl in Suffolk and it has a great many pretty ones.”  He had told her that the girls he danced with in Baltimore and Richmond surpassed her in beauty but they fell short in virtue. Fanny didn’t answer his letter right away but when she did, she scolded him. Pender’s frequent allusions to his harmless flirtation eventually provoked a scathing letter from Fanny. She significantly prefaced by admonishing her husband to “Read To The End”.

A quote from Fanny’s letter dated June 30, 1861, she reminds him of his own words in his letter to her:  “I was at a little gathering two nights ago and had a very nice time dancing and flirting with a very nice girl. I am trying to get her to knit you a sack, but she says she is not going to work for my wife, but will do anything for me.”

More of Fanny’s response: “Now I ask you candidly, what in your sober senses, why you wrote me such a thing as that? Was it to gratify your vanity by making me jealous, or to make me appreciate your love more? You are very much mistaken. I feel indignant that any woman would have dared to make such loose speeches to my husband and that he would have encouraged her by his attentions, for you must have gone pretty far for a woman to attempt such a liberty. My dear, ever dear husband, do not think this is only a little jealous thing – I know it will amuse you now but the time will come when you will remember it.”

Dorsey and Fanny had discussed her visiting at the camp and in the above exchange she wrote: “You say the women seem to think I am a very ‘superior woman’ – it would be a great pity to (undeceive) them, and might detract somewhat from your distinction – so I had better remain, for a great many reasons, where I am.”

The letters exchanged between the two were frequent, almost daily. No other letters than the ones quoted revealed any kind of spat between them.

Most of the letters exchanged between Dorsey and Fanny were more like love letters, professing their love and devotion. Dorsey regularly asked about the health and learning habits of the children and was always concerned for Fanny’s health. He asked about family. He told her of the conditions in the camps and about the food or clothing she had sent to him. He let her know how the cakes or yams were enjoyed or that occasionally a treat was delivered and was destroyed in transport. He let her know whether the undergarments she had sent were a fit or if the leggings were too tight in the calves of his legs. He always prefaced it with the fact that he was not complaining but wanted her to know so she could correct the size. It seems that he was regularly in search of a better or faster horse and requested a search for one. I believe he had some horses shot out from under him, and replacements of fine and fast horses wasn’t easy.

He told Fanny about the training of the soldiers under his command and at times he was concerned for their health. Many who died were not killed in battle but died from diseases or dysentery. When possible, Fanny visited Dorsey and spent weeks in housing near the camps. His letters were signed “Your Devoted Husband”. (If a copy of The General To His Lady can be located, it is a most informative and interesting account of the times.)

On March 21, 1861, Pender resigned from the U.S. Army. By May he was a Colonel in command of the 3rd North Carolina Infantry. In May of 1863 he was promoted to Major General. General Robert E. Lee said that Dorsey Pender was without fear on the battlefield and opened himself up to enemy fire, which resulted in Pender suffering several battlefield wounds. He returned to the battlefield at times before the bleeding stopped.

General Pender was well regarded by his superiors. Robert E. Lee wrote to Jefferson Davis, “Pender is an excellent officer, attentive, industrious and brave; has been conspicuous in every battle and, I believe, wounded in almost all of them.”

Pender suffered a serious and final wound in his thigh during a battle at Gettysburg. He had surgery on the wound and it was thought that he would recover and return to battle. He was taken by ambulance to Staunton, Virginia. His wound had become severely infected and an artery ruptured.

William Dorsey Pender was a good judge of his own strengths and weaknesses. On his dying bed he sent messages to his wife. He wanted her to know he had never had a wish that was not fulfilled. As a young boy his heart was determined on going to West Point. He wanted her to know he married the woman he loved best. He said that his military promotions had been as rapid as any reasonable man could expect. He wanted her to know he realized he gave an impression of aloofness in his relationships with others. He said Fanny was the only person he could open his heart to. He wanted her to know that he was not lavish with his expression of love, but that he was not always devoid of it even though he often failed to express it. He wanted Fanny to know that he was not afraid to die.

Surgeons did their best to repair the wound but Pender died shortly after surgery. He was only 29 years old. A few months after Pender’s death, Fanny gave birth to their third son, Stephen Lee Turner Pender, named after his friend.

After General William Dorsey Pender’s fatal wound at Gettysburg, General Robert E. Lee said that, ‘we should have succeeded if Pender had lived’. Lee had discovered that on the battlefield Dorsey Pender had been without peer and men of his caliber were irreplaceable.

Fanny Shepperd Pender never remarried. She operated a boarding school in Tarboro until 1885 when she was appointed Postmistress of Tarboro, N. C. She died in 1922 at the age of 82 years.

Montress Greene

Email: montressg@gmail.com