Background
He was born on July 30, 1835 in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. His father was the Rev. Joseph Hubbard Saunders and his mother, Laura, daughter of Dr. Simmons J. Baker of Halifax County, N. C.
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He was born on July 30, 1835 in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. His father was the Rev. Joseph Hubbard Saunders and his mother, Laura, daughter of Dr. Simmons J. Baker of Halifax County, N. C.
Prepared for college at the Raleigh Academy, Saunders entered the University of North Carolina in 1850 and was graduated in 1854. He returned to study law under Judge William H. Battle. He received the degree of LL. B. in 1858.
He was licensed in 1856. He began practice in Salisbury, N. C. , where he also edited the Salisbury Banner.
In 1861 he volunteered for military service and during the war rose from the rank of private to that of colonel, at Appomattox being in command of the 46th North Carolina Regiment. He was twice wounded, both times seriously, and always thereafter suffered greatly from the results.
At the close of the war he settled in Florida. Saunders soon returned to North Carolina, settling at Chapel Hill, where he watched the course of Reconstruction with passionate interest. When conditions seemed no longer bearable, he assumed direction of the activities of the "Invisible Empire, " or Ku Klux Klan, although he was never a regular member of it and was bound by no oath. He began to write regularly for the newspapers, and from 1872 to 1876 was one of the editors of the Wilmington Journal.
In 1870 he was elected chief clerk of the Senate and held the place until 1874. During this period he was summoned to appear in Washington before the congressional committee which was investigating the Ku Klux activities. His friends urged him to leave the country but he refused and appeared in Washington, where he declined to answer any questions bearing in any way upon the Ku Klux and quietly defied the committee to punish him. He was badgered and threatened for several days without losing his calm poise, and was then released.
In 1876 he moved to Raleigh and with Peter M. Hale established the Observer, which he edited with great ability for three years, retiring then on account of ill health. In the same year he became secretary of state and retained that post until his death. During this period
He died in his fifty-sixth year.
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Saunders was possessed of a keen, alert mind and excellent judgment. Modest, self-effacing, and unselfish, he had a deep passion for service. Quiet and retiring always, he was nevertheless widely popular.
He had married, Feb. 3, 1864, Florida Cotten, daughter of John W. Cotten of Edgecombe County, N. C. She died in July 1865.