William P. Roberts: The Youngest Confederate General

Nearby lies the grave of William Paul Roberts, born in Gates County in eighteen forty-one. He enlisted in the Confederate cavalry at nineteen. By February of eighteen sixty-five, Roberts had been promoted to brigadier general at twenty-three, making him the youngest commissioned general officer in the entire Confederate army.

He fought at Brandy Station, in the Gettysburg campaign, and through the Wilderness, and surrendered at Appomattox on April ninth, eighteen sixty-five. According to tradition, Robert E. Lee personally gave Roberts his own gauntlets in recognition of distinguished service.

After the war Roberts served in the state legislature and as North Carolina state auditor.