William Dunlap Simpson

Among the most distingushed of Hill's colonels, Simpson was born in the Laurens District of South Carolina on October 27, 1823.

He graduated South Carolina College in 1843, then attended Harvard Law School. After withdrawing from HLS after one session, Simpson returned to South Carolina and served in the legislature. He was an aide to Bonham at Fort Sumter and in Virginia during 1861. Simpson joined the 14th as its major on September 9, 1861. He eventually rose to be lieutenant colonel of the regiment on April 11, 1862. However, Simpson resigned to succeed Bonham as a member of the Confederate Congress.

After the War, Simpson served first as lieutenant governor, then as governor of South Carolina following Wade Hampton's resignation in 1879. In 1880, Simpson resigned as governor to become the Chief Justice of the South Carolina Supreme Court. He died in Columbia on December 26, 1890. He is buried in Laurens Cemetery in Laurens, South Carolina.