William Zachariah Leitner

William Zachariah Leitner (September 23, 1829 – April 15, 1888) was a lawyer, state senator, state Secretary of State, and a Confederate officer in the American Civil War.

Early life William Z. Leitner was born on September 3, 1829, near Winnsboro, Fairfield County, South Carolina, to George Leitner. His father was a wealthy planter. He was educated at the Baptist Institute near his family's home four miles away from Winnsboro. He graduated from South Carolina College in 1849. He taught law to John D. Kennedy. Following graduation, he was chair of Greek and Latin at Shurley Institute for two or three years.

Leitner enlisted with the Camden Volunteers as a first lieutenant on April 8, 1861. He then moved with the regiment to Morris Island. He was a part of Company D of the 25th Regiment of the South Carolina Militia. He supported the batteries at the Battle of Fort Sumter. He was then made captain of Company E of Kenshaw's 2nd South Carolina Volunteers. He then went to Virginia and was in most battles fought by the Army of Northern Virginia, including the First Battle of Manassas. In the Battle of Gettysburg, a grapeshot shattered his right leg below the knee and his leg was amputated. He attained the rank of lieutenant colonel. He moved to Camden around 1858 and remained there until the 1880s. He lived on Senate Street in Columbia. He was a member of the Washington Street Methodist Church. He died from a heart attack on April 15, 1888. He was buried in Elmwood Cemetery in Columbia.