Patterson was on the University’s Board of Trustee and received his honorary degree in 1895. Prior to the Civil War, he did missionary work with enslaved people; during the Civil War, he served as a Confederate chaplain. Patterson was the anonymous author in 1856 of the influential pro-slavery pamphlet, The Scripture Doctrine With Regard to Slavery, which used biblical arguments to justify enslavement.

"Is slavery a sin? Answer: The Bible teaches duties concerning it, but nowhere intimates its sinfulness."

-William Papathakes Patterson, The Scripture Doctrine with Regard to Slavery

https://www.ncpedia.org/biography/patterson-george