George Gordon ( Civil War General ) George Washington Gordon ( October 5 , 1836 – August 9 , 1911 ) was a general of the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War . After the war , he practiced law in Pulaski , Tennessee , where the Ku Klux Klan was formed . He became one of the Klan ' s first members . In 1867 , Gordon became the Klan ' s first Grand Dragon for the Realm of Tennessee , and wrote its " Precept , " a book describing its organization , purpose , and principles . He was also a member of the United States House of Representatives for the 10th congressional district of Tennessee . Early life . Gordon was born in Pulaski , Tennessee . He graduated from the Western Military Institute in Nashville , Tennessee , in 1859 , and practiced civil engineering . Civil War . At the start of the Civil War , Gordon enlisted in the military service of the Confederacy and became drillmaster of the 11th Regiment , Tennessee Infantry , before rising to brigadier general . He was one of the youngest Confederate brigadier generals at the end of the war . Gordon led Vaughn ' s Brigade , under Maj . Gen . John C . Brown , at the Battle of Franklin ( November 30 , 1864 ) , where he was wounded and captured . Many of the men he led are buried at McGavock Confederate Cemetery in Franklin , Tennessee . Postbellum career . After the war , Gordon studied law , was admitted to the bar , and practiced in Memphis , Tennessee , until 1883 . He was appointed one of the railroad commissioners of Tennessee . He received an appointment in the Department of the Interior in 1885 , as special Indian agent in Arizona and Nevada , and he served until 1889 . He returned to Memphis , Tennessee and resumed the practice of law . He was the superintendent of Memphis city schools between 1889 and 1907 . Ku Klux Klan involvement . The KKK ( the Klan ) was formed by veterans of the Confederate Army in Pulaski , Tennessee , in 1866 and soon expanded throughout the state and beyond . Gordon was an early member , if not a founder . According to one oral report , he went to General Nathan Bedford Forrest in Memphis , and told him about the Klan , to which Forrest replied , " That ' s a good thing ; that ' s a damn good thing . We can use that to keep the niggers in their place . " The organization had grown to the point where an experienced commander was needed , and Forrest fit the bill . Forrest became involved sometime in late 1866 or early 1867 . A common report is that Forrest arrived in Nashville in April 1867 while the Klan was meeting at the Maxwell House Hotel . In Room 10 of the Maxwell , Forrest was sworn in as a member . Forrest went on to become the nationwide leader of the first Klan . The historical record includes an 1868 proclamation by Gordon . In it , he warns that the Klan had been " fired into three times , " and that if the blacks " make war upon us they must abide by the awful retribution that will follow . " He also states that the Klan is a peaceful organization , but that some people have been carrying out violent acts in the name of the Klan . Political career . Gordon was elected as a Democrat to the Sixtieth , Sixty - first , and Sixty - second Congresses . He served from March 4 , 1907 , until his death in Memphis . He was interred in Elmwood Cemetery .