The best thing you can say about Brigadier General William Pendleton is that he looked like General Robert E Lee and was often confused with him.
Seriously, General Pendleton was a minister of a parish in Lexington VA and entered the civil war in May, 1861, as a commander of the Rockbridge Artillery of that city. I believe he deserves credit for leaving a good life, at his age, and joining the active service. He was appointed the Chief of Artillery for the Army of the Potomac commanded by General J. Johnston and retained in this capacity by General Lee. He proved to be an above average administrator for the artillery service but did not do well as the commander of the reserve artillery of the army. The book "The Long Arm of Lee" by Wise describes Pendleton as having a poor understanding of the role of reserve artillery and he is blamed for issuing orders that kept the reserve guns out of action too long. He probably should have been assigned to a staff position in the artillery or ordnance dept in Richmond by early 1863. The lack of a suitable replacement was the reason he was not reassigned. Don't suggest Colonel Alexander as Chief of Artillery because at this time, he was a junior artillery officer. A new assignment for Pendleton could not have been one one that would interfer with the work of Colonel Josiah Gorgas.