Warren Greene Peterson was born 22 Jan 1844 in the Longshore community section of Newberry County that later became Saluda County. He was the son of David Thomas Peterson and Susan Caroline Abney. His maternal great grandfather, Nathaniel Abney, fought on the American side of the Revolutionary War, and was on duty at the Battle of Ninety Six.

At the age of four, his mother and father died within six weeks of each other. This left Warren and his two year old sister, Josephine, with no one to care for them.
Josephine, who later married John Floyd, was adopted by distant cousins, "Aunt" Charlotte and "Uncle" John Stewart. She and her husband educated Aunt Joe at Greenville Female College.

Warren was reared by his mother's relatives, Cousin Ann Coleman and Mary Abney Walton. According to the court records, John Coleman was his guardian. When about eight or nine years old, he was taken by his Uncle John and Aunt Jane Gilder Peterson and lived with them until he enlisted in the Confederate Army.

On April 14, 1861, he volunteered at the age of seventeen. On June 6, 1861, he was mustered into service in Co. B, 3rd Regiment S.C. Volunteers as a private. At the end of his service, he had been promoted to Sargent.
According to his military records, Warren was wounded five times: Savage Station, Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, Chickamauga, and the Wilderness. Surgeon W.G. Welch found him just a few feet away from Col. James Nance, who was killed, on 6 May 1864 at the Battle of Wilderness. Warren was severely wounded in his hip. He had been previously wounded in the same hip at Gettysburg, thus the shattered hip prevented him from returning to battle. He was hospitalized in Charlottesville, VA where Dr. W.A. Hawes helped care for him. This wound gave him more or less trouble for the rest of his days, and he walked with a pronounced limp.
In the summer of 1911, Warren and Dr. Welch toured the battlefields of Virginia. He visited Dr. Hawes in Charlottesville along with several of the ladies who nursed him.

Returning to Newberry County, convalescing, he lived as a member of Mr. Henry Burton's family. He was officially discharged 15 April 1865.

He engaged in farming after his recovery, and lived in the Longshore Community. He was a magistrate for a number of years, and was called "Judge Peterson". The title clung to him the rest of his life. He was married three times. First to his second cousin, Mary Elizabeth Stewart, who died on 17 Jan 1888. They were married on 18 Dec 1872 at the home of her mother, Epsie Stewart by the Rev. John Stoat. His second wife was Jennie Abrams, who died along with their infant son soon after childbirth. His third wife was Lula Waters, who he married on 10 July 1895.

He was an official weather reporter for over 30 years, and also a Rural Postal carrier until ill health forced him to retire in 1920. He was chairman of the Newberry Pension Board. He was a member of the Mt. Zion Baptist Church, where his first two wives are buried. When he moved to Newberry in 1903, he became a member of the First Baptist Church.

He died at his home on 20 June 1922. Quoting from "The Newberry News and Herald": "He was a famous figure in Newberry County. The people respected him. Among other things, they respected him for his walk in two ways--his walk was upright and honest and he walked with a limp. The people in a very high degree respected the limping walk because it was caused by wounds on the bloody fields of the old Confederacy."