Born to landed gentry in Princess Anne County, Virginia, Thirteen Colonies, North America, during the American Revolutionary War he remained loyal to Britain.
In Fall 1775 Saunders, under the direction of Colonel Jacob Ellegood and Royal Governor Dunmore, joined the Queen's Own Loyal Virginia Regiment.
In December 1775 (present day Chesapeake, Virginia) the Battle of Great Bridge resulted in a defeat for Crown Forces, but it was not until the Summer of 1776 that the Crown Forces including members of the QOLVR moved North and were assimilated into the Queen's Rangers.
Merged into the Queen's Rangers, he rose to the rank of Captain and served under John Graves Simcoe.
Like other soldiers of the Queen's Rangers, Saunders was entitled to Crown grants of land in the Queensbury / Southampton, New Brunswick area, a then unsettled forestry about 50 miles (80 km) west of Fredericton on the Saint John River.