Page:Confederate Military History - 1899 - Volume 2.djvu/184

166 of infantry, U. S. A., was ordered to the Pacific coast. The steamer San Francisco, on which the troops took passage, encountered a hurricane off the Atlantic coast, and for several weeks was reported lost. Lieutenant Winder and his men were, however, rescued and carried to Liverpool. For his coolness and devotion on this occasion he was promoted to captain of the Ninth regiment, March 3, 1855, being, it is believed, the youngest captain in the army. Finally reaching the Pacific coast he went into Washington Territory in 1856, and was engaged in the desperate combat of To-hots-nim-me, with the Columbia river Indians, and other engagements in 1856 and 1858 in the Spokane country, under the command of Steptoe and Wright. Early in 1861 he resigned his commission, and was commissioned, to date from March 16th, major of artillery in the Confederate army. He served at Charleston during the reduction of Fort Sumter, and was in command of the South Carolina arsenal until commissioned colonel of the Sixth regiment, South Carolina infantry, July 8, 1861. He hurried with his command to Manassas, but reached the battle ground at the close of the fight. Promoted brigadier-general in March, 1862, he was assigned to command the Fourth brigade in Hill's division, but on the occurrence of a vacancy was given command of the "Stonewall brigade," in Jackson's division, with which he served in the Valley campaign of 1862. He led the advance and opened the battle of Port Republic and in the campaign on the Chickahominy led his brigade in the desperate and memorable charge which broke the Federal lines at Cold Harbor or Games' Mill. In his report of that battle General Jackson describes the forward movement of the brigade, through the swamp, meeting at that point the Hampton Legion, First Maryland, Twelfth Alabama, Fifty-second Virginia and Thirty-eighth Georgia, which were formed on General Winder's line. "Thus formed, they moved forward under the lead of that gallant officer, whose conduct