For his valor in the face of this crisis, Winder was promoted to captain in the 9th U.S. Infantry on March 3, 1855,[1] at the relatively young age of twenty-six.

In fact, so general was the feeling of animosity toward him, by August 1862 it was widely rumored Winder would be shot by one of his own men in the next battle.

Four years in the Stonewall Brigade pgs 101-10 On August 9, 1862, Winder led his men into battle at Cedar Mountain, on the left flank of the Confederate line.

He was personally directing the fire of a battery when a Union shell struck him in his left side, horribly mangling him.

[4] Winder's body was initially buried in nearby Orange Court House, before being disinterred and transported to Richmond.

Urged by the medical director to take no part in the movements of the day because of the then enfeebled state of his health, his ardent patriotism and military pride could bear no such restraint.

Richly endowed with those qualities of mind and person which fit an officer for command and which attract the admiration and excite the enthusiasm of troops, he was rapidly rising to the front rank of his profession.