with such desperate courage as to win the unstinted applause of the whole
army. In the latter battle General Ramsour was again wounded in his disabled
arm, and had three horses shot under him; still he never left the field, but
continued to lead his brigade in the charge. He was
The addition to the Federal forces caused Early to hold a consultation with Generals Breckenridge, Gordon, Ramseur and Rhodes, and a retreat was ordered to the lower Valley of Virginia. At the battle of Winchester (September 19, 1864), General Ramseur sustained the brunt of battle from daylight until 9 or 10 o'clock, when the other divisions came to his relief. In this fierce combat the gallant Rhodes was killed. General Ramseur was transferred from Early's old division to the division left without a Major General by the fall of Rhodes. He commanded this but one month, when he too met the death of a gallant soldier at the battle of Cedar Creek, on the 19th of October, 1864.
In his report of this battle, General Early states:
"Major General Ramseur fell into the hands of the enemy mortally wounded, and in him not only my command, but the country, suffered; heavy loss. He was a most gallant and energetic officer, whom no disaster appalled, but his courage and energy seemed to gain new strength in the midst of confusion and disorder. He fell at his post, like a lion at bay, and his native State has reason to be proud of his memory."*
* See Land we Love, May,
1868.
James Pinckney Henderson (born in 1808, and died 1858), the son of Major Lawson Henderson, was born, raised, and educated in Lincoln county, in the town of Lincolnton, He studied law and was admitted to practice, about 1829. At this time, his health was prostrated by a severe hemorrhage from the lungs; he sought the mild climate of Cuba for relief, where he spent the winters of 1833-34. He returned, much improved; and, in hopes of effecting a full restoration of health and the improvement of his fortunes, he moved in 1835, to Mississippi. Here he remained until the Texas troubles commenced, and in common with Houston, Lamar, and other brave spirits, he drew his sword in the service of the "Lone Star," republic, and spent the remainder of his life under her flag.
For more than twenty years of his life, he was spared to participate in the stirring events of that eventful period. His brilliant career as her Attorney General, her Secretary of State, and her first Governor; Major General of her forces in the Mexican War, (distinguished at Monterey); her Minister Plenipotentiary to France and England, and finally her Senator in the Congress of the United States, all now has become historical. These rapid strides of success are due to his high sense of honor, his integrity of character, his indomitable energy, and to his deep knowledge of men and events.
He fell a victim to consumption, so fatal to his family, and died while a member of the
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