Frederick Charles Winkler, lawyer, soldier, and politician, was born in Breman, Germany, in 1838, and emigrated with his parents to settle in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1844. He was educated in the public schools and the German-English Academy, was tutored by Peter Engelmann, studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1859.
Frederick Winkler was commissioned Captain in Company B, Twenty-sixth Regiment Wisconsin Volunteers, on September 3, 1862. During the Civil War he rose in rank until he was finally brevetted a brigadier general. He served as judge advocate at the 11th Army Headquarters, 1862-1863; participated in the battles of Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Missionary Ridge, and Atlanta; and was with Sherman on his march to the sea. After he was mustered out in 1865 he resumed the practice of law in Milwaukee.
As a Republican, General Winkler took an active interest in politics and in civil service reform. He served in the state assembly in 1872 and later made an unsuccessful bid to become a candidate for Congress. He died in Los Angeles in 1921.
