The 11th Alabama Infantry first engaged in combat at the Battle of Seven Pines. During the following Seven Days Battles, after fighting in the Battle of Gaines Mill, Sanders was severely wounded in the leg by a shell fragment at the Battle of Glendale (Frayser's Farm), June 30, 1862, in Henrico County, Virginia. Nonetheless, he returned to command the regiment on August 11, 1862 as he was the senior officer on duty. He was wounded again at the Battle of Second Bull Run on August 30, 1862. Sanders was formally promoted to colonel after the Battle of Antietam (Sharpsburg, Maryland), September 17, 1862, where his face was wounded by stones thrown up by an exploding shell.