During the Civil War he served as corporal in Company E, One Hundred and Forty-third Regiment, Illinois Volunteer Infantry. He again attended Mifflin Academy in 1866 and 1867 and was graduated from Illinois College at Jacksonville in 1868.
He participated in the Civil War as a corporal in the One Hundred and Forty-third Regiment's Company E, Illinois Volunteer Infantry. Subsequently, he revisited Mifflin Academy in 1866 and 1867 before graduating from Illinois College at Jacksonville in 1868.