At the outbreak of the American Civil War, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in Company B, Twenty-fifth Regiment, New York State Militia Volunteers which was ordered to the defense of Washington, D.C. in April 1861.
When the American Civil War began, he received a commission as a second lieutenant in Company B of the Twenty-fifth Regiment, New York State Militia Volunteers, tasked with protecting Washington, D.C., in April 1861.