During the Civil War he served in Virginia with the United States Christian Commission in 1862, and was chaplain of the Forty-seventh Regiment, National Guard of New York, in 1869. He continued his ministerial duties in Brooklyn from 1866 to 1880, and was elected as an Independent candidate to the Forty-seventh Congress, holding office from March 4, 1881 to March 3, 1883.
From 1862 to 1869, he served in Virginia with the United States Christian Commission and was chaplain of the Forty-seventh Regiment, National Guard of New York. He then ministered in Brooklyn from 1866 to 1880 before running as an Independent candidate for the Forty-seventh Congress, serving from March 4, 1881 to March 3, 1883.