The Civil War broke out on April 12, 1861. Many of the cadets at West Point were eager to engage in the fighting, but many teachers at West Point resigned to fight for the Confederacy and the Union Army desperately needed more trained officers. By now, John's father had been promoted to brigadier general, and was helping to reinforce several Union-held forts in the Deep South. He took a ship to Fort Pickens in Pensacola, Florida, and retrieved Major Henry J. Hunt and a unit of artillery and brought them back to Washington, D.C. But with so few officers left in the Union Army's ranks, John felt it urgent that he join the fighting, at least temporarily. John asked his father for a furlough to join in the defense of Washington, and General Meigs gave his permission. The furlough commenced on July 2 and ended on August 28. On July 18, Cadet John Rodgers Meigs arrived at his parents' house.