In 1861 he enlisted in Company K, Second Michigan Volunteer Infantry. He was captured in 1864. He was part of a prisoner exchange but was very ill and he died while on board a ship that was transporting him to Fort Monroe.
Theodore W Snell Service. 2nd Michigan Infantry by the State of Michigan and George H. Turner, page 163. Published by Ihling Bros. & Everard, Kalamazoo, Michigan.