Larned was a career officer, fighting in the War of 1812 and rising from ensign to brevet captain for his service at the Capture of Fort Erie.

He commanded a company in the Capture of Fort Erie and was brevetted captain for gallantry.

When Nathaniel Towson died in 1853, he became paymaster general as a full colonel.

Temporarily relieved from this post on July 15, 1862, due to ill health,[1] Larned died on September 6, 1862, in Washington, D.C. Timothy P. Andrews became Paymaster General after him.

14, a small military post in Kansas was named Fort Larned in his honor.