With a company of engineers he deployed to Mexico as part of Winfield Scott's army, serving at Veracruz, Cerro Gordo and Puebla.

Ending the war as a sergeant, originally having enlisted in the Regular Army for five years, he spent the rest of his term as part of the garrison of the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York.

[2][3] After the Civil War had begun, he sought service in the Union Army, and in September 1861 he was commissioned captain in the United States Volunteers (USV).

[4] To centralize the various recruiting and organization efforts in the country, the Department of War established the Bureau of Colored Troops on May 22, 1863, with General Order No.

[3] Recruitment was authorized for various commanders, governors and bureau commissioners, while several boards of examination were established to get qualified officers for the new units, and by October some 58 regiments had already been organized.

In the following years he served on various posts in the departments of California, Arizona, Dakota, Utah and eventually back in the East, being promoted to major in 1883.