Pugh led the regiment into action at the Battle of Fort Donelson fighting as part of John McArthur's brigade on the extreme right of the Union line.

Pugh continued in brigade command until October 1863 when the veteran officers and soldiers of the 41st Illinois were granted a furlough while the new recruits in the regiment fought in the Red River Campaign and at Tupelo.

Instead of reuniting the entire regiment in Mississippi, Pugh commanded the so-called "Veterans Battalion" of the 41st Illinois and was sent to Georgia to join William T. Sherman's campaign against Atlanta.

Pugh briefly commanded the 2nd Brigade, 4th Division in the XVII Corps which was composed of regiments primarily on guard duty in Georgia.

Command History[3] Pugh returned to his home in Decatur, Illinois and served as a clerk and postmaster there before his death on November 19, 1874.