Purman received his country's highest award for bravery during combat, the Medal of Honor, for actions taken on July 2, 1863, during the Battle of Gettysburg.

[2] When the Union Army stopped accepting volunteer cavalry units, Purman's company changed their name to the Greene County Rifles.

On the first day of battle, July 1, Purman and Pipes were retreating under fire when they heard a fallen soldier calling for help and circled back to retrieve him.

[3]Following the war, Purman finished his degree at Waynesburg College and went on to marry Mary Witherow, one of the daughters of the family he lived with during his recuperation.

[5] In 1907, Purman invited the Confederate soldier who saved him during the Battle of Gettysburg, Thomas Oliver, to Washington to meet President Theodore Roosevelt.