In July 1861, after the American Civil War began, he enlisted in the 40th New York Infantry Regiment and was mustered in as Sergeant Major.
The regiment was initially sent to Alexandria, Virginia and guarded it during the First Battle of Bull Run, He was then sent to join George B. McClellan's army.
In April 1863, while stationed in Thibodaux, Louisiana, he was permanently disabled due to a bad fracture in his right ankle bone.
In June 1863, while still crippled, he participated in a skirmish in Thibodaux as a mounted force and fought in the Battle of LaFourche Crossing.
While serving in Louisiana, he started a small union paper in Thibodaux and acted as an occasional correspondent of the New York Sunday Mercury.
[3] In 1875 and 1876, he acted as secretary to congressman Archibald M. Bliss and was Special Washington Correspondent for the Eagle and the Brooklyn Times.
He was also the father of a bill that governed the canning and labeling of food in the state, and another that restricted labor hours on railroads.