[3] He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, studying under doctors Jackson and Robert Hare, earning an M.D.

[3] His efforts shifted again three years later, when he commenced a political career in the Democratic Party with a post in the Indiana State Senate in 1850.

Eddy served only one term in this office, as he was defeated by Schuyler Colfax when he attempted to run for re-election.

[2][3][citation needed] Undaunted, Eddy continued his political career as Attorney General of the Territory of Minnesota, serving as an appointee of President Franklin Pierce in 1855.

[3] The outbreak of the American Civil War marked a new phase of Eddy's life, as he organized the 48th Indiana Infantry and received a commission as its colonel.

[2][3] Eddy served in this capacity for two years, but received disabling wounds in Mississippi at the Battle of Iuka and left the service in July 1863.