 Nyorai kupfuurira kweiyi ndima - Muna 1861, Polk akanyoresa muYell Rifles somunhu oga pasi paPatrick Cleburne, uyo waakashanda pasi pake mukati mehondo yakawanda. Muhondo yeShilo, Junior Second Lieutenant Polk akakuvadzwa kumeso. Akakwidziridzwa kuva colonel we15th Arkansas Infantry Regiment achitevera Shiloh. Apo Cleburne akasimudzirwa kuva mukuru weboka, Polk akagadzwa brigadier general kusvika musi waDecember 13, 1862. Polk akabatanidzwa mukurwisana paStones River, Chickamauga, Chattanooga, uye muAtlanta Campaign. Muna June 1864, Polk akakuvadzwa zvakaipisisa kechina munguva yehondo paHondo yeKennesaw Mountainuye akabudiswa muchiuto achiremekedzwa. 