 Nyorai kupfuurira kweiyi ndima - MuHondo Yenyika yeAmerica, Geddes akashanda muuto reUnion, achinyoresa somunhu oga mu8th Iowa Infantry. Akakwidziridzwa kuva kaputeni uye ipapo lieutenant colonel, uye pashure paFebruary 1862 sa colonel wevazvipiri. Akatora rutivi mukurwisana paShiro, uko akakuvadzwa ndokutorwa. Akasungwa kwenguva yakati paMadison, Georgia, uye paLibby Prison muRichmond, Virginia. Pashure pokushandurwa, akarwa paVicksburg naJackson. Muna October 1863, akapiwa basa rokutungamirira brigade ndokutumirwa kuBrownsville, Texas. Gare gare, akashanda semukuru mukuru weFederal yakagara Memphis, Tennessee, iyo yaakaponesa kubva pakutorwa neConfederate cavalry pasi paNathan Bedford Forrest. Akatungamirira brigade muMobile Campaign uye akarwa nokusiyana paHondo yeSpain Fort. Musi waJanuary 13, 1866, Mutungamiri Andrew Johnson akasarudza Geddes kuti asarudzwe kuti ave mutevedzeri weBrigadier General of Volunteers, kuti ave nechinzvimbo kubva munaJune 5, 1865, uye Senate yeUnited States yakasimbisa kusarudzwa musi waMarch 12, 1866. 