 He immigrated to the United States as a young man in 1854 and settled in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where he worked as a calico printer and tailor.Upon the outbreak of the American Civil War, he volunteered for service in the Union Army and was elected captain of Company I, 30th Regiment Indiana Infantry.He was wounded at the Battle of Shiloh on April 7, 1862, and resigned from the Army eight months later, in December.