 On August 14 , 1862 , Pitman left school without his family 's knowledge and volunteered to serve in the Union Army and fight in the American Civil War . He apparently never informed his family in advance about the choice to join the war because the news of his <unk> was reported back in Hawaiʻi 's American missionary community as " Henry Pitman has run away from home and gone [ to war ] . " Carter described Pitman 's rationale for enlisting : " In the midst of the <unk> of war , when the very air <unk> with excitement , the wild enthusiasm of the crowds , and the inspiring sound of the drum , his Indian nature rose within him . His resolve was made . " 
