 Complete the following phrase:  Tidball was born near Wheeling, Virginia in Ohio County, Virginia present-day West Virginia, to parents: James Squires Tidball and Maria Caldwell. He grew up on a farm in eastern Ohio. He graduated eleventh of thirty-eight cadets in the United States Military Academy Class of 1848, and entered the United States Army as a brevet second lieutet in Battery E, 3rd U.S. Artillery. He was commissioned second lieutet on February 14, 1849, when he was transferred to Battery M, 2nd U.S. Artillery. Promoted to first lieutet on March 31, 1853, he transferred again to Battery B, 2nd U.S. Artillery. He served in the Third Seminole War fought against the indigenous Seminole tribe, and accompanied an exploring expedition to California in 18531854. In 1859 he was sent on the Armys expedition to Harpers Ferry, Virginia to suppress 