 After combining farm work and an early education at academies at Brandon and South Woodstock, he began studying law in 1857, and was admitted to the Rutland County bar in 1861.He enlisted in the Brandon "Allen Grays" in April 1861, which became Company G of the 1st Vermont Infantry.He was elected 2nd lieutenant on April 25, 1861, and served with the regiment for its full three-month term.