Peter Heil enlisted as a private in Company A, 5th Kansas Cavalry on July 16, 1861, at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. He was captured on April 25, 1864, at Marks’ Mill’s, Arkansas, and held as a prisoner of war. He was exchanged and returned to company, and was mustered out of the service on April 20, 1865. Heil died on April 20, 1919, in Topeka, Kansas.

The 5th Kansas Cavalry was organized on July 12, 1861, at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas; they fought in the 1863 battle of Helena and Pine Bluff, and in the 1864 actions of Lexington, Little Blue River, Independence, Byram’s Ford, Westport, Marais des Cygnes, Mine Creek, Marmiton River, and Newtonia.

Carte-de-Visite by Unknown Photographer.

Image Courtesy Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield; WICR 31775