James Wills enlisted for three years as a private in Company B, 12th Missouri Cavalry on October 21, 1863, and was mustered in at St. Joseph, Missouri. The regiment operated in Mississippi and Tennessee, and fought at Nashville, then, after the war was over, returned to the other side of the Mississippi to battle Native-Americans in the Wyoming Territory and Nebraska.

Wills and the 12th Missouri Cavalry were mustered out of service on April 9, 1866, at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.

Tintype by Unknown Photographer

Image Courtesy Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield; WICR 32051