On 25 July 1862, Walter F. Halleck enlisted as a Private at Nashville, Tennessee in Co. I, 11th Michigan Infantry commanded by Col. William L. Stoughton. After participating in several skirmishes, the 16-year old would find himself involved in far more desperate fighting by the end of the year. On 31 December, Halleck had his "left eye shot out" and was seriously wounded in the right cheek at the Battle of Stones River. The young man fell into enemy hands and was held at Libby Prison in Richmond for two months, then sent north to Camp Chase, Ohio until a prisoner exchange was arranged. Still game for a fight, young Halleck begged his army superiors for employment and was mustered into the 10th Veteran Reserve Corps, responsible for guarding Washington, DC. Promoted 2nd Lieutenant on 14 April 1864, Walter Halleck was one of the first military personnel to reach Ford's Theatre after the shooting of Abraham Lincoln on the night of 14 April 1865. Following surgery to implant an artificial eye, Halleck participated as an officer with the 18th and 27th U.S. Infantry in the Indian Wars in Wyoming and Montana. On his resignation from the army, Halleck eventually found employment back in Washington, DC in disbursing and as a security officer. Walter F. Halleck died there in 1915, and is buried at Arlington Cemetery. The period image shows Washington, DC from the south.