In an interview with James McCauley, a grand-nephew of Veuve, the 21-year-old immigrant enlisted in the U.S. Army near the end of the American Civil War. According to one story, he agreed to take the place of a wealthy man wanting to avoid the draft. Veuve served in a German-speaking division of volunteer troops and later participated in General William T. Sherman's March to the Sea campaign from April to May 1865. It was during this time that Veuve was attacked by a Confederate cavalryman and sustained a head wound from a sabre. Historians have been unable to verify these claims via the National Archives and Records Administration given that the state regiment that Veuve served with is not known.