Complex sentence: In 1861, May enlisted as a private in the Kalamazoo Light Guards and was elected captain of company I, 2nd Michigan infantry, and resigned from the post that December to attend to personal and legal business.
Split into simpler sentences: In 1861, May enlisted as a private in the Kalamazoo Light Guards and was elected captain of company I, 2nd Michigan infantry. He resigned from the post that December to attend to personal and legal business.