Whakaotihia te rerenga e whai ake nei: I whanau a Duncan, i tipu ake i Chanceford Township i te tonga-rawhiti o York County, Pennsylvania, e rohe ana ki te awa whanui o Susquehanna. I tohua ia ki te United States Military Academy i te Hōngongoi 1, 1845, ka mutu i West Point i te Pipiri 1849. He ākonga pai, i eke ia ki te tūranga tuarima i roto i te akomanga o ngā ākonga 43. Na tona tuunga maatauranga nui, i whakawhiwhia ia hei tuarua tuarua me te tohatoha ki te Tuarua o te U.S. Artillery i te Hurae o taua tau. Kaore i roa i muri mai, i te Oketopa 31, i whakawhiwhia ia ki te taumata tuarua o te tuarua, ka tukuna ano ki te Third Artillery. I kite ia i tana mahi whawhai tuatahi e mahi ana i te
Ko ngā pakanga a Florida ki ngā Indian Seminole.