Whakaotihia te rerenga e whai ake nei: I whānau a Miles ki Maryland. I puta ia i te United States Military Academy i te tau 1824 a i whakawhiwhia ki a ia he kaitiaki tuarua i roto i te 4th U.S. Infantry regiment, engari i whakawhiti wawe atu ki te 7th U.S. Infantry Regiment, i mahi ai ia tae noa ki te 1847. I mahi ia i te rohe ki te hauauru ka noho hei kaitiaki mo te 7th U.S. I whakatairangahia ia hei rangatira i te Pipiri 8, 1836, ka whawhai ia i nga Pakanga Seminole i Florida mai i te 1839 ki te 1842. I te timatanga o te Pakanga o Mexico-American, i whakawhiwhia ia ki te whakatairanga i a ia ki te rangatira mo tana "mahi maia me te whanonga" i te tiaki o Fort Brown, Texas. I whawhai ia i te Pakanga o Monterrey me te
Te whakapae o Veracruz, i whakahaerehia e ia hei rangatira hoia mo nga marama e wha. I tohua ia hei rangatira rangatira mo "te whanonga toa me te pai i roto i nga pakanga maha i Monterrey, Mexico".