Apo New York State Agricultural College (yakabatanidzwa gare gare muCornell University) yakavambwa muOvid, New York, Kimball akava Purofesa weChemistry neEconomic Geology. Pakatanga Hondo Yenyika yeAmerica muna 1861, purezidhendi wekoreji, Maj. M. R. Patrick akagadzwa Brigadier-General weVanozvipira; Kimball akazova Brig. Gen. Patrick's Chief of Staff, aine chinzvimbo chaKaputeni. Akaona basa remunda pasi paMaj. Gen. Irvin McDowell, uye aivepo paHondo yechipiri yeBull Run (Nyamavhuvhu 28-30, 1862); Hondo yeChantilly
(September 1, 1862); Hondo yeSouth Mountain (September 14, 1862); Hondo yeAntietam (September 17, 1862); Hondo yeFredericksburg (December 11-15, 1862); Hondo yeChancellorsville (April 30-May 6, 1863); uye Hondo yeGettysburg (July 1-3, 1863). Brig. Gen. Patrick akabva agadzwa kuva Provost Marshal weArmy of the Potomac, uye Captain Kimball akaenda naye ikoko, achishanda paGeneral Staff pasi peGeneral George B. McClellan, Ambrose Burnside, Joseph Hooker, naGeorge Meade zvakateedzana.