Ramba uchinyora ndima iyi - Apo Hondo yeVanhu yakatanga, Kirkland pakutanga akagadzwa kuva kaputeni muuto reConfederate uye ipapo akasarudzwa kuti ave mukuru mukuru we11th North Carolina Volunteers, yakazonzi 21st North Carolina, muna June 1861. Akatungamira regiment yake paFirst Manassas sechikamu cheBrig. Gen Milledge Bonham's brigade, asi haana kunyanya kubatikana. Muna Gumiguru, 21 North Carolina yakabatanidzwa neboka raIsaac Trimble uye muchirimo chinotevera, akapinda muStonewall Jackson's Shenandoah Valley Campaign. Kirkland akapfurwa mumakumbo ose ari maviri mukati meHondo Yokutanga yeWinchester
, kuchimubvisa pakuita basa kwemwedzi inoverengeka. Munguva yaakapora, Kirkland akashanda semukuru wevashandi kuna Patrick Cleburne panguva yemushandirapamwe weMurfreesboro muna Zvita 1862.