Kammala jumla mai zuwa: A lokacin hunturu na 1861-62, Willson ya shiga cikin tsare da Baltimore da Ohio Railroad da kuma yakin da aka yi a Virginia a karkashin Janar Nathaniel Banks da John Paparoma. Ya yi yaƙi a yakin Antietam, Satumba 17, 1862. A ranar 5 ga Mayu, 1863, an ji masa rauni sosai a yakin Chancellorsville Virginia. Bai koma aiki ba har zuwa watan Satumba na 1863 a karkashin Janar Joseph Hooker lokacin da XI da XII Corps na Sojojin Potomac suka koma yamma don karfafa sojojin Cumberland a kusa da Chattanooga, Tennessee. A can Willson ya shiga cikin yaƙe-yaƙe na Wauhatchie,
Dutsen kallo, Mai wa'azi na Ridge, Peavine Creek, da kuma Ringgold Gap.