Because he thought the South should be able to maintain its practice of slavery, and for other reasons as well, he joined the Confederate Army in 1861 when the Civil War began. Though he entered the Civil War as a captain and left it as a colonel, his service didn't bring him as much glory as it could have. He was too reckless with the lives of the soldiers under his command. He may have been a little too careful with his own life. One general's report notes that Colonel W.C. Falkner saved himself during a battle by riding off on a side path, separating himself from his men. Not long after his men elected another officer to lead them, W.C. left the Confederate Army. Confederate records say he was discharged because of an illness.
After he left the army, W.C. turned to the black market as a way to make money. Black-marketing trading with the enemy was ill egal. However, selling cotton to the Yankees and buying much-needed goods such as salt, medicine, and shoes from them were ways to make huge profits. Unlike most south erners, W.C. came out of the war richer than he went into it.
