Abel enlisted in Ottawa, IL in February of 1864 with the Illinois 64th Infantry which was assigned to the First Brigade, 4th Division, 16th Army Corps under General William T. Sherman. He was in Sherman's march to the sea; the capture and burning of Atlanta, Georgia. Sherman's victory over General Johnson's Confederate Army at the battle of Kenesaw Mountain in the capture of Atlanta, Georgia, the Illinois 64th flag was the first Union flag on top of Kenesaw Mountain.
