 Although told by his master that he was too young to fight, Collier stowed away on a riverboat and joined Howell and his son in Memphis, Tennessee.At the 1862 Battle of Shiloh in western Tennessee, Collier witnessed the death of Confederate General Albert Sidney Johnston.Collier's biographer says that although there was a prohibition against blacks serving in uniform, Confederates made an exception for Collier because of his demonstrable skills.