William Randall was one of ten cousins who served in New York regiments in the American Civil War. He joined the army in 1864, lured by pay and bounties that were more than he could earn as a farmer. As a volunteer, he avoided the draft. He left behind a wife and four children. William enlisted in the 161st New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment. They had lost men to sickness and fighting along the Mississippi River in Louisiana, far from the famous eastern campaigns. William was in a cohort of "fresh fish" who joined the regiment as the Red River campaign began. Within a few days he was marching and fighting near Sabine Cross Roads and Pleasant Hill. A year later he was with the regiment when they attacked Spanish Fort at Mobile Bay. As the war ended he was wounded, an incidental casualty in an unnecessary battle.