John Conover enlisted as second lieutenant in the 8th Kansas Volunteer Infantry in 1861 and rose through captain and major to lieutenant colonel by October 1864, earning a brevet colonelcy for gallant and meritorious service. His regiment fought at Chickamauga, Chattanooga, in the Atlanta campaign, and at Franklin and Nashville. After his 1866 discharge he settled in Kansas City, Missouri, co-founding the Richards & Conover Hardware Company, one of the region’s largest wholesale firms.