Rufus Maness first enlisted in Co. A, 15th (Gee's/Johnson's) Arkansas Infantry, at Magnolia, Arkansas, on October 4, 1861, for twelve months. This was one of three Arkansas Confederate regiments designated as the 15th Arkansas Infantry. It was recruited in southwest Arkansas, and was commanded by Col. James Madison Gee, succeeded by Col. Benjamin Whitfield Johnson. When the 15th Arkansas was sent across the Mississippi River, Pvt. Rufus Maness was left behind, sick. He never hooked back up with the regiment, and was eventually dropped from the rolls on October 16, 1862, with the remarks, "never left home." When he enlisted, he was described as a farmer, age 26, born in North Carolina. He was married, and a resident of Columbia County, Arkansas.

Subsequently, he enlisted in Co. K, 6th Arkansas Cavalry, at Magnolia, Arkansas, on June 21, 1862, for three years or the war. This regiment was commanded by Col. James Cade Monroe, and was almost always referred to as "Monroe's 1st Arkansas Cavalry;" its official designation was almost never used. Pvt. Rufus Maness died in a hospital at Van Buren, Arkansas, on December 6, 1862. The cause of death was listed as pneumonia. He may be interred in an unmarked grave in Fairview Cemetery at Van Buren. Many of the soldiers who died in the hospital at Van Buren about this time were interred there.