Hurst enrolled in the "Lynch Creek Guards" Capt William J. Carter, entering Confederate service on Sept. 10, 1861. This regiment served in the Army of Northern Virginia under Generals Gregg and McGowan, surrendering with eighteen officers and 246 men. Just before the final attack on the Petersburg lines, Hurst came into Federal lines on March 23, 1865, receiving transportation to Springfield OH as a Confederate deserter.
Copies of this man's military service file are available here.