Born in Brown County, Ohio. Enlisted in the 5th Ohio Cavalry for three years on 10 Sep 1861 under the name of Franklin B. Pepper. Mustered in as 2nd Lieutenant in Company A at Camp Dick Corwin, near Cincinnati, Ohio on 23 Oct 1861. Resigned his commission on 29 Oct 1862. His obituary infers this was caused by him taking ill with measles. Enlisted in the 2nd Missouri Cavalry (Merrill's Horse) for one year at Cincinnati, Hamilton County, Ohio under the name of Frank B. Pepper. Mustered in as a Private in Company F at Cincinnati, Ohio on 1 Sep 1864. Beginning on 26 Sep 1864 participated in the campaign against Major General Sterling Price. Mustered out and discharged at Chattanooga, Hamilton County, Tennessee. A member of Custer Post No. 6 of Tacoma, Pierce County, Washington. Elected as a Delegate to the 1907 Encampment of the Department of Washington and Alaska. Admitted to the Washington State Soldiers Home at Orting, Pierce County, Washington on 20 Jul 1907. While on furlough from the Soldiers Home he died at Tacoma General Hospital in Tacoma, Washington. He is buried in a G.A.R. section of the cemetery.