Arvi Bobo was a Union Civil War Veteran serving briefly in the 18th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, before enlisting in the 2nd Virginia (USA) Volunteer Cavalry, Company D (the same unit as Granville Bobo). In June of 1863, when West Virigina was admitted to the Union as a state, his unit became the 2nd West Virgina Cavalry. During the war at some point he was promoted from private to corporal. Arvi Bobo moved from Vinton County, Ohio to Madison County, Alabama, on 6 February 1888. The trip was made in three stages: by riverboat from Parkersburg, West Virginia, to Louisville, Kentucky; by L&N Railroad from Louisville to Athens, Alabama; and by wagon from Athens to Madison County. Arvi Bobo applied for a Civil War Pension 5 May 1890. His claim for disability was based on two problems he suffered during the war: one, a severe cough caused by a bout of pneumonia for which he was hospitalized during the war and two, a bad back caused when a horse fell on him in Winchester, Virginia, while he was carrying dispatches for General William W. Averelll. A pension was approved for $12.00 a month beginning 6 September 1890.