Henry Noble Couden (November 21, 1842 – August 22, 1922) was a Universalist minister who was the 54th

Chaplain of the United States House of Representatives The chaplain of the United States House of Representatives is the officer of the United States House of Representatives responsible for beginning each day's proceedings with a prayer. The House cites the first half of Article 1, Section 2, Claus ...

from December 2, 1895, to February 21, 1921. He was the second blind religious leader to serve in this position, the other is William Henry Milburn.

Birth

He was born on November 21, 1842, in Plymouth, Indiana, the nephew of

Noah Noble Noah Noble (January 15, 1794 – February 8, 1844) was the fifth governor of the U.S. state of Indiana from 1831 to 1837. His two terms focused largely on internal improvements, culminating in the passage of the Mammoth Internal Improvement ...

, governor of Indiana.

Civil War

Days after the outbreak of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

, on 16 April 1861, he enlisted in the 6th Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, serving in Company K, with the rank of corporal upon entering and the rank of sergeant upon leaving. He was also a corporal in Company D, 1st Cavalry Battalion,

Mississippi Marine Brigade The Mississippi Marine Brigade was a Union Army amphibious unit which included the United States Ram Fleet and operated from November 1862 to August 1864 during the American Civil War. The brigade was established to act swiftly against Confedera ...

. He was wounded at the Battle of Beaver Dam Lake on May 24, 1863, losing his sight. He described his activity during this battle in a 24 January 1903 letter to Warren D. Crandall, author of ''History of the Ram Fleet and Mississippi Marine Brigade''.

Education and ordination

He studied at the State School for the Blind in Columbus, Ohio, and the Divinity School of St. Lawrence University. He graduated from St. Lawrence in 1878 and was ordained to the Universalist ministry that same year. Chaplain Couden offers prayer

Career

Universalist minister

After his ordination, he served churches in Madrid, New York; Willoughby, Ohio; Chatham, Massachusetts; and Port Huron, Michigan.

Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives

He became chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives in 1895 and served in that post for 25 years, until February 21, 1921. A collection of his daily opening prayers for the 62nd Congress was issued in 1913. In his foreword, Rep.

Champ Clark James Beauchamp Clark (March 7, 1850March 2, 1921) was an American politician and attorney who represented Missouri in the United States House of Representatives and served as Speaker of the House from 1911 to 1919. Born in Kentucky, he establis ...

praised Couden's "prayers of excellent character, in both form and matter ... full of piety, sympathy, and philanthropy ... voiced in choice English".

Other service

He was a member of the board of directors of the Aid Association for the Blind of the District of Columbia. He served in post and departmental chaplaincies for the

Grand Army of the Republic The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) was a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union Army (United States Army), Union Navy (U.S. Navy), and the Marines who served in the American Civil War. It was founded in 1866 in Decatur, Il ...

and as the chaplain for the Society of Marine Brigade Survivors.

Death

He died on August 22, 1922, at his residence at Fort Myer, Virginia, of bronchial pneumonia, after a nine-month illness. He was buried at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...

, in

Arlington, Virginia Arlington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The county is situated in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from the District of Columbia, of which it was once a part. The county is ...

. along with his second wife, Harriet Dunbar Couden, and one of his two sons, Henry N. Couden, Jr.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Couden, Henry N. 1842 births 1922 deaths 19th-century Christian universalists 20th-century Christian universalists Theological School of St. Lawrence University alumni Chaplains of the United States House of Representatives Clergy of the Universalist Church of America People from Plymouth, Indiana Blind clergy American blind people Burials at Arlington National Cemetery Grand Army of the Republic officials