Milton Cogswell (December 4, 1825 – November 20, 1882) was a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

officer. Milton Cogswell was born in

Noblesville, Indiana Noblesville is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Indiana, Hamilton County, Indiana, United States, a part of the north Indianapolis suburbs along the White River (Indiana), White River. The population was 51,969 at the 2010 Unite ...

on December 4, 1825. He graduated from the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...

at West Point in 1849, when he was appointed brevet Second Lieutenant in the 4th United States Infantry. In 1850 he was assigned to duty on the frontier, serving with the 8th Infantry, but he was recalled and detailed as Assistant Professor of Mathematics at West Point until 1856. Cogswell then rejoined the 8th Infantry in New Mexico, participating in a skirmish with the

Navajo The Navajo (; British English: Navaho; nv, Diné or ') are a Native American people of the Southwestern United States. With more than 399,494 enrolled tribal members , the Navajo Nation is the largest federally recognized tribe in the United ...

on October 6, 1858 and remaining on station until 1860. When the Civil War broke about, Cogswell went into active service. In July 1861, he was made Colonel of the Forty-Second New York Volunteers, and at the

Battle of Ball's Bluff The Battle of Ball's Bluff was an early battle of the American Civil War fought in Loudoun County, Virginia, on October 21, 1861, in which Union Army forces under Major General George B. McClellan suffered a humiliating defeat. The operation was ...

was captured by the Confederates and incarcerated in

Libby Prison Libby Prison was a Confederate prison at Richmond, Virginia, during the American Civil War. In 1862 it was designated to hold officer prisoners from the Union Army. It gained an infamous reputation for the overcrowded and harsh conditions. Prison ...

, until being exchanged. At the close of the war he was assigned to garrison duty at Baltimore, and afterward served as Acting Judge-Advocate of the Department of North Carolina. On March 9, 1868, he was made Provisional Mayor of

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...

from March to July and was placed in charge of civil affairs at Summerville. He was afterward performed various duties in the South and on the Western frontier until 1871, when he retired from active service on account of a disability contracted in the line of duty. He died on November 20, 1882, and 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 ...

. A distant relation, William S. Cogswell Jr, was elected Mayor of Charleston, taking office in January 2024.Bogel-Burroughs, Nicholas (November 23, 2023). "Charleston Elects Republican Mayor for First Time Since 1870s". ''The New York Times''. Retrieved November 23, 2023

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* 1825 births 1882 deaths People from Noblesville, Indiana United States Military Academy alumni Military personnel from Indiana United States Army officers United States Military Academy faculty United States Army personnel of the Indian Wars People of New York (state) in the American Civil War Union Army colonels 19th-century American politicians Mayors of Charleston, South Carolina Burials at Arlington National Cemetery {{SouthCarolina-mayor-stub