Nelson D. Cole (1833–1899), was a United States army officer, businessman, and

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

from

Rhinebeck, New York Rhinebeck is a village (New York), village in the Rhinebeck (town), New York, town of Rhinebeck in Dutchess County, New York, United States. The population was 2,657 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Poughkeepsie, New York, Poughkeepsie– ...

Early life

Cole was born on November 18, 1833, in

. He was raised and educated in Rhinebeck and then worked at a lumberyard in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. Cole also supervised the building of a

sugarcane mill A sugar cane mill is a factory that processes sugar cane to produce raw or white sugar. The term is also used to refer to the equipment that crushes the sticks of sugar cane to extract the juice. Processing There are a number of steps in pro ...

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

. In 1854, he moved to

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

, and lived there working in a lumberyard.

Civil War

At the beginning 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 ...

, Cole volunteered for the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

. He became the

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

of Company A, 5th Missouri Volunteer Infantry (3 months, 1861). While in this organization, he was severely wounded at the

Battle of Wilson's Creek The Battle of Wilson's Creek, also known as the Battle of Oak Hills, was the first major battle of the Trans-Mississippi Theater of the American Civil War. It was fought on August 10, 1861, near Springfield, Missouri, Springfield, Missou ...

on August 10, 1861. Cole then served as a captain in the 1st Missouri Volunteer Infantry Regiment (3 Years Organization). He commanded

Battery E, 1st Missouri Light Artillery Battery E, 1st Missouri Light Artillery Regiment was an artillery battery unit from Missouri that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The 1st Missouri Light Artillery Regiment formed on 1 September 1861. The battery participate ...

at the

Siege of Vicksburg The siege of Vicksburg (May 18 – July 4, 1863) was the final major military action in the Vicksburg campaign of the American Civil War. In a series of maneuvers, Union Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and his Army of the Tennessee crossed the Missis ...

. He was promoted to

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

on August 12, 1863, and to

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

on October 4, 1863. In 1863, Cole was promoted to

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

of the

2nd Missouri Light Artillery Regiment The 2nd Missouri Light Artillery Regiment was an artillery regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Service Organized at St. Louis, Mo., as 1st Regiment, Missouri Artillery, U. S. Reserve Corps, September 16 to Novemb ...

Indian Wars

At the end of the Civil War in 1865, Cole and eight batteries of his 2nd Missouri Artillery were sent to

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...

. There, he assumed command of the right, or eastern, column of the

Powder River Expedition :''This event should not be confused with the Big Horn Expedition during the Black Hills War.'' The Powder River Expedition of 1865 also known as the Powder River War or Powder River Invasion, was a large and far-flung military operation of the U ...

, which was to be a military expedition against the

Sioux The Sioux or Oceti Sakowin (; Dakota language, Dakota: Help:IPA, /otʃʰeːtʰi ʃakoːwĩ/) are groups of Native Americans in the United States, Native American tribes and First Nations in Canada, First Nations peoples in North America. The ...

and

Cheyenne The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. Their Cheyenne language belongs to the Algonquian language family. Today, the Cheyenne people are split into two federally recognized nations: the Southern Cheyenne, who are enroll ...

Indians in the

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...

and Dakota Territories. Cole's column, which consisted mostly of cavalry and mounted artillery, started northwest on July 1, and crossed through present-day Nebraska and South Dakota, before reaching the Powder River in Montana in late August 1865. At that time, Cole's men were low on supplies, and on September 1 they began skirmishing with Indian warriors who attacked the column. In early September, Cole began a withdrawal toward

Fort Laramie Fort Laramie (founded as Fort William and known for a while as Fort John) was a significant 19th-century trading-post, diplomatic site, and military installation located at the confluence of the Laramie and the North Platte rivers. They joined ...

, and was forced to abandon his wagons after hundreds of the columns' horses died, fighting the Powder River Battles along the way. The other columns encountered similar results, and the Powder River Expedition was deemed a failure. On November 18, 1865 (his 32nd birthday), Cole was mustered out of the Union Army.

Later life

Cole moved back to St. Louis and continued in the lumber business, eventually owning a

planing mill A planing mill is a facility that takes cut and seasoned boards from a sawmill and turns them into finished dimensional lumber. Machines used in the mill include the planer and matcher, the molding machines, and varieties of saws. In the planing mil ...

. In 1868, with his business partner, Stephen Glass, Cole opened the Cole and Glass Manufacturing Company. Cole served on the St. Louis Board of Aldermen for six years, and was also a commissioner for the city's Lafayette Park.

Spanish–American War service

In May 1898, after the outbreak of the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (clock ...

, Cole was commissioned a

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

in the

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 ...

by President

William McKinley William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until his assassination in 1901. As a politician he led a realignment that made his Republican Party largely dominant in ...

, and he applied for active service in Cuba or the Philippines. He was instead assigned to command the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Division, Second Army Corps. The brigade was composed of four volunteer infantry regiments, the 1st Rhode Island Volunteer Infantry, 1st Delaware Volunteer Infantry, 2nd Tennessee Volunteer Infantry, and the 3rd Missouri Volunteer Infantry; it saw no action in the war. During the winter of 1898–99, while in command of his brigade at

Columbia, South Carolina Columbia is the capital of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 census, it is the second-largest city in South Carolina. The city serves as the county seat of Richland County, and a portion of the city ...

, Cole developed a serious cold. He was mustered out of the service of the United States for the last time in March 1899.

Death

Cole died from complications of his illness on July 31, 1899, in St. Louis. He is buried in the Bellefontain Cemetery, in north St. Louis.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cole, Nelson D. 1833 births 1899 deaths 19th-century American businesspeople 19th-century American politicians American company founders American expatriates in Cuba American military personnel of the Spanish–American War Burials at Bellefontaine Cemetery Businesspeople from New York City Businesspeople from St. Louis Members of the St. Louis Board of Aldermen Military personnel from New York City Military personnel from St. Louis People of Missouri in the American Civil War People of New York (state) in the American Civil War People from Rhinebeck, New York Politicians from New York City Union Army officers United States Army generals United States Army personnel of the Indian Wars