Elisa Cole

Civil War

Elisha Cole was born in Naples, New York on February 4, 1839, to Ezra and Eliza (Barber) Cole. He grew up in New York state and, by 1860, was residing in Chicago, IL. Elisha joined the US Army in Chicago on June 21, 1860, before the beginning of the Civil War. He was initially a private and assigned to Company M of the 1st Regiment Artillery.

The Civil War began on April 12, 1861 with the attack on Fort Sumter near Charleston, SC by Confederate forces. Elisha was then a member of the 1st Missouri Infantry Regiment. While Missouri was a Confederate state, there were military units in that state that did not favor the Confederates and joined the Union cause. The 1st Missouri Infantry Regiment was one such unit.

These soldiers were engaged in fighting with other Missouri units that favored the South. Fighting started at Boonville and was especially heavy at Wilson’s Creek. By September, the Union units were successful in moving the Confederate units south so the Union controlled the Missouri River. On September 1, 1861, the regiment was converted to the 1st Missouri Light Artillery Regiment.

The regiment consisted of 12 companies which each conducted an artillery battery. Elisha was part of Battery A. This unit fought in many significant actions in the Western Theater of the war including Fort Donelson and Shiloh. On October 11, 1863, Elisha was discharged as an enlisted man and rejoined the Regiment as a 2nd Lieutenant. He continued his service as the fighting moved on to Vicksburg, Chickamauga, Atlanta and Savannah. He was mustered out after the end of the war on August 23, 1865, as a 1st Lieutenant.

Although the date and place is unknown, Elisha married Agnes Stephenson who was an immigrant from Scotland. By 1870, they were farming in Benton County, IA. The family moved to Eden Township in the 1870’s before the founding of Templeton. They farmed near Templeton for about 20 years. In the middle 1890’s, Elisha moved to Paola, KS where he joined the McCaslin Post, a Kansas veteran group. He began to experience health problems and was confined to his home. He died on July 21, 1897, in Paola, KS at age 59. He was buried in Elba Cemetery near Templeton but also appears to have a gravestone (although of newer design) in Manning Cemetery in Manning, IA.