William Cogswell

William Cogswell
William Cogswell while a U.S. Representative
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts
In office March 4, 1887 – May 22, 1895
Preceded by	Eben F. Stone
Succeeded by	William Henry Moody
Constituency	7th district (1887–93) 6th district (1893–95)
Member of the Massachusetts Senate
In office 1885–1886
Member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives
In office 1870–1871
In office 1881–1883
16th and 19th Mayor of Salem
In office September 26, 1867[1] – 1869
Preceded by	David Roberts
Succeeded by	Nathanial Brown
In office 1873–1874
Preceded by	Samuel Calley
Succeeded by	Henry Laurens Williams
Personal details
Born	August 23, 1838 Bradford, Massachusetts
Died	May 22, 1895(1895-05-22) (aged 56) Washington, D.C.
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Emma Thorndike Proctor (m. 1865, d. 1877) Eva M. Davis (m. 1881)
Children	William Emma Silsby
Education	Atkinson Academy Kimball Union Academy Phillips Academy
Alma mater	Dartmouth College Harvard Law School
Profession	Attorney
Military service
Allegiance	United States Union
Branch/service	United States Army Union Army
Years of service	1861 - 1865
Rank	Colonel Brevet Brigadier General
Commands	2nd Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry 3rd Brigade, 3rd Division, XX Corps
Battles/wars	American Civil War

William Cogswell (August 23, 1838 – May 22, 1895) was a U.S. Representative from Massachusetts and a colonel in the Union Army during the American Civil War who was appointed to the grade of brevet brigadier general, U.S. Volunteers.

Biography[]

Cogswell was born in Bradford, Massachusetts, to George Cogswell and Abigail (Parker) Cogswell. Cogswell's father was a well-respected surgeon and one of the founders of the Massachusetts Republican Party. His grandfather, William Cogswell, was a surgeon's mate in the Revolutionary War who practiced medicine in Atkinson, New Hampshire, and gave land for the Atkinson Academy. Abigail's^{[clarification needed]} mother died when he was about 7 years old.

Cogswell attended Atkinson Academy, Kimball Union Academy in Meriden, New Hampshire, Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, and Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire.

Cogswell entered Dartmouth in 1855, leaving it soon after. From 1856 to 1857 he went on a voyage around the world, spending two years as a sailor. When Cogswell returned from his voyage he entered Harvard Law School.

Law practice[]

On September 8, 1860, Cogswell was admitted to the bar in Essex County, Massachusetts. He worked for a while in the office of Attorney William D. Northend, and in April 1861 Cogswell opened his own office in Salem, Massachusetts.

Military service[]

William Cogswell, circa 1861.

Cogswell was a private in the Second Corps of Cadets, a militia organization of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Cogswell served in the Second Corps of Cadets during the winter of 1860–1861.

On April 19, 1861, word reached Salem that the Sixth Massachusetts had been attacked in Baltimore while on its way to defend Washington, D.C. Cogswell turned his office into a recruiting station and in 24 hours raised a full company, the first company in the country recruited for the war. This became Company C of the Second Massachusetts Volunteers, with Cogswell as captain in command.

Cogswell was commissioned a captain in the Second Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment, May 11, 1861. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel on October 23, 1862, and to colonel on June 25, 1863.

Colonel Cogswell was appointed brigadier general of volunteers by appointment of President Abraham Lincoln on December 12, 1864, to rank from December 15, 1864, and the appointment was confirmed by the United States Senate on February 14, 1865.^[2] Colonel and Brevet Brigadier General Cogswell was mustered out of the U.S. Volunteers on July 24, 1865.^[3]

After the Civil War Cogswell resumed the practice of his profession.

Political activities[]

He served as mayor of Salem 1867–1869, 1873, and 1874. He served as member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives 1870, 1871, and 1881–1883. He served in the Massachusetts State Senate in 1885 and 1886. He served as delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1892.

Congressional service[]

Cogswell was elected as a Republican to the 50th United States Congress and to the four succeeding Congresses and served from March 4, 1887, until his death in Washington, D.C., May 22, 1895. He was interred in Harmony Grove Cemetery, Salem, Massachusetts.

Personal life[]

Cogswell married Emma Thorndike Proctor on June 20, 1865. They had two children, William and Emma Silsby Cogswell. Emma died on April 1, 1877. Cogswell remarried to Eva M. Davis on December 12, 1881 and they remained married until his death, having no children.

See also[]

• List of American Civil War brevet generals (Union)
• List of Massachusetts generals in the American Civil War
• Massachusetts in the American Civil War
• List of United States Congress members who died in office (1790–1899)

Notes[]

References[]

• Eicher, John H. and Eicher, David J. Civil War High Commands. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2001. ISBN 978-0-8047-3641-1.
• Memorial Addresses on the Life and Character of William Cogswell (late a Representative from Massachusetts): Delivered in the House of Representatives and Senate, Fifty-fourth Congress, First and Second Sessions (1897).

External links[]

• United States Congress. "William Cogswell (id: C000595)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved on 2008-02-12
• William Cogswell as a member of the 50th Congress Massachusetts Delegation.

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress website http://bioguide.congress.gov.