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.
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 (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 StatesUnion |
| Branch/service | United States Army Union Army |
| Years of service | 1861 - 1865 |
| Rank |  Colonel Brevet Brigadier General |
| Commands |
|
| Battles/wars | American Civil War |
Biography
editCogswell 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
editOn 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
edit
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 brevet 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
editHe 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
editCogswell 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
editCogswell 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
edit
Notes
edit- ^ Hurd, Duane Hamilton (1888), History of Essex County, Massachusetts: with Biographical Sketches of Many of its Pioneers and Prominent Men, Volume 1, Issue 1, Philadelphia, PA: J.W. Lewis & Co., p. 226
- ^ Eicher, John H. and Eicher, David J. Civil War High Commands. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2001. ISBN 978-0-8047-3641-1, p. 742.
- ^ Eicher and Eicher, 2001, p. 179
References
edit- 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
edit- 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