Charles Cox (1840 - 1864)

Born 1840 in Ellington, Chautauqua, New York, United States

Husband of Ellen J. Olmstead — married 2 Sep 1862 in Sinclairville, Charlotte, Chautauqua, New York, United States

Died 6 May 1864 at about age 24 in Locust Grove, Chesterfield, Virginia, United States

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Biography

Charles was born in 1840 in Ellington, Chautauqua County, New York

Charles was the son of Thomas and Minerva Cox. He grew up in the town of Ellington, Chautauqua County, New York. He married Ellen Olmstead, daughter of Justus and Almeda Olmstead, on 2 September 1862, shortly after he enlisted.

He enlisted on 30 August 1862 and was mustered into Company 7 of the 1st Battalion of sharpshooters. He was killed on 6 May 1864 in the Battle of the Wilderness. According to John A. Brown, on the 30th anniversary of the "Seventh Sharpshooters," Charles Cox was listed among those killed whose bodies were not recovered.

Battle of the Wilderness (Second Day)

Shortly after 5 a.m. on May 6, the Union 2nd Corps, led by Winfield Scott Hancock, attacked along the Plank Road. Advancing in a battle line more than a mile long, the Federals were able to drive back A.P. Hill’s Confederates nearly a mile. The rebels were aided from collapse by the arrival of a corps led by James Longstreet (with Lee in its midst, urging his soldiers onward). Fighting was even more intense than the day before, with stifling smoke and fog that forced soldiers to fire blind, with little idea at whom they were aiming.

Around noon, Longstreet led the Confederates in a damaging counterattack on the Union left, but was shot in the shoulder accidentally by one of his own men. (Unlike Stonewall Jackson at Chancellorsville, he would recover, but would be out of commission for the next five months.) The ensuing Confederate disorganization allowed Hancock to organize defenses along the Brock Road, and Union troops were able to hold their ground when the rebels renewed the attack. At dusk, Lee ordered another attack (led by the aggressive Georgia Brigadier John B. Gordon) on the exposed right flank of the Union line, breaking through two brigades and sending soldiers flying back to Union headquarters with panicked reports of defeat. Grant held his ground, however, and the Federals were able to stabilize their position, despite heavy losses. ^[1]

There is a memorial for him on Find-a-Grave. ^[2]

Sources

1. ↑ https://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/battle-of-the-wilderness
2. ↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #243046213

• Olmste(a)d files of Walt Steesy

Acknowledgment

• Thanks to Elizabeth Olmstead McBride for creating the biography and memorial of Charles.