Born in New York, Nelson D. Cole moved to St. Louis, Missouri in 1854 when he was 21 years old. In May 1861, Cole volunteered and was commissioned captain of Company A, Fifth Missouri Infantry (Three Months’ Service). While in command of Company E, 1st Missouri Infantry, Captain Cole received a severe wound in the lower jaw at the Battle of Wilson’s Creek. On August 10, 1863, Cole was commissioned a major in the 1st Missouri Light Artillery. On October 2, 1863, Cole was promoted to lieutenant colonel (to colonel in February 1864) in the 2d Missouri Light Artillery. During Price's 1864 invasion of Missouri, Colonel Cole was serving as Maj. Gen. William S. Rosecrans's chief of artillery. After the war, Cole went west with the 2d Missouri Light Artillery and fought in the Indian Wars. After this, Cole returned to St. Louis and his lumber business. Cole was commissioned a brigadier general during the Spanish-American War.
Missouri Adjutant General, Annual Report of the Adjutant General of the State of Missouri, December 31, 1863, 327, 331–332.
OR s1 v3, 76.
Sinisi, Kyle S. The Last Hurrah: Sterling Price’s Missouri Expedition of 1864, 213.
US Adjutant General, Official Army Register of the Volunteer Force of the United States Army for the Years 1861, ’62, ’63, ’64, ’65, Vol. 7., 56–64.
Wikipedia. “Nelson D. Cole,” June 28, 2019. Link.