Community Corner
Coventry Roots: Casualties in the Civil War
The next two men were the last casualties from Coventry in the year 1862. They were not killed by the enemy but they died from disease, which killed more soldiers than the enemy.
James A. Cole was born in 1840 in Scituate, RI, the son of James B. and Eliza A. (Tennant) Cole. In 1860 he was living in Coventry Centre with his parents and worked as a farmer. He enrolled from Coventry on Nov. 11, 1861, and mustered in Dec. 2, 1861. He was a Corporal in Battery C 1st Rhode Island Light Artillery. On Sept. 18, 1862, at the age of 21 years 11 months 23 days old he died of Chronic Diarrhea at Fortress Monroe, Virginia. There is a gravestone in Coventry Historical Cemetery #109 Section E, Pine Grove Cemetery, in Coventry which was purchased by his father in 1863. His brother, George Cole, also served in the Civil War.
Charles Henry Cahoone was born in Scituate, and was the son of Oren and Hannah (Cook) Cahoone. He was 5 feet 7 inches tall, had light complexion, grey eyes, and light hair. In 1860 he was attending school and living with his parents; but by Oct. 6, 1862, he enrolled in the 12th Regiment Rhode Island Volunteers Company G and was mustered in as a Private on Oct. 13, 1862, in Coventry by John J. Kilton. The 12th regiment had been formed in 1862 in response to the call for more troops by Lincoln. They were trained at Camp Stevens, Dexter Training Ground in Providence and then sent to Baltimore in late October 1862. This regiment fought in the First Battle of Fredericksburg. On Christmas Day in 1862 he was 15 years 11 months 22 days old when he died of Typhoid and Pleurisy at the US Hospital in Philadelphia, PA. He has a gravestone next to his parents in Section F of the Pine Grove Cemetery in Coventry.
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In the next series I will be discussing the year 1863 and the 13 men who were casualties during that year.
