It is believed that he returned home to Kent, Ohio to recuperate. On December 2,1863, he enlisted in Company I of the Ohio 9th Cavalry. Soon after, his unit moved south to Alabama where it patrolled the Tennessee River and operated against the enemy in the northern part of the state. While in Alabama Cole contracted malaria and was struck in the eye by a branch. Although the injury did not seem serious at the time, Cole later lost his sight in the affected eye and eventually the other in a case of what was called "sympathetic blindness." Cole tried for years to obtain an invalid's pension for his blindness, but was not successful.   Following its participation in the siege of Atlanta, from July 25 to August 25,.1864 and other engagements in northern Georgia, the 9th Cavalry was sent first to Nashville, Tenessee and then Louisville, Kentucky to refit for Sherman's March to the Sea. Prior to the start of the March, on November 3, Cole was appointed captain and transferred from Company I to Company F. He was mustered out on February 5, 1865, though the 9th continued its campaign in the Carolinas until the surrender of Johnson's army on April 26.         Cole apparently never returned to Kent, Ohio after his discharge. He is mentioned in History of Portage County, a book published in 1885, but after 1863, when he left home the second time, he disappeared from local records.      His military records list him as  5'11" tall, with dark hair and a fair complexion. His daughter, Blanche, who was only eleven when he died in 1886, remembered his hair as being very wavy. His records also give his occupation as carriage maker, but his daughter and his obituary both described him as a lay minister.  Perhaps he turned to preaching when his failing eyesight made it impossible to earn a living at carriage making.    He married a second time to Katie Smith in Indianapolis, Indiana on July 4, 1869. They lived in Franklin, Clinton County, Indiana until Cole's death. The couple had at least four children but only Blanche survived to adulthood. Two brothers, names unknown, died of typhoid fever at an early age.   Another daughter was born in May, 1883 but was not listed among the surviving children when Katie filed for a widow's pension in 1886.  Samuel Cole died on 12 May 1886. His headstone gives his rank as lieutentant, though he was promoted to captain.. Cole later asked James A. Garfield to help him find a government job. Garfield's letters in response are in the possession of Cole's descendants. Material for the this biography was contributed by Gayle Putt Gayle Putt <corgis@cinci.rr.com>, a descendant of Samuel H. Cole.

After a brief period of training, the 42th arrived in Cincinnati by train on December 15, then travelled by steamer up the Ohio River to Catlettsburg, Kentucky, arriving on December 17.. Commanded by James A. Garfield, a future president of the United States, the regiment engaged in operations against Confederate guerillas and, on January 10, 1862, fought at the battle of Middle Creek. Cole, however, resigned his commission on March 7, 1862, after less than four months' active service.    On June 17, 1862, at Franklin Mills, Ohio, Cole enlisted in the 45th OVI as a first lieutentant in Company F, commanded by Captain Miles V. Payne. On May 10th, 1863, during a night raid near Monticello, Kentucky, Cole rode his horse over an embankment. The horse fell and landed upon him, breaking several of his left ribs. Judged unfit for further service, he resigned on June 17, 1863.

It is believed that he returned home to Kent, Ohio to recuperate. On December 2,1863, he enlisted in Company I of the Ohio 9th Cavalry. Soon after, his unit moved south to Alabama where it patrolled the Tennessee River and operated against the enemy in the northern part of the state. While in Alabama Cole contracted malaria and was struck in the eye by a branch. Although the injury did not seem serious at the time, Cole later lost his sight in the affected eye and eventually the other in a case of what was called "sympathetic blindness." Cole tried for years to obtain an invalid's pension for his blindness, but was not successful.   Following its participation in the siege of Atlanta, from July 25 to August 25,.1864 and other engagements in northern Georgia, the 9th Cavalry was sent first to Nashville, Tenessee and then Louisville, Kentucky to refit for Sherman's March to the Sea. Prior to the start of the March, on November 3, Cole was appointed captain and transferred from Company I to Company F. He was mustered out on February 5, 1865, though the 9th continued its campaign in the Carolinas until the surrender of Johnson's army on April 26.         Cole apparently never returned to Kent, Ohio after his discharge. He is mentioned in History of Portage County, a book published in 1885, but after 1863, when he left home the second time, he disappeared from local records.      His military records list him as  5'11" tall, with dark hair and a fair complexion. His daughter, Blanche, who was only eleven when he died in 1886, remembered his hair as being very wavy. His records also give his occupation as carriage maker, but his daughter and his obituary both described him as a lay minister.  Perhaps he turned to preaching when his failing eyesight made it impossible to earn a living at carriage making.    He married a second time to Katie Smith in Indianapolis, Indiana on July 4, 1869. They lived in Franklin, Clinton County, Indiana until Cole's death. The couple had at least four children but only Blanche survived to adulthood. Two brothers, names unknown, died of typhoid fever at an early age.   Another daughter was born in May, 1883 but was not listed among the surviving children when Katie filed for a widow's pension in 1886.  Samuel Cole died on 12 May 1886. His headstone gives his rank as lieutentant, though he was promoted to captain.. Cole later asked James A. Garfield to help him find a government job. Garfield's letters in response are in the possession of Cole's descendants. Material for the this biography was contributed by Gayle Putt Gayle Putt <corgis@cinci.rr.com>, a descendant of Samuel H. Cole.

Samuel H. Cole Samuel H. Cole was born in Hartleton, Union County, Pennsylvania on November 18,1833. His mother was Emeline Brooks Cole -- the name of his father is unknown. The family moved from Pennsylvania to Portage County, Ohio in 1846, when Cole was 13 years old. He was one of thirteen children.

On December 30, 1852, Cole married Margaret A. Saxe of Kent, Ohio. According to census records, she was ten years his senior. The couple apparently did not have children..   Cole served with no less than four units during the Civil War, the 45th OVI being the third. He first enlisted as a private in the 7th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, a 100-day regiment, on April 20, 1861. After serving their three-month enlistments, most men of the 7th volunteered for another three years, but Cole, perhaps anxious to return home, mustered out on August 18, 1861. His respite was brief, however. On October 5, 1861, Cole enlisted as a second lieutenant in Company F of the 42nd Ohio Volunteer Infantry, a three-year regiment, and was commissioned on November 18.

Samuel H. Cole in later life