Charles Cowan was born 6 Jun 1845 in Worthington, Franklin County, Ohio, the son of Ira and Mary (Gilman) Cowan. Both parents were originally from Canada. He came to Wisconsin at age 15.

Cowan was residing in Ripon, Wis. when he enlisted on 7 May 1864. He served as a corporal and sergeant in Co. B of the The 41st Wisconsin Infantry, a 100-day regiment. It was organized at Camp Washburn in Milwaukee and mustered into service on 8 June 1864. The regiment left the state for Memphis, Tennessee on 15 June 1864. It served on garrison duty, railroad guard, and picket duty at Memphis as well as participating in the repulse of a Confederate attack on Memphis on 21 August 1864. After their term of service expired in September, they returned to Camp Washburn, Milwaukee, WI, and disbanded on 17 Sept. 1864.

He married Mary Alice Gillette on 13 Aug 1885 at Ripon and they had one daughter, Imogene (b. 1886) and a son, William Prescott (b. 1889).

In the 1880 Federal Census he is listed as a hardware merchant. In the 1910 Census, Charles Cowan was listed as president of a bank in Ripon. His brick Colonial Revival / Georgian Revival home at 320 Jacksopn St. was built in 1854 and today is part of the Tygert Street Historic District.

Charles Cowan died at his home at 520 Jefferson street Saturday, May 29 after a decline of one year. The last rites were fittingly observed at St. Mark's Episcopal church, of which he was a loyal member, Tuesday, June 1st. The Rev. C.B.W. Maddock officiating. Interment was in Hillside cemetery, Ripon, Wis., beside the resting place of Mrs. Cowan and the daughter, Miss Emogene Cowan, whose tragic death preceded the passing of the parents.

Information Sources:

E.B. Quiner's Military History of Wisconsin (Chicago, 1866)
Roster of Wisconsin Volunteers: War of the Rebellion
Wisconsin Veterans Museum Archive Blog, accessed online on 25 Sept 2024 (https://wisvetsmuseum.com/41st-wisconsin-infantry-regiment/)
1910 Federal Census for Ripon Ward 3, Fond du Lac County, Wis. (accessed via Ancestry.com
Find-a-Grave ID# 142571675 (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/142571675/charles-cowan)


Researched and submitted by PDC Kent Peterson

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