Spouse and Children

Nancy Pheriby Cox William Harrison Cole (1854-1918) Sarah Ann Cole (1855-1930) John G. Cole (1857-) Ruffin (Rufus) Henderson ... (1863-1904) James Cole (1867-)       Mary Elizabeth (Polly) Mi.. Susan Jane Cole (1871-1931) Mark C. Cole (1872-1960) Albert Sidney Cole (1874-1949) Mary Catherine Cole (1876-1957) Thomas Logan Cole (1878-1953) Wiley Oscar Cole (1885-1951) Fannie Cole (1890-) Grover Cleveland Cole (1892-1966)

Brothers and Sisters

James Cole (1826-1880) Dennis Cole (1828-) Ruffin Cole (1830-) John Cole (1837-) William Cole (1839-) Green Cole (1843-)

Mark fought with the 49th Tennessee Infantry, Company C,CSA. He enlisted 7 Nov 1861 in Benton County, Tennessee. Hewas captured at Fort Donelson and sent to Camp DouglasIllinois. Mark surrendered May 19, 1865 and sign his oathof allegiance May 20, 1865 at Johnsonville Tennessee.

History of Camp Douglas

Founded in the fall of 1861 as a training camp and stagingcenter for Union forces, Camp Douglas was named afterStephen A. Douglas, whose property south of the cityprovided its site. In 1862 the camp was hastily adapted toserve as a prison for rebel soldiers captured by Ulysses S.Grant at Fort Donelson. Due to occasional prisonerexchanges during the first two years of the Civil War, thenumber of prisoners in the camp fluctuated, although for atime it was the largest military prison in the North. Bythe end of the war a total of 26,060 men had beenincarcerated there.

Escapes were frequent from the camp, but only the abortiveNovember 1864 "Chicago Conspiracy" roused broad concern.Federal informants foiled an ill-conceived attempt by localantiwar activists and die-hard prisoners to disrupt the1864 election with a mass prison break.

Like all Civil War prisons, Camp Douglas had a highmortality rate: one prisoner in seven died in Chicago. Poorsanitation, hastily constructed buildings, and harshweather conditions were to blame. In June 1862 a U.S.Sanitary Commission agent decried the camp's "foul sinks,""unventilated and crowded barracks," and "soil reeking withmiasmatic accretions" as "enough to drive a sanitarian todespair." By the end of the war more than 4,000 rebels haddied in the camp.

Mark and his son married sisters. It was Mark's secondmarriage and William's first. Mark married Mary E. Mitchelland William married Delinda L. Mitchell. Mark and thesister's father were in the same unit during the Civil War.^{3 4}

Sources:

1. Benton County Marriage record, pg 26 Mark Cole-Pheraby Cox
2. Benton County Tennessee Marriage License, #80, Mark Cole &Mary E. Mitchell
3. Civil War Service Record for Mark Cole, Fold3.com
4. The Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System, National ParkService