Nelson D. Cole

Nelson D. Cole (1833–1899), was a United States army officer, businessman, and politician from Rhinebeck, New York.

He was promoted to major on August 12, 1863, and to lieutenant colonel on October 4, 1863.

In 1863, Cole was promoted to colonel of the 2nd Missouri Light Artillery Regiment.

Indian Wars At the end of the Civil War in 1865, Cole and eight batteries of his 2nd Missouri Artillery were sent to Omaha, Nebraska. There, he assumed command of the right, or eastern, column of the Powder River Expedition, which was to be a military expedition against the Sioux and Cheyenne Indians in the Montana and Dakota Territories.

Cole's column, which mainly consisted of cavalry and mounted artillery, started northwest on July 1, and crossed through present-day Nebraska and South Dakota, before reaching the Powder River in Montana in late August 1865. At that time, Cole's men were low on supplies, and on September 1, they began skirmishing with Indian warriors who attacked the column.

In early September, Cole began a withdrawal toward Fort Laramie, and was forced to abandon his wagons after hundreds of the columns' horses died, fighting the Powder River Battles along the way. The other columns encountered similar results, and the Powder River Expedition was deemed a failure.

On November 18, 1865, Cole was mustered out of the Union Army.