Civil War Union Brevet Brigadier General. Born in Moorefield, Ohio, he became an apprentice typesetter with the “Belmont Chronicle” newspaper, a periodical he eventually became owner and editor of until1858. After engaging in real estate, he became the Chief Clerk of the Ohio House of Representatives in 1860 and 1861. He was commissioned as a Colonel of the Ohio Militia before the Civil War began and was appointed as Engineer in Chief on the staff of Governor William Dennison. He served briefly in that capacity until the outbreak of the war, resigned, and enlisted as a Private with the 15th Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He was commissioned as a 1st Lieutenant, US Volunteers in May, 1861 and was appointed as Additional Paymaster. He was elected as the Secretary of the State of Ohio in 1861, served until his resignation in May, 1862, and returned to his service in the Union Volunteer Army, rising to the rank of Major in the Paymasters Department. He was later appointed by Governor John Brough in 1864 as Adjutant General of Ohio. Cowen was responsible for the organization of the Ohio National Guard regiments. On March 13, 1865, he was brevetted Brigadier General, US Volunteers for “meritorious services, while acting as Adjutant General of the state of Ohio, in organizing, equipping and forwarding to the field the troops known as the Ohio National Guard”. After the war, he was an unsuccessful candidate for Governor in 1867, losing a close election to future president, Rutherford B. Hayes. Cowen was a member of the National Republican Executive Committee from 1866 to 1876 and was a delegate to the National Republican Convention in 1868. He was appointed by President Ulysses S. Grant as an investigator for the Internal Revenue Service and later became the Assistant Secretary of the Interior. In 1884, he served as Clerk of the U.S. Circuit and District Courts for Southern Ohio and served until his death at his residence in Cincinnati in 1908. His grandfather, Joseph Cowen, served in the Revolutionary War, and his father, Benjamin Sprague Cowen, was a veteran of the War of 1812, a United States Congressman, and a State Court Judge.
Civil War Union Brevet Brigadier General. Born in Moorefield, Ohio, he became an apprentice typesetter with the “Belmont Chronicle” newspaper, a periodical he eventually became owner and editor of until1858. After engaging in real estate, he became the Chief Clerk of the Ohio House of Representatives in 1860 and 1861. He was commissioned as a Colonel of the Ohio Militia before the Civil War began and was appointed as Engineer in Chief on the staff of Governor William Dennison. He served briefly in that capacity until the outbreak of the war, resigned, and enlisted as a Private with the 15th Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He was commissioned as a 1st Lieutenant, US Volunteers in May, 1861 and was appointed as Additional Paymaster. He was elected as the Secretary of the State of Ohio in 1861, served until his resignation in May, 1862, and returned to his service in the Union Volunteer Army, rising to the rank of Major in the Paymasters Department. He was later appointed by Governor John Brough in 1864 as Adjutant General of Ohio. Cowen was responsible for the organization of the Ohio National Guard regiments. On March 13, 1865, he was brevetted Brigadier General, US Volunteers for “meritorious services, while acting as Adjutant General of the state of Ohio, in organizing, equipping and forwarding to the field the troops known as the Ohio National Guard”. After the war, he was an unsuccessful candidate for Governor in 1867, losing a close election to future president, Rutherford B. Hayes. Cowen was a member of the National Republican Executive Committee from 1866 to 1876 and was a delegate to the National Republican Convention in 1868. He was appointed by President Ulysses S. Grant as an investigator for the Internal Revenue Service and later became the Assistant Secretary of the Interior. In 1884, he served as Clerk of the U.S. Circuit and District Courts for Southern Ohio and served until his death at his residence in Cincinnati in 1908. His grandfather, Joseph Cowen, served in the Revolutionary War, and his father, Benjamin Sprague Cowen, was a veteran of the War of 1812, a United States Congressman, and a State Court Judge.
Bio by: K Guy
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