Eugene St. Julien Cox was an early settler of St. Peter, Minnesota, arriving there in 1856. He enlisted in the Second Minnesota Regiment as a first lieutenant when the Civil War started. Later he became captain of Company E of the Minnesota Mounted Rangers. Like other Minnesota volunteers for the Civil War, he was first sent to fight in New Ulm during the U.S.-Dakota War before traveling south to fight the Confederacy.

Below are several documents from his time serving in the war:

After the Civil War, Cox was elected St. Peter’s first mayor. A lawyer by trade, he also became a state representative, a state senator, and a judge.

Portrait of E. St. Julien Cox, c. 1880

For more Civil War stories, click on the page links below.