John H. Cox, a Virginia native and Methodist Episcopal minister, enlisted in the 1st Northeast Missouri Home Guard Regiment at Athens, Missouri in June 1861. He apparently served as the regiment’s chaplain until February 1862, when the regiment was redesignated the 21st Missouri Infantry. Cox served briefly as captain of Company H before he was once again commissioned as chaplain in May 1862. He took his duties as chaplain seriously; not only was he known as a fiery orator, but also as a procurer of wholesome reading material for his regiment. In the summer of 1863, for instance, he requested a leave of absence to go to St. Louis to secure “books, tracts and other reading matter” for his men from the Y.M.C.A. He resigned in April 1864. Elected to the Missouri Senate in the fall of 1864, he enjoyed a brief political career before returning to the ministry.

Cox died in 1902.

Carte-de-Visite by Unknown Photographer

Image Courtesy Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield; WICR 11636