William D. Cox was born in Fulton County, Illinois, on May 4, 1843. He enlisted in Company H, 28th Illinois Infantry as a private on January 8, 1862, and re-enlisted on February 3, 1864. The 28th Illinois fought at Fort Donelson, Shiloh, and at the siege of Vicksburg, among other battles. Cox was honorably discharged at Brownsville, Texas, on March 15, 1866.

After the war Cox worked for the Southern Pacific Railroad; he died on March 19, 1914, in Oakland, California, and is buried in Beatrice, Nebraska.

Tintype by Unknown Photographer

Image Courtesy Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield; WICR 30133