Biography of E. St. Julien Cox

Erick Hoberg

I.                    NCSS Standard:

a.       Individual Development and Identity

                                                               i.      The student will identify, describe, and express appreciation for the influences of various historical and contemporary cultures on an individual’s daily life.

                                                              ii.      The student will analyze the role of perceptions, attitudes, values, and beliefs in the development of personal identity.

II.                  Expected Learning/Results Expected:

a.       The student will understand the values that inspired individuals to fight in the Civil War.

b.       The student will examine the values and culture of residents in early Minnesota towns of Mankato, St, Peter, and New Ulm.

c.        The student will identify personal traits of successful individuals in history.

A Biography of E. St. Julien Cox

                Throughout his public service life, which began with his admittance to the Wisconsin Bar in 1857 and continued through his judicial impeachment in 1882, Eugene St. Julien Cox led a full and contentious life. Despite his tumultuous life, the legacy of E. St. Julien Cox continues to live on in Saint Peter. The restoration of his 1870s style mansion as an integral piece of the Nicollet Country Historical Society, coupled with the city of Saint Peter’s street naming after him, will ensure that Cox’s memory continues long into the 21^st century.

                E. St. Julien Cox led a controversial life. Even the whereabouts of his actual birth has been contentious with numerous accounts telling of different birth places. For example, in his obituary, the Saint Peter Tribune places Cox’s birth in Geneva, Switzerland on 21 February 1835, while his parents vacationed. It is also not uncommon to see his birthplace be that of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, his parents’ home.[1]

Little is know about Cox’s youth aside from who his parents were. Cox’s father, William Sitgreaves Cox, was a midshipman for the United States Navy during the War of 1812. Undignified removal from ones occupation was shared by William and his son Eugene. Cox, a 21 year-old Third Lieutenant, was serving on USS Chesapeake during the War of 1812. On 1 June 1813, Chesapeake, under Captain James Lawrence, engaged the British frigate HMS Shannon. According to the report, all officers above Cox were killed, leaving Cox in charge. However, unbeknownst to him, he went below deck with an injured soldier. Upon resurfacing to the deck, Cox found that the British had boarded the Chesapeake and taken over. Cox was charged with, and found guilty of, “neglect of duty and unofficerlike conduct.” He was court-martialed and cashiered from the Navy.[2] E. St. Julien would have to endure the embarrassing episode of his judicial impeachment some seventy-years later.

Again, aside from what is known about his father, before E. St. Julien’s birth, little else is known about the youth of this man. However, around 1852, E. St. Julien and his parents, along with several of his brothers and sisters, moved from their home in Pennsylvania to Wisconsin. Staying in Wisconsin for a short period of time, Cox and his parents then moved to St. Paul, Minnesota in 1856. It was also around this time that E. St. Julien was admitted to the bar completing his legal training.[3]

September 14, 1856 was the date Cox married Mariah Mayhew of Massachusetts—a direct descendant of Governor Mayhew of the Colonial era and large landholder in that Massachusetts region. E. St. Julien and Mariah had six children: Edith, Edna, Lillian—who would become the first female Mayor of Saint Peter, William, Irene, and Eugene F.[4]    

In 1857, Cox finally settled in Saint Peter, Minnesota, where he would spend the next thirty-six years. This move to the small town of Saint Peter was directly influenced by the developing rumor that the aforementioned town would replace Saint Paul as the state capitol. Speculation was that Cox was trying to get settled in Saint Peter before it became the new capitol, which never happened.[5]

From all accounts, Cox’s law practice prospered in Saint Peter; however, with the nation plunging into the Civil War, Cox found himself, along with J.C. Donahower, raising a company and volunteering for service.[6] According to the regimental history contained in Minnesota in the Civil and Indian Wars, 1861-1865, E. St. Julien was mustered in to service on 5 July 1861, and elected to the rank of First Lieutenant at the age of twenty-eight.[7] Cox was part of the Second Regiment called into formation by the Honorable Alexander Ramsey, Governor of Minnesota. Company E, to which Cox was assigned, was stationed at Fort Ridgley, which was approximately seven miles west of the city of New Ulm. On the 20^th of September, after training at Fort Ridgley was complete, Company E was called back to Fort Snelling in Saint Paul where the men were subject to numerous drills and instruction as preparation for moving off to the front. According to the regimental history, the men paraded, well-disciplined considering their relatively short tenure in the army. Despite the high level of discipline and instruction of the Second Minnesota, they were poorly armed “with old muskets of several different kinds and calibers.”[8]

                E. St. Julien Cox and the Second Minnesota embarked for the Civil War the morning of October 14, 1861. Disembarking amid a lavish display of pomp and circumstance, they took a steamship from Saint Paul to La Crosse, Wisconsin, where they then boarded the railroad for Chicago. Instead of heading to Washington D.C., they were diverted, by orders, to Kentucky to serve under General William Tecumseh Sherman, commanding officer of the Department of the Cumberland. Upon reaching Lebanon Junction, where the Louisville and Nashville railroad meet, the Second Minnesota relieved the Nineteenth Illinois, and remained for three weeks “sending out detachments to guard the railroad bridges in the vicinity, and keeping up the round of guard and picket duty, drill and instruction.”[9]

                On 15 November 1861, General D.C. Buell assumed command at Louisville and three weeks later in December, he organized the troops in Kentucky into the Army of the Ohio. The men of the Second Minnesota were assigned to the Third Brigade. When the Third Minnesota relieved the Second at Lebanon Junction, the men were finally able to compare themselves with the other regiments of their brigade. Colonel Judson Bishop, who would go on to earn the rank of Brevet General, was not initially impressed by the Ninth Ohio, which was comprised “entirely of Germans, few of whom could speak English”; however, after getting to know the men, Bishop, and many of the men, remembered fondly their time spent in acquaintance with the Ninth Ohio. Much like Elisha Hunt Rhodes in All For the Union, the men of the Second Minnesota, after three more weeks set inside camp, grew increasingly irritated with their lack of action. Bishop stated that the men welcomed the news that they would be disembarking for active service.[10]

                January 1, 1862 saw the men leaving camp. Each man was expected to carry his musket and accouterments, with forty rounds of ball cartridges, knapsack with all his personal property, overcoat, blanket, canteen, and haversack with three days’ rations in it—this usually totaled forty to forty-five pounds.[11] The brigade did not arrive at their destination, Logan’s Cross-road, which was across the Cumberland River from Mills Springs—the first battle the Second Minnesota was involved in, until the 17^th of January. Rain made the roads nearly impassible, and therefore, delayed the marching army numerous times. The Second’s brigade won the battle and consequently the defeat caused the Confederate defensive line to collapse in eastern Kentucky, leaving the region under Federal control and eastern Tennessee open to invasion.[12]

                From the little that is known about E. St. Julien Cox’s actual battle experience, it is known that Mills Springs would have been the only engagement that Cox participated, for he was to resign his commission in the army on 8 February 1862. Cox was discharged because of prolonged and continued illness—diagnosed as chronic diarrhea.[13] This disability saved Cox from the remainder of the Civil War, which according to the Regimental history, the Second Minnesota fought through the completion of the war. Instead, Cox headed home to Saint Peter, where he would resume his law practice for a short time before joining in the fight against the rebelling Dakota Indians later in 1862.

                From February until August of 1862, little is known of E. St. Julien’s daily activities. One would assume he kept his days busy with events surrounding the law. However, on 17 August 1862, frustrating years of broken treaties led to the Dakota Indian uprising. The broken treaties, coupled with the massive influx of settlers, pushing Dakota reservations further west, finally caused the Dakota Indians to erupt. Hunger led to foraging parties. One such foraging party killed a white family in Acton on 17 August. On 18 August a Dakota force struck the Lower Sioux Agency, killing the inhabitants and taking control. They then surprised a forty man relief party of United States Army troops from Fort Ridgley, Minnesota, killing all but a few troops.[14] Sporadic attacks continued for nearly a week on Fort Ridgley and New Ulm.

                Cox quickly formed a regiment in Saint Peter and on 23 August, Cox and the regiment left for New Ulm on a rescue mission. Cox and his men encountered Lieutenant William Huey and his men, who were forced to retreat due to poor positioning; however, with Cox’s reinforcements, they returned the following day. The detail reached New Ulm on Sunday and together with Lieutenant Huey’s squad, removed the remaining inhabitants, among those eighty wounded men. According to Charles E. Flandrau, who was elected to lead the New Ulm fight, Cox was a “brave and willing officer.”[15] The wagon train returning to Mankato consisted of one hundred fifty-three wagons filled with women, children and the wounded.[16]

                On 23 September 1862, the Battle of Wood Lake occurred. Open-field fighting caused Indian casualties to increase, ending with the first defeat of the Indians since the uprising began in August. This defeat ultimately led to the capture and trial where 425 Indians were tried, 321 found guilty, and 303 sentenced to death. Such high numbers caused and outcry in the East which forced President Abraham Lincoln to acknowledge the situation. After deliberation it was found that only thirty-nine of the 303 condemned were to face execution.[17] Thus it took a Presidential pardon to calm the zealous southern Minnesotans. In Theodore Christianson’s book, Minnesota: The Land of Sky-Tinted Waters, he tells of how Cox, being the officer of the day, gave the signal to hang the thirty-eight Native Americans in Mankato, 26 December 1862—one of the Native Americans was killed on the transport from New Ulm to Mankato.[18] Thus, Cox, as signaler of the beginning of the execution, played a role that in his day was probably regarded with high esteem, especially considering the gravity of the situation.   

                The “Narrative of the First Regiment of Mounted Rangers,” written by Captain Eugene M. Wilson, gives a glimpse into what the general consensus was towards the Dakota—or as Wilson called them, “Cut Throats.” Wilson then goes on to state that much of the Indian hostility was due to the Federal Government’s failure in upholding the treaties due to the fact that all the Union’s resources were aimed at defeating the rebellious southern states.[19]

Writing several years after in 1890, Wilson was also quick to note just how important and different the First Mounted Rangers were from standard cavalry. Because of the inadequacies of the standard army in patrolling the prairies, these men were “not merely cavalry, but armed with such long-range guns as would fit them for all emergencies of Indian warfare.”[20]

                Cox was mustered into the First Regiment of Mounted Rangers on 10 December 1862, after having enrolled a month earlier. The regiment moved out on 16 June 1863 and began the slow trek after the Dakota. There were no railroads that far west in Minnesota, so everything had to be taken by wagon, which greatly slowed the troops. Wilson also notes that southern Minnesota suffered a drought from 1862 through 1863, causing arid conditions making the life of the cavalry even harder.

Wilson attempts to portray a much harder existence for the men of the cavalry, stating that while they get to ride on a horse for the long marches, while the infantry rests during the afternoon, the cavalry must graze their horses. The cavalry was responsible for the picket guard usually far outside the common camp.[21] One might wonder how many of the average infantry men would have gladly given up some of their free time in order to ride upon a horse rather than walk along the dusty trails.

                Aside from sporadic inclusion in regimental histories, no true record of Cox’s involvement in the Indian wars could be found. However, one must infer that he was there. His regiment fought; therefore, he must have seen some of the action as reported in the regimental histories. After approximately one year of service in the First Regiment of Mounted Rangers, E. St. Julien Cox was mustered out of service on 11 November 1863. There was no reason given for his mustering-out of the service. Perhaps his enlistment was for one year, the records do not reveal anything, though. This effectively ended Cox’s military service. He did not fight long, but from all accounts he freely volunteered, and fought bravely whenever called upon.

                Following his decommission from military service, Cox dove back into his law practice in Saint Peter, which lasted until his election to the state Legislature in 1874. According to Christianson, an even greater honor for Cox was his election as judge of the Ninth Judicial District in 1876.[22] Cox served the bench until reports of his idiosyncratic behavior began to surface. Whether it was simply yellow journalism or a reality, Cox was tried and impeached—the main claim against Cox was that he routinely held court while under the influence of alcohol.[23] Dave Simpkins, of the Saint Peter Herald, thinks it was merely the yellow journalism of the time that forced Cox out of office. Cox was, after all, a Democrat in a highly Republican town. According to Simpkins, witnesses told of the judge’s eccentric behavior—often eating apples or sleeping during testimonies. Also on occasion, it was said that Cox would play his melodian—essentially a hand-held piano—or recite Shakespeare while the jury was deliberating.[24]

                After his removal from the judicial seat, Cox became disillusioned and moved twice, making a quick stop in Grand Forks, North Dakota before finally moving to Los Angeles, California where on 4 November 1898, he died of throat cancer.[25] E. St. Julien Cox certainly led a full and exciting life. While he may not have been a perfect man by any stretch of the imagination. He lived hard and fast and was admired by an entire town, which to this day keeps his home, built in 1878 fully furnished and restored to its original condition. Despite the negative way in which he left Minnesota, Cox has returned to prominence in the Twentieth and Twenty-first centuries.        

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Beck, Paul N. Soldier, Settler, and Sioux: Fort Ridgley and

the Minnesota River Valley. Sioux Falls: Center for Western Studies, 2000.

Christianson, Theodore. Minnesota: The Land of Sky-Tinted

Waters, A History of the State and Its People, vol. V. Chicago: The American Historical Society, 1935.

Cox, E. St. Julien. Journal of the Senate of Minnesota

Sitting as a High Court of Impeachment for the Trial of Hon. E. St. Julien Cox, Judge of the Ninth Judicial District. 3 vol. St. Paul: O.G. Miller, 1882.

Flandrau, Charles E. “The Indian War of 1862-1864, and the

Following Campaigns in Minnesota.” In Minnesota in the Civil and Indian Wars, 1861-1865, vol. I, 3^rd ed. Eds. Minnesota Historical Society, 727-753. Saint Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2005.

Fridley, Russell W., Leota M. Kellett, and June D.

Holmquist, eds. Charles E. Flandrau and the Defense of New Ulm. New Ulm, MN: Brown County Historical Society, 1962.

Minnesota Historical Society. Minnesota in the Civil and

Indian Wars, 1861-1865 Vol. I. 3^rd ed. St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2005.

_____. Minnesota in the Civil and

Indian Wars, 1861-1865 Vol. II. 3^rd ed. St. Paul:

Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2005.

National Park Service. “The Battle of Mill Springs: The

Civil War Divides a Border State” <http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/twhp/wwwlps/lessons/72mill/72mill.htm> [26 March 2006].

Operational Archives Branch, Naval Historical Center.

“Papers of Electus D. Litchfield.” 12 May 2003. <http://www.history.navy.mil/ar/lima/litchfield.htm> (26 March 2006).

Reinhart, Christopher. 9 February 2004. Impeachment of

State Officials. OLR Research Report. <http://www.cga.ct.gov/2004/rpt/2004-R-0184.htm> [25 March 2006]

Simpkins, David. “E. St. Julien Cox: Hero or Rogue?” St.

Peter Herald. 16 June 1980.

Wilson, Eugene M. Capt. “Narrative of the First Regiment of

Mounted Rangers.” In Minnesota in the Civil and Indian Wars, 1861-1865, vol. I, 3^rd ed. Eds. Minnesota Historical Society, 519-545. Saint Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2005.