Samuel H. Cole served in the Civil War. He enlisted on April 17, 1861 at Franklin Mills, Ohio (later knowns as Kent, OH). He enlisted as a private in Company F, commanded by Capt. Morris in the 45th Regiment of the Ohio Infantry Volunteers. By the 10th of May, 1863, he had attained the rank of 1st Lieutenant. On this date, according to pension records, he was in command of Co. F, 45th Ohio Infantry, and thus was mounted. The company was near Monticello, KY near the Cumberland River. During a night raid, then Lt. Cole was thrown from his horse and broke 3 ribs on his left side. His injuries were serious enough that he was discharged from the service in Aug. of 1863. In December of 1863, having recovered from his injury, he re-enlisted, this time in the cavalry, seeing duty in Alabama. While there, he contracted malaria and later was struck in the right eye by a tree limb. This injury eventually led to total blindness by the time his daughter was born in 1875. After the war, he was a carriage maker until what eyesight he had failed completely. He resided, according to pension records in Frankfort, Clinton Co., Indiana where he is buried. He also spent some time in Cincinnati. Capt. Cole, his rank by discharge in 1865, had 9 brothers and 3 sisters. We know from pension records that he was 5'11" tall, had dark hair and a fair complexion.

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Letters from James A. Garfield written to and on behalf of Capt.
Samuel H. Cole in an effort to secure Capt. Cole a government position