After the start of the American Civil War, Cole became affiliated with the National Union coalition and never returned to the Democratic Party.
[5] The following year, he ran for another term in the Wisconsin Senate, and was elected on the Union ticket, defeating the Democratic incumbent James Earnest.
[6] The 1864 election sparked a controversy, and his opponent formally contested the results, challenging the validity of some of the soldiers' absentee votes.
[7] The Senate, which then had a substantial Union majority, delayed hearing the challenge until March, and ultimately ruled in Cole's favor.
[10] Cole did not run for state office again after serving in the 1868 legislative session, but remained active in the Republican Party of Wisconsin for most of the rest of his life.
Samuel Cole III served as a sergeant in the New Hampshire militia during the American Revolutionary War.
[11] Samuel Cole IV married Jane Connery, an Irish American immigrant, in April 1841 at Gratiot.
[1] Their eldest daughter, Mary, married Francis Campbell, who also represented the Gratiot area in the Wisconsin State Assembly.