Robert Harper Cowan

A graduate of the University of North Carolina, class of 1844, Cowan was born in Wilmington on August 3, 1824. He became colonel of the 18th North Carolina after a stint with the 3d North Carolina as its lieutenant colonel in April 1862. On November 11, 1862 Cowan resigned his commission due to illness. After the War, he was a railroad president and served in the state legislature. Cowan died on November 11, 1872 and was buried in Oakdale Cemetery in Wilmington.