Edward Day Cohota

Edward Day Cohota was born around 1843, likely in Shanghai, though his exact date of birth remains unknown due to conflicting reports.^[1] The earliest account of Edward dates to December 27, 1845, when Captain Sialas departed Shanghai, China, aboard his ship, the Cohota.^[2] On board, he found two starved, ragged Chinese boys—brothers, with one a few years older than the other. Both were near the brink of death, but the Captain kept them on board instead of turning back. While the older boy died during the voyage, the younger boy survived. Captain Sialas decided to raise the surviving child himself, naming him Edward Day Cohota and choosing December 27 as his birthday. Edward grew up in the Captain's home in Gloucester, Massachusetts, developing a close, lifelong relationship with the family.^[3] There, received an education and training as a sailor.

On May 16, 1864, Cohota enlisted with the 23rd Massachusetts Infantry Regiment of the Army of the Potomac.^[1] He saw action in many battles and skirmishes, including Drewry's Bluff, where reportedly seven bullet holes went through his clothes but none injured him.^[3] At Cold Harbor, Virginia, a bullet grazed his head, which left a permanent part in his hair. Cohota was an energetic soldier and fought bravely and well, relishing in combat. With the war concluded, Cohota was discharged and worked as a sailor for a year until reenlisting in the fall of 1866, unwilling to part with a soldier's life.^[3]

Cohota would spend the next 30 years mostly in the West as a private serving in Company C and H of the 15th Infantry Regiment and was well respected by his fellow troops and officers. He was stationed in Texas; New Mexico; Fort Sheridan, Illinois; Fort Randall, South Dakota; Fort Niobrara, Nebraska, and fought in numerous battles of the American Indian Wars. In 1883, Cohota married Anna Halstensen, a Norwegian woman, at Fort Randall.^[1] There too, he reportedly guarded perhaps the greatest Indian chief resistance fighter, Sitting Bull.^{[citation needed]}

Cohota retired from the army in August 1895, settling down with his wife and kids in Valentine, Nebraska. Cohota and Anna had six children: Lucy, Edward, Elizabeth, William, Daisy, and Miles, who died in infancy.^[3] The rest of the children lived well into adulthood. Cohota worked as a baker and ran a livery barn business for a number of years. His wife Anna died in February 1899 from illness.^[4] Later, Cohota opened one or two restaurants in Valentine and was well-respected in town.

Cohota's last great battle was not on the battlefield, but with the Federal Government. Despite fighting to preserve it in the Civil War and serving as one of its soldiers for over thirty years, Cohota ironically never was a citizen of the US. The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 made it legally impossible for him to attain citizenship. However, Cohota had always assumed he was a citizen; he never once missed voting in an election. It was until 1912, at around 69 years old, that he was informed of his non-citizen status, much to his dismay. Unable to accept this situation, Cohota took his case to Congress and the courts. He fought to attain citizenship until his death, even gaining the support of Senator Norris Brown, but he did not succeed. However, Cohota did receive a veteran's pension, and he harbored no ill will against the country that denied him citizenship.^[1]

In 1917, Cohota retired to National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers’ Battle Mountain Sanitarium in Hot Springs, South Dakota. Still very energetic, he loved to drive and cook for his family. He died on November 18, 1935.^[3] His granddaughter recalls him dying on the front porch of the family home at Parmelee, South Dakota, and was later buried with his wife in Valentine, Nebraska.

• Zhao, X.; D, E.J.W.P.P. (2013). Asian Americans: An Encyclopedia of Social, Cultural, Economic, and Political History. ABC-CLIO. p. 325. ISBN 978-1-59884-240-1.
• Lee, J.H.X. (2018). Asian American History Day by Day: A Reference Guide to Events. ABC-CLIO. p. 52. ISBN 978-0-313-39928-2.