According to Government Services Administration records, Lafayette Coile was assigned to Company D, 3rd Tn Cavalry Regiment, US Volunteers. The unit departed Nashville and moved south into Corinth, Mississippi in Jan 1864 and began to press towards Meridian, Mississippi. They reached as far as West Point, Ms before they were forced back. They fought against General Nathan Bedford Forrest's forces at Okolona, Mississippi on 22 Feb 1864. In disorder Union forces fell back as far as Ivey's Farm where the 3rd Tenn. Cav. took part in a brilliant charge which halted the Confederate pursuit. The expedition withdraw back to Memphis and then later to Nashville, arriving on 17 March 1864. For the next six months detachments of the unit conducted patrols in northern Alabama and guarded the Chattanooga - Nashville railroad. During August they were involved in skirmishes with Confederate cavalry that invaded Tennessee. Lafayette Coile would have been an enlisted man during these campaign, possibly the First Sergeant of his company.
In June he was commissioned as a Captain. Immediately after this promoted he was assigned the duty of mustering in new troops in Nashville. It is possible that he was given the responsibility to recruit troops for his own unit. By July he was back with the 3rd Tennessee Cavalry in the field.
In late July the 3rd Tennessee Cavalry was part of a larger movement of troops into northern Alabama. On 29 July 1864 the unit participated at the battle of Big Name Creek, near Pond Springs. Running engagements between Confederate and Union cavalry continued throughout August and September 1864. The 3rd Tennessee Cavalry was in a larger force of Union soldiers under the command of Union Colonel William Campbell. In late September, under attack by Confederate forces, he positioned a large number of the cavalry and infantry in a fortress near Athens, Alabama. On 24 September the same general, surrendered 150 of the 3rd Tennessee Cavalry Regiment to Confederate forces under General Nathan Bedford Forrest. This took place after he first refused to surrender. After his refusal General Forrest persuaded him to surrender after showing him the number of troops he had available for taking the fortress. The following day 400 men from the 3rd Tennessee cavalry were captured at nearby Sulphur Trestle. Captain Coile and the men of I Company (his command) were among those taken prisoner. The officers were treated reasonably well. It is likely that they were taken to the Prisoner of War camp at Cahawba, near Selma, Alabama. On 15 November 1864 the officers were paroled at Memphis but not exchanged. This means that they were returned to the Union forces but under an agreement that they would not fight against the Confederate forces until a captured Confederate officer of equal rank was freed in their place. Lafayette Coile was sent to the rear to Camp Chase, Ohio, arriving on 24 November 1864. Camp Chase is near Columbus, Ohio. Here he waited out the time until when he would be notified that a Confederate officer had been exchanged in his stead. Only then would he have been allowed to return to his unit. In December 1864 he was notified to return to service in Nashville. It is unclear whether he was there and serving in the Battle of Nashville during December. In February 1865 Captain Coile became ill and was hospitalized in Nashville. The 3rd Tennessee Cavalry was basically non-existent as all the unit's men were prisoners. Captain Coile recovered after an extended illness, possibly pneumonia. Those who remained of the unit were reorganized and spent the remainder of the war re-supplying.
The enlisted men of the 3rd Tennessee Cavalry were held prisoner longer. It wasn't until April 1865, as the war in the western theater of Tennessee was winding down, that these men were exchanged. They were moved to Vicksburg, Mississippi where the US Government had contracted with the company owning the steamship Sultana to transport these soldiers north to their homes. Most of the soldiers were from Ohio but there were 174 soldiers from the 3rd Tennessee Cavalry that also boarded. History tells us that the steamships' captain was in a hurry and did not pay adequate attention to a leaky boiler. Instead of having it replaced at significant expense, he had it patched. Add to this that these soldiers, many recently released from prisoner of war camps such as Andersonville and Cahawba, were eager to get home. They bribed and muscled their way onto the ship. The ship was designed to carry 376 passengers. It left port overflowing with as many as 1800 passengers packed into every berth and completely packing the deck. Many of these soldiers were weakened by their experience of imprisonment. It was 2 a.m. on 27 April 1865 when the Sultana was about 8 miles north of Memphis and the boilers gave way. The explosion immediately turned the steamship into a burning inferno. The 3rd Tennessee lost all its enlisted men that morning. Many died instantly, others jumped into the water and drown. Some were plucked from the water and over 300 died of burns later.
Captain Coile was among the officers who signed a statement protesting against the surrender which had resulted in their prisoner of war status. They claimed it was unjustified. They were critical of the commander who surrendered them without a fight. In their statement they pointed out that the fortress was a strong one, they had sufficient munitions, provisions and they felt certain that relief would have come soon. You can see this statement, along with Col. Campbell's statement by visiting website http://www.lwfaam.net/cw/union_reports/athens_al.htm When the war ended Lafayette was mustered out of service 3 August 1865. Lafayette returned to Rocky Valley in Jefferson County to resume life as a simple country farmer where he lived the remainder of his life, probably about twenty-four years more. He was around 50 years of age when he died.
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