Edward Hale Bowman was born on August 15, 1816, in Franklin, Pennsylvania. He moved to Rock Island County, Illinois, around 1843. He became postmaster of Andalusia, Illinois, in April 1846. He married Elizabeth Byles, and they had at least six children: Edward, born around 1845; Andrew, born around 1847; Matthew, born around 1848; Samuel, born around 1850; Annette, born around 1856; and Blanch, born around 1858. They lived in Andalusia, and Bowman worked as a doctor. By 1850, he owned $325 of real estate. A decade later, he owned $3,500 of real estate and $650 of personal property.

 

On September 11, 1861, he received a commission as a surgeon in the 27^th Illinois Infantry. The regiment took part in the Battle of Belmont, the siege of Corinth, the Battle of Stones River, the Battle of Chickamauga, the Battle of Missionary Ridge, and the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain. At Stones River, one writer later noted, he “had the most advanced hospital on the field,” and he was “captured by the enemy at a temporary depot with his wounded colonel and about 100 wounded men.” Confederate forces apparently released him soon afterward. He mustered out on September 20, 1864.

 

Bowman returned to Andalusia after the war. He applied for a federal pension in August 1890 and eventually secured one. He died in Andalusia on November 30, 1893.

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