Abraham Dowden

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Abraham Rinkle Dowden (February 14, 1839 – September 18, 1907) was a minor Democratic political figure in Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana in the late- 19th and early-20th centuries.

He was the son of Hugh Dowden, who was born in the Mississippi Territory to a family of early pioneers. Abraham Dowden married Louisa Ann Dendy in Kisatchie, Louisiana on December 23, 1856.

He enlisted in Co. E, 11th Louisiana Infantry, on May 14, 1862 in Many, Louisiana during the American Civil War. This regiment was combined with the 16th Louisiana Infantry and the Crescent Regiment to form the Consolidated Crescent Regiment on November 3, 1863 in Simmesport, Louisiana. Dowden rose to the rank of sergeant during the war. The Consolidated Crescent Regiment was heavily involved in contesting Union General Nathaniel Banks' Red River Campaign. At the Battle of Mansfield, Louisiana on April 8, 1864, the unit took more than 175 casualties and was the only Louisiana unit to lose all three field officers in a single battle. Among the casualties were Dowden's brother-in-law, Corporal Thomas J. Dendy, who was killed, and his brother, Sergeant Stephen Grant Dowden, who was wounded. The Consolidated Crescent Regiment surrendered with the Confederate Army of the Trans-Mississippi on May 26, 1865. Dowden was paroled on June 8, 1865 and returned home to Natchitoches Parish.

He became active in local politics later in life, and at the time of his death, was serving on the Natchitoches Parish Police Jury.