Moses Ayers McCoid was a Union Army

Union Army

The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...

 officer in the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

 and a three-term Republican

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

  U.S. Representative

United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

 from Iowa's 1st congressional district

Iowa's 1st congressional district

Iowa's 1st congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Iowa that covers the northeastern part of the state. The district includes Dubuque, Clinton, Davenport and Waterloo....

 in southeastern Iowa.

Born near Bellefontaine, Ohio

Bellefontaine, Ohio

Bellefontaine is a city in and the county seat of Logan County, Ohio, United States. The population was 13,069 at the 2000 census. It is the center of the Bellefontaine Micropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau in 2003...

, McCoid attended the public schools, Fairfield University

Fairfield University

Fairfield University is a private, co-educational undergraduate and master's level teaching-oriented university located in Fairfield, Connecticut, in the New England region of the United States. It was founded by the Society of Jesus in 1942, and today is one of 28 member institutions of the...

, and Washington (now Washington and Jefferson) College

Washington & Jefferson College

Washington & Jefferson College, also known as W & J College or W&J, is a private liberal arts college in Washington, Pennsylvania, in the United States, which is south of Pittsburgh...

, in Washington, Pennsylvania

Washington, Pennsylvania

Washington is a city in and the county seat of Washington County, Pennsylvania, United States, within the Pittsburgh Metro Area in the southwestern part of the state...

.
He studied law in Fairfield, Iowa

Fairfield, Iowa

Fairfield is a city and the county seat of Jefferson County, Iowa, United States. The population was 9,464 in the 2010 census, a decline from 9,509 in the 2000 census. - History :...

 with future Congressman and U.S. Senator James F. Wilson.
He was admitted to the bar

Admission to the bar in the United States

In the United States, admission to the bar is the granting of permission by a particular court system to a lawyer to practice law in that system. Each U.S. state and similar jurisdiction has its own court system and sets its own rules for bar admission , which can lead to different admission...

 in 1861 and commenced practice in Fairfield.

On May 6, 1861, at the outbreak of the Civil War, he enlisted as a private in Company E, 2nd Iowa Volunteer Infantry Regiment

2nd Iowa Regiment

The 2nd Regiment Iowa Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.-Service:The 2nd Iowa Infantry was organized at Keokuk, Iowa and mustered into Federal service on May 27, 1861. Among its officers, several would reach the rank of general...

. He took part in the battles of Fort Donelson

Battle of Fort Donelson

The Battle of Fort Donelson was fought from February 11 to February 16, 1862, in the Western Theater of the American Civil War. The capture of the fort by Union forces opened the Cumberland River as an avenue for the invasion of the South. The success elevated Brig. Gen. Ulysses S...

, Shiloh

Battle of Shiloh

The Battle of Shiloh, also known as the Battle of Pittsburg Landing, was a major battle in the Western Theater of the American Civil War, fought April 6–7, 1862, in southwestern Tennessee. A Union army under Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant had moved via the Tennessee River deep into Tennessee and...

, Corinth

Siege of Corinth

The Siege of Corinth was an American Civil War battle fought from April 29 to May 30, 1862, in Corinth, Mississippi.-Background:...

, Bear Creek

Bear Creek

-Communities:* Bear Creek, Alabama, a town in Marion County* Bear Creek, Alaska, a census-designated place in Kenai Peninsula Borough* Bear Creek, Merced County, California, a census-designated place* Bear Creek Township, Michigan, a township in Emmet County...

, Resaca

Battle of Resaca

The Battle of Resaca was part of the Atlanta Campaign of the American Civil War. The battle was waged in both Gordon and Whitfield counties, Georgia, from May 13 - 15, 1864. It ended inconclusively with the Confederate Army retreating. The engagement was fought between the Military Division of the...

 and Oostanaula River

Oostanaula River

The Oostanaula River is a principal tributary of the Coosa River, about long, in northwestern Georgia in the United States. Via the Coosa and Alabama rivers, it is part of the watershed of the Mobile River, which flows to the Gulf of Mexico. Its name is said to come from a Cherokee Indian term...

. He was first promoted to second lieutenant and later to adjutant of the regiment.

Following the war, he resumed the practice of law in Fairfield.
He served as district attorney of the sixth judicial district of Iowa in 1867 and 1871.
He served as member of the Iowa Senate

Iowa Senate

The Iowa Senate is the upper house of the Iowa General Assembly. There are 50 members of the Senate, representing 50 single-member districts across the state with populations of approximately 59,500 per constituency. Each Senate district is composed of two House districts...

 from 1872 to 1879.

In 1878, McCoid was first elected as a Republican to represent Iowa's 1st congressional district in the U.S. House. He was re-elected twice, and served in the Forty-sixth

46th United States Congress

The Forty-sixth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1879 to March 4, 1881, during the last two years of...

, Forty-seventh

47th United States Congress

The Forty-seventh United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1881 to March 4, 1883, during the administration...

, and Forty-eighth

48th United States Congress

The Forty-eighth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1883 to March 4, 1885, during the last two years...

 Congresses. He was an unsuccessful candidate for the Republican renomination in 1884, losing to John S. Woolson, who then lost in the general election to Democrat Benton Jay Hall

Benton Jay Hall

Benton Jay "Ben" Hall was a one-term Democratic U.S. Representative from Iowa's 1st congressional district in southeastern Iowa....

. In all, McCoid served in Congress from March 4, 1879 to March 3, 1885.

After leaving Congress, McCoid again resumed the practice of law.

He died in Fairfield on May 19, 1904. He was interred in Evergreen Cemetery.