'''Carl Cotton''' was the fifth of [[Tolman Cotton Senior|Tolman Cotton]]'s five children, with whom [[Sam Gamgee]] played as a child in [[Bywater Pool]]. At the time of the [[Scouring of the Shire]] he was no more than thirty years old (considered a young and irresponsible age by [[Hobbits]], who did not come of age until thirty-three). When his father and brothers went to fight against [[Sharkey's Men]], Carl was left to protect his mother and his sister. After the [[War of the Ring]], he became Sam Gamgee's brother-in-law, when Sam married the same sister Carl had protected during the [[Battle of Bywater]]: [[Rosie Cotton]].