Edward M. McCook
Encyclopedia
Edward Moody McCook was a lawyer, politician, distinguished Union
cavalry
general in the American Civil War
, American
diplomat, and Governor of the Territory of Colorado. He was a member of the famed "Fighting McCook" family of Ohio
. Four of his brothers and ten of his first cousins served as officers, with six of the family members becoming generals before the end of the war.
. He moved to Colorado in 1848 and then to the Kansas Territory
in 1849, where he became a lawyer and a Kansas legislator, serving in the territorial House of Representatives in 1859. He was among the first white settlers in the Pikes Peak
region.
and served for a time as a secret agent
for the Federal government, gathering information of value to the military. He then enlisted as a cavalry lieutenant
in the regular army. He then joined the volunteer army as a captain in the 2nd Indiana Cavalry, rising to the rank of colonel
by the middle of 1862. McCook commanded a cavalry brigade
at the Battle of Perryville
, and a division
at Chickamauga
.
On April 27, 1864, he was promoted to brigadier general
of volunteers and given command of the First Cavalry Division in the Army of the Cumberland
. His 3,600 cavalrymen raided and severed the Macon & Western Railroad in late July 1864 while serving under George Stoneman
during the Atlanta Campaign
. One of his goals was to release the 32,000 prisoners of war
being held in the Andersonville Prison
. However, as they tried to return to the main army on July 30, McCook was thoroughly defeated by Confederate cavalry under Joseph Wheeler
at the Battle of Brown's Mill
near Newnan, Georgia
, losing 950 men, 1,200 horses, and two pieces of artillery
. During Stoneman's raid, McCook gained a reputation for condoning and encouraging the destruction of civilian property. McCook and his remaining cavalry marched to Tennessee
to assist George H. Thomas's efforts to stymie the Confederates
under John Bell Hood
. He served with distinction in the Franklin-Nashville Campaign
.
In March and April 1865, as the war near its close, McCook commanded the First Division in Wilson's Raid
through Alabama
and Georgia
, as well as at the Battle of Selma
, where the Federal cavalry dealt a crushing defeat upon Nathan Bedford Forrest
. In early May, McCook's division was assigned to re-establish Federal control and authority in Florida
, whose ardent secessionist governor, John Milton
, had shot himself in the head rather than submit to Union occupation. On May 13, Col. George Washington Scott
surrendered the last active Confederate troops in the state to McCook. On May 20, General McCook read Abraham Lincoln
’s Emancipation Proclamation
during a ceremony in Tallahassee
, officially ending slavery
in Florida. That same day, his jubilant troopers raised the U.S. flag over the state capital.
McCook reached the rank of brevet
major general
in the volunteers by the end of the war, and received the official praise of his superior, James H. Wilson
. While not a professionally trained soldier, McCook was efficient and brave. He received a total of five brevet promotions in the Civil War, all for gallantry and meritorious service.
appointed McCook to serve as the U.S. Minister
to the Kingdom of Hawaii
from 1866 through 1868. In 1869, he helped organize the Colorado Territory
and was twice appointed governor by President Grant
, a selection bitterly opposed by U.S. Congressman Jerome B. Chaffee
. During his tenure, Governor McCook signed the legislation that created what is now Colorado State University
and was among the first state governors to endorse women's suffrage
. He was a member of the Republican National Committee
in 1872.
McCook left the governorship when his second term expired in 1875 and turned to various business pursuits. He became very wealthy from numerous shrewd investments in real estate, mining interests, and in new European telephone
companies. For a time, he paid more income and business taxes than any man in Colorado.
McCook died in Chicago, Illinois, and is buried in Union Cemetery in Steubenville. The city of McCook, Nebraska
was named in his honor.
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...
cavalry
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
general 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...
, American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
diplomat, and Governor of the Territory of Colorado. He was a member of the famed "Fighting McCook" family of Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
. Four of his brothers and ten of his first cousins served as officers, with six of the family members becoming generals before the end of the war.
Early life and career
McCook was born in Steubenville, OhioSteubenville, Ohio
Steubenville is a city located along the Ohio River in Jefferson County, Ohio on the Ohio-West Virginia border in the United States. It is the political county seat of Jefferson County. It is also a principal city of the Weirton–Steubenville, WV-OH Metropolitan Statistical Area...
. He moved to Colorado in 1848 and then to the Kansas Territory
Kansas Territory
The Territory of Kansas was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 30, 1854, until January 29, 1861, when the eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Kansas....
in 1849, where he became a lawyer and a Kansas legislator, serving in the territorial House of Representatives in 1859. He was among the first white settlers in the Pikes Peak
Pikes Peak
Pikes Peak is a mountain in the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains, west of Colorado Springs, Colorado, in El Paso County in the United States of America....
region.
Civil War
With the onset of the Civil War, McCook traveled to Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
and served for a time as a secret agent
Secret Agent
Secret Agent is a British film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, loosely based on two stories in Ashenden: Or the British Agent by W. Somerset Maugham. The film starred John Gielgud, Peter Lorre, Madeleine Carroll, and Robert Young...
for the Federal government, gathering information of value to the military. He then enlisted as a cavalry lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
in the regular army. He then joined the volunteer army as a captain in the 2nd Indiana Cavalry, rising to the rank of colonel
Colonel (United States)
In the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, colonel is a senior field grade military officer rank just above the rank of lieutenant colonel and just below the rank of brigadier general...
by the middle of 1862. McCook commanded a cavalry brigade
Brigade
A brigade is a major tactical military formation that is typically composed of two to five battalions, plus supporting elements depending on the era and nationality of a given army and could be perceived as an enlarged/reinforced regiment...
at the Battle of Perryville
Battle of Perryville
The Battle of Perryville, also known as the Battle of Chaplin Hills, was fought on October 8, 1862, in the Chaplin Hills west of Perryville, Kentucky, as the culmination of the Confederate Heartland Offensive during the American Civil War. Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg's Army of Mississippi won a...
, and a division
Division (military)
A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of between 10,000 and 20,000 soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, and in turn several divisions typically make up a corps...
at Chickamauga
Battle of Chickamauga
The Battle of Chickamauga, fought September 19–20, 1863, marked the end of a Union offensive in southeastern Tennessee and northwestern Georgia called the Chickamauga Campaign...
.
On April 27, 1864, he was promoted to brigadier general
Brigadier general (United States)
A brigadier general in the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, is a one-star general officer, with the pay grade of O-7. Brigadier general ranks above a colonel and below major general. Brigadier general is equivalent to the rank of rear admiral in the other uniformed...
of volunteers and given command of the First Cavalry Division in the Army of the Cumberland
Army of the Cumberland
The Army of the Cumberland was one of the principal Union armies in the Western Theater during the American Civil War. It was originally known as the Army of the Ohio.-History:...
. His 3,600 cavalrymen raided and severed the Macon & Western Railroad in late July 1864 while serving under George Stoneman
George Stoneman
George Stoneman, Jr. was a career United States Army officer, a Union cavalry general in the American Civil War, and the 15th Governor of California between 1883 and 1887.-Early life:...
during the Atlanta Campaign
Atlanta Campaign
The Atlanta Campaign was a series of battles fought in the Western Theater of the American Civil War throughout northwest Georgia and the area around Atlanta during the summer of 1864. Union Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman invaded Georgia from the vicinity of Chattanooga, Tennessee, beginning in May...
. One of his goals was to release the 32,000 prisoners of war
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
being held in the Andersonville Prison
Andersonville prison
The Andersonville prison, officially known as Camp Sumter, served as a Confederate Prisoner-of-war camp during the American Civil War. The site of the prison is now Andersonville National Historic Site in Andersonville, Georgia. Most of the site actually lies in extreme southwestern Macon County,...
. However, as they tried to return to the main army on July 30, McCook was thoroughly defeated by Confederate cavalry under Joseph Wheeler
Joseph Wheeler
Joseph Wheeler was an American military commander and politician. He has the rare distinction of serving as a general during war time for two opposing forces: first as a noted cavalry general in the Confederate States Army in the 1860s during the American Civil War, and later as a general in the...
at the Battle of Brown's Mill
Battle of Brown's Mill
The Battle of Brown's Mill was fought July 30, 1864, in Coweta County, Georgia, during the Atlanta Campaign of the American Civil War. Edward M. McCook's Union cavalry, on a daring raid to sever communications and supply lines in south-central Georgia, was defeated near Newnan, Georgia, by...
near Newnan, Georgia
Newnan, Georgia
Newnan is a city in Coweta County, Georgia, about 30 miles southwest of Atlanta. The population was 16,242 at the 2000 Census. Newnan is one of the fastest growing cities in Georgia, with an estimated population of 27,097 in 2006 and 33,293 in July 2008...
, losing 950 men, 1,200 horses, and two pieces of artillery
Field Artillery in the American Civil War
Field artillery in the American Civil War refers to the important artillery weapons, equipment, and practices used by the Artillery branch to support the infantry and cavalry forces in the field. It does not include siege artillery, use of artillery in fixed fortifications, or coastal or naval...
. During Stoneman's raid, McCook gained a reputation for condoning and encouraging the destruction of civilian property. McCook and his remaining cavalry marched to Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
to assist George H. Thomas's efforts to stymie the Confederates
Confederate States Army
The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...
under John Bell Hood
John Bell Hood
John Bell Hood was a Confederate general during the American Civil War. Hood had a reputation for bravery and aggressiveness that sometimes bordered on recklessness...
. He served with distinction in the Franklin-Nashville Campaign
Franklin-Nashville Campaign
The Franklin-Nashville Campaign, also known as Hood's Tennessee Campaign, was a series of battles in the Western Theater, conducted from September 18 to December 27, 1864, in Alabama, Tennessee, and northwestern Georgia during the American Civil War. The Confederate Army of Tennessee under Lt....
.
In March and April 1865, as the war near its close, McCook commanded the First Division in Wilson's Raid
Wilson's Raid
Wilson's Raid was a cavalry operation through Alabama and Georgia in March–April 1865, late in the American Civil War. Brig. Gen. James H. Wilson led his Union Army Cavalry Corps to destroy Southern manufacturing facilities and was opposed unsuccessfully by a much smaller force under ...
through Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
and Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
, as well as at the Battle of Selma
Battle of Selma
The Battle of Selma was a military engagement near the end of the American Civil War. It was fought in Selma, Alabama, on April 2, 1865. Union Army forces under Major General James H...
, where the Federal cavalry dealt a crushing defeat upon Nathan Bedford Forrest
Nathan Bedford Forrest
Nathan Bedford Forrest was a lieutenant general in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War. He is remembered both as a self-educated, innovative cavalry leader during the war and as a leading southern advocate in the postwar years...
. In early May, McCook's division was assigned to re-establish Federal control and authority in Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, whose ardent secessionist governor, John Milton
John Milton (Florida politician)
John Milton was an American politician who was the fifth Governor of Florida.John Milton was the son of Homer Virgil Milton and the grandson of Revolutionary War hero and former Georgia Secretary of State, John Milton .John was born near Louisville, Georgia...
, had shot himself in the head rather than submit to Union occupation. On May 13, Col. George Washington Scott
George Washington Scott
George Washington Scott was a noted Florida businessman, plantation owner, and military officer in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War.-Biography:...
surrendered the last active Confederate troops in the state to McCook. On May 20, General McCook read Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
’s Emancipation Proclamation
Emancipation Proclamation
The Emancipation Proclamation is an executive order issued by United States President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, during the American Civil War using his war powers. It proclaimed the freedom of 3.1 million of the nation's 4 million slaves, and immediately freed 50,000 of them, with nearly...
during a ceremony in Tallahassee
Tallahassee, Florida
Tallahassee is the capital of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County, and is the 128th largest city in the United States. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2010, the population recorded by...
, officially ending slavery
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
in Florida. That same day, his jubilant troopers raised the U.S. flag over the state capital.
McCook reached the rank of brevet
Brevet (military)
In many of the world's military establishments, brevet referred to a warrant authorizing a commissioned officer to hold a higher rank temporarily, but usually without receiving the pay of that higher rank except when actually serving in that role. An officer so promoted may be referred to as being...
major general
Major general (United States)
In the United States Army, United States Marine Corps, and United States Air Force, major general is a two-star general-officer rank, with the pay grade of O-8. Major general ranks above brigadier general and below lieutenant general...
in the volunteers by the end of the war, and received the official praise of his superior, James H. Wilson
James H. Wilson
James Harrison Wilson was a United States Army topographic engineer, a Union Army Major General in the American Civil War and later wars, a railroad executive, and author.-Early life and engineering:...
. While not a professionally trained soldier, McCook was efficient and brave. He received a total of five brevet promotions in the Civil War, all for gallantry and meritorious service.
Postbellum career
He returned to the regular army when his volunteers were mustered out following the war. In 1866, McCook resigned from the army and returned to civilian life. President Andrew JohnsonAndrew Johnson
Andrew Johnson was the 17th President of the United States . As Vice-President of the United States in 1865, he succeeded Abraham Lincoln following the latter's assassination. Johnson then presided over the initial and contentious Reconstruction era of the United States following the American...
appointed McCook to serve as the U.S. Minister
United States Minister to Hawaii
The Minister to Hawaii was an office of the United States Department of State to the Kingdom of Hawaii during the period of 1810 to 1898. Appointed by the President of the United States with the consent of Congress, the Minister to Hawaii was equivalent in rank to the present-day ambassador of the...
to the Kingdom of Hawaii
Kingdom of Hawaii
The Kingdom of Hawaii was established during the years 1795 to 1810 with the subjugation of the smaller independent chiefdoms of Oahu, Maui, Molokai, Lānai, Kauai and Niihau by the chiefdom of Hawaii into one unified government...
from 1866 through 1868. In 1869, he helped organize the Colorado Territory
Colorado Territory
The Territory of Colorado was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from February 28, 1861, until August 1, 1876, when it was admitted to the Union as the State of Colorado....
and was twice appointed governor by President Grant
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...
, a selection bitterly opposed by U.S. Congressman Jerome B. Chaffee
Jerome B. Chaffee
Jerome Bonaparte Chaffee was an entrepreneur and United States Senator from Colorado. Chaffee County, Colorado is named after him.-Biography:...
. During his tenure, Governor McCook signed the legislation that created what is now Colorado State University
Colorado State University
Colorado State University is a public research university located in Fort Collins, Colorado. The university is the state's land grant university, and the flagship university of the Colorado State University System.The enrollment is approximately 29,932 students, including resident and...
and was among the first state governors to endorse women's suffrage
Women's suffrage
Women's suffrage or woman suffrage is the right of women to vote and to run for office. The expression is also used for the economic and political reform movement aimed at extending these rights to women and without any restrictions or qualifications such as property ownership, payment of tax, or...
. He was a member of the Republican National Committee
Republican National Committee
The Republican National Committee is an American political committee that provides national leadership for the Republican Party of the United States. It is responsible for developing and promoting the Republican political platform, as well as coordinating fundraising and election strategy. It is...
in 1872.
McCook left the governorship when his second term expired in 1875 and turned to various business pursuits. He became very wealthy from numerous shrewd investments in real estate, mining interests, and in new European telephone
Telephone
The telephone , colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that transmits and receives sounds, usually the human voice. Telephones are a point-to-point communication system whose most basic function is to allow two people separated by large distances to talk to each other...
companies. For a time, he paid more income and business taxes than any man in Colorado.
McCook died in Chicago, Illinois, and is buried in Union Cemetery in Steubenville. The city of McCook, Nebraska
McCook, Nebraska
McCook is a city in Red Willow County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 7,994 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Red Willow County...
was named in his honor.
See also
- List of American Civil War generals
- History of ColoradoHistory of ColoradoThe human history of Colorado extends back more than 13,000 years. The region that is today the state of Colorado was first inhabited by Native Americans...
- Law and Government of ColoradoLaw and Government of ColoradoThe Constitution of the State of Colorado provides for three branches of government: the legislative, the executive, and the judicial branches.-Sovereignty of the people:...
- List of Governors of Colorado
- Territory of Colorado