William Winer Cooke was a military officer in the United States Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

 during 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 the Black Hills War. He was the adjutant

Adjutant

Adjutant is a military rank or appointment. In some armies, including most English-speaking ones, it is an officer who assists a more senior officer, while in other armies, especially Francophone ones, it is an NCO , normally corresponding roughly to a Staff Sergeant or Warrant Officer.An Adjutant...

 for George Armstrong Custer

George Armstrong Custer

George Armstrong Custer was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the Indian Wars. Raised in Michigan and Ohio, Custer was admitted to West Point in 1858, where he graduated last in his class...

 and was killed during the Battle of the Little Bighorn

Battle of the Little Bighorn

The Battle of the Little Bighorn, also known as Custer's Last Stand and, by the Indians involved, as the Battle of the Greasy Grass, was an armed engagement between combined forces of Lakota, Northern Cheyenne and Arapaho people against the 7th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army...

.

Overview

Cooke was born in Mount Pleasant, Brant County, Ontario

Ontario

Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

, to Alexander and Angeline Cooke. He attended the Brantford Collegiate School and the Central School in Hamilton, Ontario

Hamilton, Ontario

Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...

. At the age of 14, he moved to Buffalo, New York

Buffalo, New York

Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...

, to continue his studies. After graduating from school, he enlisted in 1863 with the 24th New York Cavalry at Niagara Falls, New York

Niagara Falls, New York

Niagara Falls is a city in Niagara County, New York, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 50,193, down from the 55,593 recorded in the 2000 census. It is across the Niagara River from Niagara Falls, Ontario , both named after the famed Niagara Falls which they...

, during the Civil War. After serving as a recruiting officer, he served on the front lines in the IX Corps

IX Corps (ACW)

IX Corps was a corps of the Union Army during the American Civil War that distinguished itself in combat in multiple theaters: the Carolinas, Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Mississippi.-Formation, Second Bull Run, and Antietam:...

, commanded by Ambrose Burnside

Ambrose Burnside

Ambrose Everett Burnside was an American soldier, railroad executive, inventor, industrialist, and politician from Rhode Island, serving as governor and a U.S. Senator...

. He was wounded during the Siege of Petersburg

Siege of Petersburg

The Richmond–Petersburg Campaign was a series of battles around Petersburg, Virginia, fought from June 9, 1864, to March 25, 1865, during the American Civil War...

. After being released from the hospital, he served on commissary duty. He rose to first lieutenant on December 14, 1864, but did not return to front-line duty until March 1865. He was awarded 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...

 promotions to captain, major

Major (United States)

In the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, major is a field grade military officer rank just above the rank of captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel...

, and lieutenant colonel

Lieutenant Colonel (United States)

In the United States Army, United States Air Force, and United States Marine Corps, a lieutenant colonel is a field grade military officer rank just above the rank of major and just below the rank of colonel. It is equivalent to the naval rank of commander in the other uniformed services.The pay...

 for his meritorious service during the war, the last his actions at the Battle of Sayler's Creek

Battle of Sayler's Creek

-External links:* * : Maps, histories, photos, and preservation news...

 during the Appomattox Campaign

Appomattox Campaign

The Appomattox Campaign was a series of battles fought March 29 – April 9, 1865, in Virginia that culminated in the surrender of Confederate General Robert E...

.

After the war, he immediately joined the 1st New York Provisional Cavalry and applied for a Regular Army

Regular Army

The Regular Army of the United States was and is the successor to the Continental Army as the country's permanent, professional military establishment. Even in modern times the professional core of the United States Army continues to be called the Regular Army...

 commission. He was made a second lieutenant in the U.S. 7th Cavalry Regiment

U.S. 7th Cavalry Regiment

The 7th Cavalry Regiment is a United States Army Cavalry Regiment, whose lineage traces back to the mid-19th century. Its official nickname is "Garryowen," in honor of the Irish air Garryowen that was adopted as its march tune....

 in July 1866, and was promoted to first lieutenant a year later at Fort Harker

Fort Harker

Fort Harker may refer to:* Fort Harker * Fort Harker...

 in Kansas. In 1868, he participated in the Washita Campaign

Battle of Washita River

The Battle of Washita River occurred on November 27, 1868 when Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer’s 7th U.S...

.

In 1871, he became the regimental adjutant

Adjutant

Adjutant is a military rank or appointment. In some armies, including most English-speaking ones, it is an officer who assists a more senior officer, while in other armies, especially Francophone ones, it is an NCO , normally corresponding roughly to a Staff Sergeant or Warrant Officer.An Adjutant...

 under Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer. Cooke became close friends with Thomas Custer

Thomas Custer

Thomas Ward Custer was a United States Army officer and two-time recipient of the Medal of Honor for bravery during the American Civil War...

 and was a member of the so-called "Custer Clan" or "Custer Gang", a close-knit group of Custer's friends and relatives. He was an excellent shot and one of the fastest runners of the regiment. Some of his troopers took a dislike to him and called him "The Queen's Own". He was known for his dundrearies

Edward Askew Sothern

Edward Askew Sothern was an English actor known for his comic roles in Britain and America, particularly Lord Dundreary in Our American Cousin.- Early years :...

, or long side whiskers, that he always wore.

Little Big Horn

Cooke was killed at the Battle of the Little Bighorn

Battle of the Little Bighorn

The Battle of the Little Bighorn, also known as Custer's Last Stand and, by the Indians involved, as the Battle of the Greasy Grass, was an armed engagement between combined forces of Lakota, Northern Cheyenne and Arapaho people against the 7th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army...

. His body was found close to his commander. He was the author of the famous "last message" to Frederick Benteen

Frederick Benteen

Frederick William Benteen was a military officer during the American Civil War and then during the Black Hills War against the Lakota and Northern Cheyenne. He is notable for being in command of a battalion of the 7th U. S...

, carried by John Martin, that read:

"Benteen. Come On. Big village. Be quick. Bring packs. WW Cooke. P.S. Bring Packs."

"Cooke...was scalped twice--the second scalp being one of his prodigiously long flowing sidewhiskers..." -Connell, Son of the Morning Star

Cooke was initially interred on the battlefield. A memorial slab marks the approximate spot where he fell. In June 1877, he was reburied in the Little Bighorn National Cemetery

Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument

Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument preserves the site of the June 25, 1876, Battle of the Little Bighorn, near Crow Agency, Montana, in the United States. It also serves as a memorial to those who fought in the battle: George Armstrong Custer's 7th Cavalry and a combined Lakota-Northern...

. In August of that year, his family had the remains disinterred again and reburied in the family's plot in the Hamilton Cemetery in Hamilton, Ontario

Hamilton, Ontario

Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...

.

The Grand Army of the Republic

Grand Army of the Republic

The Grand Army of the Republic was a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union Army, US Navy, US Marines and US Revenue Cutter Service who served in the American Civil War. Founded in 1866 in Decatur, Illinois, it was dissolved in 1956 when its last member died...

  Post 472 "W. W. Cooke" in Hamilton is named in Cooke's memory and honor.

Further reading

• Carroll, John M., The Custer Autograph Album, Creative Publishing, 1994, ISBN 0-932702-97-X
• Cox, Kurt Hamilton, Custer and His Commands: From West Point to Little Bighorn, Greenhill Book, 1999, ISBN 1-85367-358-7