★ ★  McCook, Alexander M.

Alexander McDowell McCook

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Born: April 22, 1831

Birthplace: Columbiana County, Ohio

Father: Daniel McCook Sr. 1798 – 1863
(Buried: Spring Grove Cemetery, Cincinnati, Ohio)​

Mother: Martha Latimer 1802 – 1879
(Buried: Spring Grove Cemetery, Cincinnati, Ohio)​

1st​ Wife: Kate Phillips 1837 – 1881
(Buried: Spring Grove Cemetery, Cincinnati, Ohio)​

2nd​ Wife: Annie Colt 1845 – 1925
(Buried: Spring Grove Cemetery, Cincinnati, Ohio)​

Children:

Lucianna “Lucy” McCook Baker 1864 – 1923​
(Buried: Spring Grove Cemetery, Cincinnati, Ohio)​
Kathleen McCook Craighead 1870 – 1947​
(Buried: Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum, Dayton, Ohio)​
Jeanette Thruston McCook Dunlop 1876 – 1979​
(Buried: Oak Hill Cemetery, Washington, D.C.)​
Alexander McCook 1886 – 1886​
(Buried: Spring Grove Cemetery, Cincinnati, Ohio)​

Education:

1852: Graduated from West Point Military Academy – (30th​ in class)​

Occupation before War:

1852 – 1854: Brevet 2nd​ Lt. United States Army, 3rd​ Infantry Regiment
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1852 – 1853: Garrison Duty at Newport Barracks, Kentucky​
1853: Garrison Duty at Jefferson Barracks, Missouri​
1853 – 1854: Frontier Duty at Fort Fillmore, New Mexico​
1854: Scout against the Apache Indians​
1854 – 1858: 2nd​ Lt. United States Army, 3rd​ Infantry Regiment​
1854 – 1855: Frontier Duty at Fort Union, New Mexico​
1858 – 1861: 1st​ Lt. United States Army, 3rd​ Infantry Regiment​
1858 – 1861: Assistant Infantry Tactics Instructor at West Point​

Civil War Career:

1861: Colonel of 1st​ Ohio Volunteers Infantry Regiment​
1861: Mustering and Disbursing Officer in Columbia, Ohio​
1861: Served in the Defenses of Washington, D.C.​
1861 – 1867: Captain United States Army, 3rd​ Infantry Regiment​
1861: Served in the Battle of Vienna, Virginia​
1861: Served in the First Battle of Bull Run, Virginia​
1861: Brevetted Major for Gallantry at First Battle of Bull Run​
1861: Recruiting and Organizer of regiment in Dayton, Ohio​
1861: Mustered out of Union Army on August 2nd​
1861: Colonel of 1st​ Ohio Volunteers Infantry Regiment​
1861 – 1862: Brigadier General, Union Army Volunteers​
1861: Brigade Commander in Union Operations in Kentucky​
1862: Division Commander in Tennessee and Mississippi Campaign​
1862: Brevetted Lt. Colonel for Gallantry in capturing Nashville, Tennessee​
1862: Served in the Battle of Shiloh, Tennessee​
1862: Brevetted Colonel for Gallantry at the Battle of Shiloh, Tennessee​
1862: Served in the Siege of Corinth, Mississippi​
1862 – 1865: Major General, Union Army Volunteers​
1862: Served in the Battle of Perryville, Kentucky​
1862: Union Army Commander in Command of Nashville, Tennessee​
1862 – 1863: Served in the Battle of Stones River, Tennessee​
1863: Union Army Commander at the Battle of Liberty Gap, Tennessee
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1863: Served in the Battle of Chickamuga, Georgia​
1863 – 1864: Awaiting Orders from the War Department​
1864: Served in the Defense of the Capital in Washington, D.C.​
1864 – 1865: Commander of Union Army, Middle Military Division​
1865: Commander of Union Army District of Eastern Arkansas​
1865: Brevetted Brigadier General for Gallantry at Battle of Perryville​
1865: Brevetted Major General for his services in the War​
1865: Investigator of Indian Affairs in Kansas, New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah​
1865: Resigned as Major General in Union Army on October 21st​

Occupation after War:

1861 – 1867: Captain, United States Army, 3rd​ Infantry Regiment​
1865 – 1867: Leave of Absence from the United States Army​
1867 – 1869: Lt. Colonel United States Army, 26th​ Infantry Regiment​
1867 – 1868: Regimental Commander in Austin, Texas​
1868 – 1869: Regimental Commander in Brownsville, Texas​
1868 – 1869: Commander of U.S. Army, Sub District of the Rio Grande​
1869 – 1875: Lt. Colonel, United States Army, 10th​ Infantry Regiment​
1869: Served on Court Martial Duty at San Antonio, Texas​
1871: Served on Court Martial Duty at Ringgold Barracks, Texas​
1871 – 1872: Regimental Commander at Fort Brown, Texas​
1872: Regimental Commander at San Antonio, Texas​
1872 – 1873: Leave of Absence from United States Army​
1873: Served on Court Martial Duty at San Antonio, Texas​
1873 – 1874: Regimental Commander at Fort McKavett, Texas​
1874: Member of United States Army Equipment Board​
1874 – 1875: Acting Assistant Inspector General, Dept. of Missouri​
1875 – 1880: Colonel and Aide to the General–in–Chief of U.S. Army​
1875 – 1881: Aide on the Staff of General–in–Chief in D.C.​
1880 – 1890: Colonel, United States Army, 6th​ Infantry Regiment​
1889: Treated for German Measles​
1890 – 1894: Brigadier General, United States Army​
1890 – 1893: Commander of U.S. Army, Department of Arizona​
1894 – 1895: Major General, United States Army​
1893 – 1895: Commander of U.S. Army, Department of Colorado​
1895: Retired from United States Army on April 29th​ due to age​
1895 – 1903: Lived in Dayton, Ohio as Retired Military Officer​
1903: Suffered from a mild stroke losing control of right hand and foot​

Died:
June 12, 1903

Place of Death: Dayton, Ohio

Cause of Death: Cerebral apoplexy and Malaria

Age at time of Death: 72 years old

Burial Place: Spring Grove Cemetery, Cincinnati, Ohio

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You read these biographies of officers, and their service records before and after the Civil War and you see how painstakingly slow promotions were.

Were enlisted ranks that slow too before and after the Civil War?
 
McCook had an odd record. He was quite a popular professor at West Point before the war, and had served well in division command at Shiloh. However, once he gets to corps command, his corps collapses in the three major battles he fights: Perryville, Murfreesboro, and Chickamauga.
 
Major General Alexander M. McCook, USA: A Civil War Biography by Wayne Fanebust

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Alexander M. McCook, one of the youngest major generals in the Union army, was a member of a patriotic family from Ohio that became known as the "Fighting McCooks." He participated in some of the bloodiest campaigns of the Civil War, including Bull Run, Shiloh, Perryville, Stones River and Chickamauga. In battle, McCook could be rash and reckless, but his personal courage was beyond reproach, even as his career was marked by controversy. Subjected to an inquiry into his conduct at the battle of Chickamauga, he was cleared of all charges but relieved of command to spend the remainder of the war in relatively minor assignments. This biography, focusing especially on McCook's Civil War service, fills out the full picture of a proud if clouded career.


Cheers,
USS ALASKA
 
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