This is a family I've had in docs for weeks, never feeling there was enough information. Most here have heard of them although of course I had not. I'd been under the original impression it was ONE family, so intended to try to make a thread on MRS. McCook- but there would be several of them, kept becoming very confused. These are all husbands and offspring of two Mrs. McCooks, who will have to wait as they did while their men went off to war. Families interest me hugely, families who were impacted by the war as much as this one was are amazing- if there were ever females wishing to go with them, am guessing the sisters and daughters left at home numbered among them.
"The Fighting McCooks were members of a family of Ohioans who reached prominence as officers in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Two brothers, Daniel and John McCook, and thirteen of their sons were actively involved in the army, making the family one of the most prolific in American military history. Six of the McCooks reached the rank of brigadier general or higher. Several family members were killed in action or died from their wounds. Following the war, several others reached high political offices, including governorships and diplomatic posts."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fighting_McCooks
I'm listing a book written about them first, have read reviews which are very complimentary. None of the following comes from the book, however.
http://www.cincinnaticwrt.org/data/articles/The Fighting McCooks_Review_ccwrt.pdfBook Review: The Fighting McCooks: America's Famous Fighting Family. Charles and Barbara Whalen.
Six Generals, Three Brothers and Their Sons, Answered the Call
Daniel McCook Family
John James, Captain, 52nd Ohio Infantry,6th Ohio Cavalry,
Latimer Abraham , major, 31st regiment, Illinois volunteers ,a physician and eldest son of Daniel and Martha (Latimer) McCook, was born at Canonsburg, Pa., Apr. 26, 1820. After graduation from Jefferson College, he studied medicine with his uncle, Dr. George McCook, and received his degree from Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia.[1] He entered the army in 1861 as assistant surgeon, and was promoted to surgeon, with the rank of major, of the 31st regiment, Illinois volunteers, known as John Logan's regiment through most of the civil war. He died Aug. 23, 1869, from the result of injuries received during Grant's Vicksburg campaign, and exposure incident to Sherman's march to the sea, and injury at Pocotaligo bridge.
George Wythe
At the war's outset, McCook was one of the first four brigadier generals selected by the Governor of Ohio to command the troops from that state, but, because of impaired health from his Mexican service, McCook was prevented from accepting that post. Later, he was appointed as the lieutenant colonel of the 2nd Ohio Infantry, and spent much of the war recruiting volunteers for several new regiments. He was named by Governor William Dennison as the Ohio Adjutant General.
Later, he accepted an appointment as the colonel of the 157th Ohio Infantry, Hundred Days Regiment. He was second-in-command of the prisoner-of-war camp at Fort Delaware.[3]
At the end of the war, he received the brevet rank of brigadier general, dating from March 13, 1865.
Robert Latimer
With the outbreak of the Civil War, McCook organized the 9th Ohio Infantry, a regiment primarily composed of recent German immigrants, in early 1861 and was appointed as its first colonel. After drilling his men at Camp Dennison, they took to the field in mid-June. McCook commanded a brigade in the West Virginia campaign under George B. McClellan, fighting in a number of battles, including Rich Mountain and Carnifex Ferry.
McCook's brigade was then transferred in the late autumn to the Army of the Ohio, and took an active part in the Battle of Mill Springs in Kentucky in January 1862. There, McCook was severely wounded while leading a daring bayonet charge on the Confederate lines. His men carried the position and routed their enemy.
McCook was promoted as a brigadier general of volunteers on March 21, 1862, while still away from the army recovering from his injury. He rejoined his command before his wound had fully healed, and found that he could no longer travel long distances on horseback. He was shot in a skirmish with the 4th Alabama Cavalry near Huntsville, Alabama. Northern versions claimed he was shot by Confederate guerrillas while lying helpless in an ambulance, but a Southern version disputes this.[3] In agony from a mortal wound in the intestines, he was taken to a nearby house, where he died within 24 hours.
John Beatty wrote in his book, The Citizen-Soldier or Memoirs of a Volunteer, "...McCook was killed while lying in the ambulance defenseless. When the Dutchmen of his old regiment learned of the unfortunate occurrence they became uncontrollable, and destroyed the buildings and property on five plantations near the scene of the murder. McCook had recently been promoted for gallantry at Mill Springs. He was brave, bluff, talented man, and his loss will be sorely felt"
Alexander McDowell Alexander McDowell McCook was the highest ranking officer of the "Fighting McCooks", fourteen members of one family who all participated in the Civil War. He graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1852 after taking five years to finish a four year program. He was posted to the 3rd Infantry and spent several years fighting Indians in New Mexico before returning to West Point to teach. After the outbreak of the Civil War, McCook was commissioned as a colonel of the 1st Ohio Volunteers, and first saw combat during the First Battle of Manassas. On September 3, 1861 McCook was promoted to brigadier general, and was sent to Tennessee to command the 2nd Division of the Army of Ohio under General D. C. Buell.
McCook commanded his men during the capture of Nashville, at the Battle of Shiloh, and during the Siege of Corinth. On July 17, 1863 McCook was promoted to major general for his actions in Tennessee. He was given command of the I Corps of the Army of the Ohio, and commanded them at the Battle of Perryville, where his corps suffered heavy losses. His command was reorganized into the XIV Corps of the Army of the Cumberland, and he suffered heavy losses at the Battle of Stones River. The army was again reorganized into the XX Corps, and McCook commanded the corps during the Union disaster at the Battle of Chickamauga. McCook and Union general T.L. Crittenden were blamed for the defeat at Chickamauga. He received a court-martial hearing for his actions at the battle, but was not found guilty of any wrong-doing. McCook was, however, relieved of command. He did not receive orders again until Confederate General Jubal Early threatened Washington, DC. McCook was placed in charge of defense forces around the capital, and commanded his men during the Battle of Fort Stevens
Daniel Jr. McCook was captain of a local company of militia, which became part of the 1st Kansas Infantry. When the 1st Kansas marched into Missouri and the Battle of Wilson's Creek, McCook was taken ill with pneumonia and missed the battle where the 1st Kansas suffered over 50% casualties and saw the death of Brig. Gen. Nathaniel Lyon. Subsequently, McCook was named as chief of staff of the 1st Division of the Army of the Ohio in the Battle of Shiloh. He became colonel of the 52nd Ohio Infantry on July 15, 1862, and commanded a brigade under his old law partner Sherman in the Army of the Cumberland.
Edwin Stanton When the Civil War erupted, McCook recruited a company and joined the 31st Illinois Infantry, serving under his friend, Col. John A. Logan. He saw action in the battles of Fort Henry and Fort Donelson, where he was severely wounded. He was later assigned to command Logan's brigade when the latter assumed division command. By the Vicksburg Campaign, McCook had again been promoted to replace Logan as division commander, leading it during the Siege of Vicksburg under Ulysses S. Grant. In 1864, he served with distinction in the Chattanooga and Atlanta campaigns and in the March to the Sea under William T. Sherman. He was brevetted both brigadier and major general for his services in these campaigns to rank from March 13, 1865. He was severely wounded three separate times, but survived the war.
Charles Morris Charles Morris McCook was born at Carrollton, Ohio, on November 13 (sometimes reported as November 15), 1843. He was the eighth son of Daniel McCook and Martha Latimer (McCook). McCook was a seventeen-year-old freshman at Kenyon College when the American Civil War began. Reportedly, he refused an offer from his family's friend, Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton, to be commissioned as a second lieutenant in the regular army. Instead, McCook enlisted as a private in Company I of the 2nd Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry.
McCook died from a wound received at the Battle of Bull Run I, which occurred on July 21, 1861. McCook's father, Daniel, was present at the battle and, at times, picked up a musket and engaged Confederate forces. According to his father's account, Charles was assigned to guard duty at a field hospital during the battle. Near the end of the battle, Confederate cavalry overran the hospital. Charles attempted to rejoin the 2nd Ohio, but a Confederate trooper intercepted him. The Southerner ordered Charles to surrender, and the Union soldier replied, "No! Never to a Rebel." The Confederate shot Charles in his back and again demanded that the Northerner surrender. Charles replied, "No, never." The Rebel began striking the Northerner with the flat of his sword. At that point, Daniel McCook arrived on the scene and raised his gun to shoot the Confederate, but another Union soldier shot and killed the Southerner.
Daniel McCook found a surgeon to tend to Charles. The surgeon concluded that the wound was not fatal. Daniel placed Charles in a carriage and took his son to Fairfax Court House, where another surgeon removed the bullet. This surgeon concluded that the wound was fatal, as the bullet had destroyed the patient's rectum, bladder, and intestines. Daniel remained with his son, laying with him on a cot until the soldier died at 2:30 a.m. on July 22, 1861. Shortly before his death, Charles asked his father to tell his mother that, "Tell her that I refused to surrender, that I am not afraid of death, that I am glad to die for my country."
The elder McCook moved his son's body to his residence, Mrs. Paris's boardinghouse on Pennsylvania Avenue, in Washington, DC. Charles McCook initially was buried at the Congressional Cemetery at Washington, but the McCook family eventually moved the soldier's body to Spring Grove Cemetery in Cincinnati, Ohio.
http://www.ohiocivilwarcentral.com/entry.php?rec=862
John McCook Family John James McCook (1806 – October 11, 1865), was a patriarch of the Fighting McCooks, one of the most prolific families in United States Army history. Five of his sons became prominent soldiers, chaplains, or sailors, as well as eight of his nephews.
McCook was born in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, to George and Mary McCormack McCook. He attended Jefferson College's medical school. His older brother Daniel, a local attorney, moved to eastern Ohio in 1826, settling in Carrollton. Not long afterward, John McCook also moved to the Buckeye State and established a practice in New Lisbon and later in Steubenville. He was married to Catherine Julia Sheldon, a native of Hartford, Connecticut. He was superintendent for several years of the Sunday School of the First Church of Steubenville.
He served as a volunteer surgeon in the Union Army during the Civil War. He died just after its close at the headquarters of his son, General Anson G. McCook, in Washington, D. C., during a visit. McCook was buried at Steubenville beside his wife, who had preceded him in death by just six months.
Edward Moody McCook was educated in Steubenville, and as a young man, moved to Kansas Territory and took up the profession of law and became wealthy. He joined the Pikes Peak Gold Rush in 1859 and represented the Pikes Peak region in the Kansas Territorial House of Representatives. By the time the Civil War broke out in 1861, McCook had moved to Washington and was serving as an agent for the federal government. McCook joined the cavalry and was commissioned lieutenant on May 8, 1861. Soon thereafter, he joined the volunteer army as a captain with the 2nd Regiment Volunteer Cavalry. During the war, McCook received numerous promotions. McCook commanded a cavalry brigade at the Battle of Perryville in October 1862 and a division at Chickamauga in September 1863.
Anson George Mc'Cook enlisted in the 2nd Ohio Infantry, a three-months regiment, and was commissioned as a captain. He saw combat at the First Battle of Bull Run in Northern Virginia. When the regiment was reorganized as a three-years regiment, McCook re-enlisted and was named as major. He was subsequently promoted to lieutenant colonel and then colonel of the 2nd Ohio, serving in the Army of the Cumberland under such leaders as Don Carlos Buell, William S. Rosecrans, and George H. Thomas. Among his battles were Perryville, Stones River, Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge. During the Atlanta Campaign, McCook commanded a brigade of infantry and was distinguished by his actions at the Battle of Peachtree Creek, where his coolness under fire and his tactical leadership won acclaim in the official reports. He was mustered out in late 1864, along with his regiment.
Governor John Brough named McCook as the colonel of the newly raised 194th Ohio Infantry, a one-year regiment which served in the Shenandoah Valley under Philip Sheridan. Again Mc'Cook commanded a brigade with efficiency, and was brevetted as a brigadier general of volunteers for his gallant and meritorious service. He resigned from the army in 1865.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anson_G._McCook
Henry Christopher McCook was born in New Lisbon, Ohio, to Dr. John McCook. He learned the printing trade as a youth, then taught school for several years. attended Jefferson College. He was a member of the Franklin Literary Society and founded the chapter of Theta Delta Chi at Jefferson College.[1] After graduation in 1859, he studied theology privately and in the Western Theological Seminary in Allegheny, Pennsylvania. With the outbreak of the Civil War, he enlisted in the 41st Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment as a chaplain with the rank of first lieutenant, and helped tend the wounded. As a minister in Clinton, Illinois, St. Louis, and Steubenville, Ohio, McCook became known for his compassion and intellect, and for his leadership in the movement to create Sunday Schools. In 1869, he became pastor of the Seventh Presbyterian church of Philadelphia, where he lived for the rest of his life.
Roderick H. Seldon McCook graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1859. From 1859 to 1861, he served in the United States Navy off of the coast of Africa in pursuit of slave traders. After the American Civil War began, McCook was commissioned as a lieutenant on August 31, 1861. During the war, McCook served in on three ships: the steam frigate USS Minnesota (1861); the steamer USS Stars and Stripes (1862), and the iron-clad monitor USS Canonicus (1863–1865).McCook participated in various engagements on the James River in Virginia and in the sounds of North Carolina. In 1862, he commanded a battery of naval howitzers at the Battle of New Berne (March 14, 1862), where he received high commendation in the official reports. Near the conclusion of the war, McCook participated in the First Battle of Fort Fisher (December 7, 1864-December 27, 1864), and in the Second Battle of Fort Fisher (January 13, 1865-January 15, 1865). He was also present when the mayor of Charleston, South Carolina surrendered the city to Union Brigadier General Alexander Schimmelfennig on February 18, 1865.
http://www.ohiocivilwarcentral.com/entry.php?rec=878
John James In June 1862, McCook left Kenyon College to serve with the Union Army in the American Civil War. He initially volunteered as an aide-de-camp to his brother Daniel, Jr., with the 52nd Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry. On September 12, 1862, McCook was commissioned to second lieutenant in the 6th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Cavalry, serving on the staff of General Thomas. L. Crittenden, a corps commander with the Army of the Ohio. While serving in the West, McCook participated in the Battle of Perryville (October 8, 1862), the Battle of Stones River (December 31, 1862-January 2, 1863), the Tullahoma Campaign (June 24-July 3, 1863), the Battle of Chickamauga September 19-20, 1863, and the Chattanooga Campaign (October and November 1863).
In September 1863, McCook was promoted to captain and reassigned to the Army of the Potomac. The following spring, he participated in the Wilderness Campaign (May 4-June 24, 1864). During the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House (May 8-21, 1864), McCook was severely wounded at Shady Grove, Virginia. Although his wounds were not life-threatening, McCook was forced to resign from the military due to complications from gangrene and blood poisoning. Later, McCook was brevetted to the rank of major for his service at the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House. After the Civil War, McCook was again brevetted to the rank of lieutenant colonel and colonel in the volunteer army. Despite his lofty rank, when the Civil War ended, McCook was only twenty years old.
George McCook Family- another brother, Dr. George McCook (1795-1873), and his son Dr. George Latimer McCook served as unpaid surgeons during the Civil War, the latter serving under George B. McClellan during the Peninsula Campaign. Their father, another George McCook (1752-1822), had emigrated from Scotland to Pennsylvania and had fought in the Whiskey Rebellion.
Here's one of the mother's, Martha, wife of Daniel, who lost much in the war as a mother and still had the resolve to allow yet another son to join. This story got to me personally since the same thing was the case in my family- a brother lost to the war and a youngest son enlisting after this. Tragically, you can find his grave at Gettysburg National Cemetery.
"History knows of no other mother like Martha McCook. From the small town of Carrollton, Ohio, she gave all nine of her sons to save the Union during America's Civil War. It is unique in the recorded history of this or any nation," according to PR Newswire, April 21, 2008. "Famous as the 'Fighting McCooks,' her sons and their kin formed the seventeen members of this heroic Scotch-Irish clan who fought on 46 battlefields in 11 states. Six became generals. Four were killed. Their true story is told in the award-winning book, 'The Fighting McCooks' by Charles and Barbara Whalen.
"During the second year of war, Martha McCook was asked by her youngest son, seventeen-year-old John, for permission to join the Union army. A student at Ohio's Kenyon College, he argued that the war would be over soon and he would be the only McCook not to have the honor of fighting for his country. She gave her permission and he planned to join the 52nd Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment. Weeks later, her fourth son and national hero, Brigadier General Robert McCook, was brutally murdered by rebel guerrillas in Alabama. After his funeral in Cincinnati, young John asked his heartbroken mother if he still had her permission to volunteer.
"Martha McCook, in spite of her great sorrow, found the Spartan strength to do what she had taught her nine sons to do. She honored her word. John rose to the rank of colonel. Among the seventeen 'Fighting McCooks' were three major generals, three brigadier generals, one naval lieutenant, four surgeons, two colonels, one major, one lieutenant, one private, and one chaplain. They fought mainly in the Western theater, between the Alleghenies and the Mississippi…"
From CivilWarInteractive.com, in part, [Robert L. McCook … studied law in Steubenville, Ohio at the office of Stanton & McCook, Edwin M. Stanton, future Secretary of War in Lincoln's cabinet and Daniel McCook, a prominent Ohio attorney and Robert's father … When the war started he organized the 9th Ohio in Cincinnati and was commissioned its colonel on 6 May 1861 … He was promoted to brigadier general of volunteers on 21 March 1862 and took part in the advance and siege of Corinth, Mississippi. On 5 August 1862 McCook set out with his brigade from Decherd, Tennessee in what appeared to be a reconnaissance in force. McCook rode in an ambulance due to a severe attack of dysentery. His earlier wound also had not healed. As the ambulance traveled in the gap between two regiments, a band of guerillas, commanded by Captain Frank B. Gurley, attacked the isolated target. Accounts of McCook's shooting vary. Some claim he was shot as he was lying in the ambulance unable to rise as Federal troops were approaching … He died the next day, 6 August 1862 … Gurley became one of the most wanted criminals in the country because of the political influence of the McCook family. Two of Robert's brothers, Alexander McDowell McCook, and Daniel McCook Jr., and a cousin Edward Moody McCook, would become generals. Daniel Jr. was mortally wounded at Kennesaw Mountain. Including the three generals, Daniel McCook sent 10 sons into Union service. Three sons would be killed, as well as Daniel himself who at the age of 65 was mortally wounded on 19 July 1863 near Buffington Island, Ohio in an attempt to stop John Hunt Morgan's 1863 raid. In addition to his 10 sons, Daniel's brother and five of his nephews would also serve in the Union army or navy."
On August 28, 1817, Daniel McCook married Martha Latimer. They had 12 children – 9 sons and 3 daughters. A marble bust of Martha McCook (1802-1879) rests on the mantel in the parlor of The McCook House in Carrollton, Ohio, where Martha McCook raised her children. It was commissioned in Italy by Colonel John McCook after the war. The McCook House was listed as a National Historic Place in 1970.
http://www.universityarchives.com/Find-an-Item/Results-List/Item-Detail.aspx?ItemID=53682
Suppose it's possible they can't have given a whifty, almost-post middle aged blond chick a second thought while stepping forward for their country over 150 years ago?
Bringing the