Edwin Stanton McCook

Edwin Stanton McCook
Born	(1837-03-26)March 26, 1837 Carrollton, Ohio
Died	September 11, 1873(1873-09-11) (aged 36) Yankton, Dakota Territory
Place of burial	Spring Grove Cemetery, Cincinnati, Ohio
Allegiance	United States of America (Union)
Service / branch	U.S. Army (Union Army)
Years of service	1861-1865
Rank	Colonel Brevet major general
Commands	31st Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment
Battles / wars	American Civil War

Edwin Stanton McCook (March 26, 1837 – September 11, 1873) was an American general and politician. A Union Army general during the American Civil War and a postbellum politician in the Dakota Territory, he was assassinated in office while serving as acting governor on September 11, 1873.

Biography

One of a famous family of Civil War officers, the "Fighting McCooks," he was born in Carrollton, Ohio, a son of Daniel McCook. He was educated at the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland, and was a member of the Naval Lodge #69 of the Freemasons in New York City.

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.

Political career and death

After the war, he moved out west and was named as Secretary of the Dakota Territory in 1872. McCook was appointed acting governor of Dakota Territory in spring 1873 to replace the corrupt John A. Burbank. On September 11, 1873, he was shot and killed by Peter P. Wintermute, a banker and political adversary, at a public meeting being held in a saloon in Yankton, Dakota Territory. Wintermute was upset with McCook's stance in the Dakota Southern Railroad dispute.

McCook was buried in Spring Grove Cemetery in Cincinnati, Ohio, along with several other members of the famed family. His grave can be located in Section 10, Lot 1.

Honors

McCook County, South Dakota, is named for him.

See also

• List of American Civil War generals

References

• "Edwin Stanton McCook". Find a Grave. Retrieved 2008-12-27.
• Warner, Ezra J., Generals in Blue: Lives of the Union Commanders, Louisiana State University Press, 1964, ISBN 0-8071-0822-7.
• Whalen, Charles and Barbara, The Fighting McCooks: America's Famous Fighting Family, Westmoreland Press, 2006.
• Ohio Historical Society
• Howe, Henry (1889). "Carroll County". Historical Collections of Ohio, The Ohio Centennial Edition. Vol. 1. The State of Ohio. p. 369. {{cite book}}: External link in |chapterurl= (help); Unknown parameter |chapterurl= ignored (|chapter-url= suggested) (help)