Alexander McDowell McCook (22 April 1831 – 12 June 1903) was a Major General of the Union during the American Civil War.
Biography[]
McCook was born in Columbiana County, Ohio, on April 22, 1831. In 1852, he graduated from the US Military Academy at West Point and fought the Apache and Ute in New Mexico from 1853 to 1857 and was assistant instructor of military tactics at West Point from 1858 to 1861.
At the start of the American Civil War McCook was given command of the 1st Ohio Infantry Regiment and fought in the First Battle of Bull Run in July 1861 before transferring to Tennessee and Kentucky in 1862. McCook was a veteran of the Battle of Shiloh and First Battle of Corinth and was made a Major General of volunteers on July 17, 1862. He suffered heavy casualties many times, including at Perryville and Stones River.
McCook was given the XX Corps later on, but in the Battle of Chickamauga in late 1863 he again suffered heavy casualties and this time was court-martialed. He was not convicted but relieved of duty in the Army of the Cumberland, but his career sprung up again in 1864 when Jubal Early marched on Washington. McCook defended the Potomac River and bolstered the defenses of Washington, and won the Battle of Fort Stevens, which was observed from the White House by President Abraham Lincoln himself. After the campaign ended he was again without command, but towards the end of the war was given the Department of Eastern Arkansas. He was mustered out of service in October 1865, and worked as a teacher of military tactics until 1890.
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