Philip St. George Cooke
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Philip St. George Cooke (June 13, 1809 – March 20, 1895) was a career U.S. Army cavalry officer who served as a Union general in the American Civil War. He is noted for his authorship of an Army cavalry manual, and is sometimes called the "Father of the U.S. Cavalry", but his wartime service was forgettable and he is better remembered for his famous relatives who joined the Confederate States Army.
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[edit] Early life
Cooke was born in Leesburg, Virginia. He graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in 1827 and was commissioned a brevet second lieutenant in the infantry. He served at a variety of installations in the American West and in the Black Hawk War. In 1833 he was promoted to first lieutenant in the newly formed 1st U.S. Dragoons.
In the Dragoons, Cooke went on numerous trips of exploration into the Far West. He led the Mormon Battalion from Santa Fe to California during the Mexican-American War and received a brevet promotion to lieutenant colonel for his service in California. In the 2nd U.S. Dragoons he fought in the Battle of Ash Hollow against the Sioux and was sent to keep the peace in Bleeding Kansas. Despite being acquainted with Brigham Young, Cooke took part in the Utah expedition of 1857–58, after which he was promoted to colonel and command of the 2nd U.S. Dragoons, was an observer for the U.S. Army in the Crimean War, and commanded the Department of Utah from 1860 until 1861.
Cooke had in his family three men who would become prominent general officers. Tragically, the issue of secession deeply divided his family and some of these relatives became his enemies. His son, John R. Cooke, was an infantry brigade commander in the Army of Northern Virginia. His son-in-law was J.E.B. Stuart, the famous Confederate cavalry general in that same army. His other son-in-law was Jacob Sharpe, a general in the Union Army. In the case of Stuart, who married Cooke's daughter Flora, the two never spoke again, with Stuart saying, "He will regret it only once, and that for the rest of his life."
[edit] Civil War
At the start of the Civil War, the U.S. Army had five mounted regiments. Cooke commanded the 2nd Dragoons, which was redesignated the 2nd U.S. Cavalry. As they prepared to ride into their first battles, they had the potential opportunity to learn from the two-volume manual on cavalry tactics written by Cooke in 1858, but not published until 1862. It was a controversial work at the time and the War Department chose not to make it the basis for official doctrine. Cooke espoused the value of mounted attacks as the primary purpose for cavalry forces; others, more sensibly, realized that the emergence of the rifled musket as an infantry weapon made the classic cavalry charge essentially obsolete and recommended a mission emphasis on reconnaissance and screening. Even those who agreed that cavalry charges retained some value found reasons to disagree with Cooke. A prominent theory of cavalry charges at the time, endorsed by future generals Henry W. Halleck and George B. McClellan, was that the cavalry should be deployed in double ranks (a regiment would deploy in two lines of five companies each), which would increase the shock effect of the charge by providing an immediate follow-up attack. Cooke's manual called for a single-rank formation in which a battalion of four companies would form a single line and two squadrons of two companies each would cover the flanks. A third battalion would be placed in reserve a few hundred yards to the rear. Cook believed that the double-rank offensive promoted disorder of the horses in the ranks and would be difficult to control.
Cooke was promoted to brigadier general on November 12, 1861. He initially commanded a brigade of Regular Army cavalry within the defenses of Washington, D.C. For the Peninsula Campaign, he was selected by McClellan to command the Cavalry Reserve, a division-sized force, of the Army of the Potomac. When Confederate forces evacuated the city of Yorktown, Cooke was sent along with Major General George Stoneman in pursuit and his cavalry was roughed up in an assault ordered by Stoneman against Fort Magruder. He saw subsequent action at the battles of Williamsburg, Gaines' Mill, and White Oak Swamp. Cooke ordered an ill-fated charge of the 5th U.S. Cavalry at Gaines' Mill during the Seven Days Battles, nearly sacrificing an entire regiment of Regulars.
After the Peninsula, Cooke left active field service. One proximate reason was the embarrassment he suffered when his son-in-law, Jeb Stuart, humiliated the Union cavalry by completely encircling the Army of the Potomac in his celebrated raid. Cooke served on boards of court-martial, commanded the District of Baton Rouge, and was superintendent of Army recruiting for the Adjutant General's office. He received a brevet promotion to major general in the regular army on March 13, 1865.
[edit] Postbellum
Cooke commanded the Department of the Platte from 1866 to 1867. He retired from the Army with over 50 years service on October 29, 1873.
Cooke is the author of a variety of memoirs of his service: Notes of a Military Reconnaissance, from Fort Leavenworth, in Missouri, to San Diego, in California (1848), Scenes and Adventures in the Army: or, Romance of Military Life (1857), Cavalry Tactics (1862), Handy Book for United States Cavalry (1863), and The Conquest of New Mexico and California (1878).
Cooke died in Detroit, Michigan, and is buried there in Elmwood Cemetery.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Eicher, John H., and Eicher, David J., Civil War High Commands, Stanford University Press, 2001, ISBN 0-8047-3641-3.
- Longacre, Edward G., Lincoln's Cavalrymen, A History of the Mounted Forces of the Army of the Potomac, Stackpole Books, 2000, ISBN 0-8117-1049-1.
- Warner, Ezra J., Generals in Blue: Lives of the Union Commanders, Louisiana State University Press, 1964, ISBN 0-8071-0822-7.
