Daniel McCook (June 20, 1798 – July 21, 1863) was an attorney and an officer in the Union army during the American Civil War. He was one of two Ohio brothers who, along with 13 of their sons, became widely known as the “ Fighting McCooks” for their contributions to the war effort.

Biography

McCook was born in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, the son of an Irish revolutionary, George McCook, who had fled to the United States about 1780. He graduated from Jefferson College. On August 28, 1817, he married Martha Latimer; they would have twelve children (nine boys and three girls). In 1826 the family moved to

New Lisbon, Ohio Lisbon is a village in and the county seat of Columbiana County, Ohio, United States, along the Little Beaver Creek. The population was 2,597 at the 2020 census. It is a part of the Salem micropolitan area, southwest of Youngstown and northwe ...

, then to Carrollton, where McCook practiced law. He became an elder in the Presbyterian church and was a pioneer in the regional

Sunday School A Sunday school is an educational institution, usually (but not always) Christian in character. Other religions including Buddhism, Islam, and Judaism have also organised Sunday schools in their temples and mosques, particularly in the West. Su ...

movement. He was an elder at John McMillan's church. With the outbreak of the Civil War, McCook, although 63 years old, volunteered his services to the Union. He was commissioned as a

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

and paymaster. When Confederate Brig. Gen. John H. Morgan led his troops through southern Ohio during Morgan's Raid, Major McCook joined in the advance of the Union pursuit. Early in the morning of July 19, 1863, Federal troops attacked Morgan at

Buffington Island Buffington Island is an island in the Ohio River in Jackson County, West Virginia near the town of Ravenswood, United States, east of Racine, Ohio. During the American Civil War, the Battle of Buffington Island took place on July 19, 1863, just s ...

, where the Confederates were planning to cross the

Ohio River The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of Illino ...

back into Western Virginia. McCook was shot and mortally wounded. He died two days later, and his body was buried with full military honors in Spring Grove Cemetery in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Daniel McCook House in Carrollton has been restored and was listed in 1970 as a National Historic Place.

References

* Whalen, Charles and Barbara, ''The Fighting McCooks: America's Famous Fighting Family'', Westmoreland Press, 2006.
Ohio Historical Society
* 1798 births 1863 deaths People from Canonsburg, Pennsylvania Ohio lawyers American Presbyterians Union Army officers United States Army officers People of Ohio in the American Civil War McCook family Washington & Jefferson College alumni People from Lisbon, Ohio Union military personnel killed in the American Civil War Burials at Spring Grove Cemetery People from Carrollton, Ohio {{AmericanCivilWar-bio-stub

Biography

See also

References