Brigadier General Francis Marion Cockrell

Francis Marion Cockrell (October 1, 1834December 13, 1915) was a

Confederate A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

military commander and American politician from the state of

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

. He served as a

United States senator The United States Senate consists of 100 members, two from each of the 50 U.S. state, states. This list includes all senators serving in the 119th United States Congress. Party affiliation Independent Senators Angus King of Maine and Berni ...

from Missouri for five terms. He was a prominent member of the famed

South–Cockrell–Hargis family The South–Cockrell–Hargis family is a family of politicians from the southern United States who achieved prominence in state and national offices, representing Virginia, Kentucky, Missouri, Mississippi and Texas. *John South (Kentucky politici ...

of Southern politicians.

Early life and family

Cockrell was born in

Warrensburg, Missouri Warrensburg is a city in and the county seat of Johnson County, Missouri, United States. Its population was 20,313 at the 2020 census. The Warrensburg micropolitan statistical area consists of Johnson County. The city is a college town, as it is ...

, the son of Nancy (Ellis) and Joseph Cockrell, the sheriff of Johnson County. His older brother was

Jeremiah Vardaman Cockrell Jeremiah Vardaman Cockrell, also known as Vard Cockrell, (May 7, 1832 – March 18, 1915) was a United States House of Representatives, U.S. Representative from Texas, after having served as a field commander in the Confederate States Army ...

, who was a congressman from

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

in the 1890s. Francis Cockrell attended local schools and Chapel Hill College in

Lafayette County, Missouri Lafayette County is a County (United States), county in the western portion of Missouri, part of the Kansas City metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 32,984. Its county seat is Lexington, Misso ...

, graduating in July 1853; He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1855, practicing law in Warrensburg until the outbreak of the Civil War. Cockrell was married three times. His first wife, Arthusa Dorcas ''Stapp'' (1830–1859), with whom he had three sons. His second wife, Anna E. ''Mann'' (1840–1871) of Kentucky, died of

consumption Consumption may refer to: * Eating *Resource consumption *Tuberculosis, an infectious disease, historically known as consumption * Consumer (food chain), receipt of energy by consuming other organisms * Consumption (economics), the purchasing of n ...

. In July 1873, he married Anna Ewing (1846–1894), the eldest daughter of Judge

Ephraim Brevard Ewing Ephraim Brevard Ewing (1819 – June 21, 1873) was a justice of the Supreme Court of Missouri from 1859 to 1861 and from January 1873 until his death that summer. Early life, education, and political career Born in Todd County, Kentucky, in 1819 ...

from Missouri.

Civil War

At the beginning of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

in 1861, Cockrell joined the

Missouri State Guard The Missouri State Guard (MSG) was a military force established by the Missouri General Assembly on May 11, 1861. While not a formation of the Confederate States Army, the Missouri State Guard fought alongside Confederate troops and, at variou ...

as a

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

. After being mustered into the Confederate States Army in the 2nd Missouri Regiment in early 1862 (which was formed as the 1st, but renumbered as Bowen had already formed a regiment); being promoted to

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

. Cockrell commanded a brigade in the

Vicksburg Campaign The Vicksburg campaigns were a series of maneuvers and battles in the Western Theater of the American Civil War directed against Vicksburg, Mississippi, a fortress city that dominated the last Confederate-controlled section of the Mississippi ...

. He distinguished himself at the

Battle of Champion Hill The Battle of Champion Hill (aka Champion's Hill) of May 16, 1863, was the pivotal battle in the Vicksburg Campaign of the American Civil War (1861–1865). Union Army commander Major General Ulysses S. Grant and the Army of the Tennes ...

, launching a counterattack that temporarily ousted troops of XVII Corps off the hill. He also took part in the

Battle of Big Black River Bridge The Battle of Big Black River Bridge was fought on May 17, 1863, as part of the Vicksburg Campaign of the American Civil War. During the war, the city of Vicksburg, Mississippi, was a key point on the Mississippi River. On April 30, 1863, a Un ...

. His brigade was able to escape just before federal troops seized the bridge. He was wounded in the hand by an exploding shell during the

Siege of Vicksburg The siege of Vicksburg (May 18 – July 4, 1863) was the final major military action in the Vicksburg campaign of the American Civil War. In a series of maneuvers, Union Major General Ulysses S. Grant and his Army of the Tennessee crossed th ...

. Cockrell was promoted to brigadier general on July 18, 1863.Eicher, p. 179. He went on to fight in many of the battles of the 1864 Atlanta Campaign, and participated in Hood's Tennessee Campaign later that year where he was wounded at the

Battle of Franklin The Battle of Franklin was fought on November 30, 1864, in Franklin, Tennessee, as part of the Franklin–Nashville Campaign of the American Civil War. It was one of the worst disasters of the war for the Confederate States Army. Confederate L ...

on November 30, 1864. In 1865, Cockrell commanded a division in defence of

Fort Blakeley The Battle of Fort Blakeley took place from April 2 to April 9, 1865, in Baldwin County, Alabama, about north of Spanish Fort, Alabama, as part of the Mobile Campaign of the American Civil War. At the time, Blakeley, Alabama, had been the count ...

, Alabama. On April 9, 1865, shortly before the war ended, Cockrell was captured there but was paroled on May 14. Cockrell's

First Missouri Brigade The First Missouri Brigade was an infantry brigade that served in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. It was mostly recruited from members of the Missouri State Guard – a secessionist force formed from the Missouri Volunt ...

was considered one of the finest on either side, and Cockrell himself is widely recognized as one of the best combat brigadiers of the entire war. After the war ended, he returned to his law practice in Missouri.

Postbellum career

In 1874, Cockrell, who became a member of the

United States Democratic Party The Democratic Party is a Centre-left politics, center-left political parties in the United States, political party in the United States. One of the Major party, major parties of the U.S., it was founded in 1828, making it the world's oldes ...

, was elected to the U.S. Senate from Missouri by the state legislature. His first and only elected office, he served in the Senate from 1875 to 1905, when he retired. He held several committee chairmanships, including the chairmanships of the Claims Committee, Engrossed Bills Committee and Appropriations Committee during his senate career. He received 42 votes for President of the United States at the

1904 Democratic National Convention The 1904 Democratic National Convention was an American presidential nominating convention that ran from July 6 through 10 in the Coliseum of the St. Louis Exposition and Music Hall in St. Louis, Missouri. Breaking with eight years of control ...

, but was defeated by

Alton B. Parker Alton Brooks Parker (May 14, 1852 – May 10, 1926) was an American judge. He was the Democratic nominee in the 1904 United States presidential election, losing in a landslide to incumbent Republican Theodore Roosevelt. A native of upstate New ...

. He was appointed to the

Interstate Commerce Commission The Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) was a regulatory agency in the United States created by the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887. The agency's original purpose was to regulate railroads (and later Trucking industry in the United States, truc ...

by President

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...

in 1905, serving in that capacity until 1910. In 1911, he was appointed commissioner to negotiate the boundaries between the state of Texas and the

New Mexico Territory The Territory of New Mexico was an organized incorporated territory of the United States from September 9, 1850, until January 6, 1912. It was created from the U.S. provisional government of New Mexico, as a result of '' Nuevo México'' becomi ...

, which was about to become a state. In 1913,

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was the 28th president of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921. He was the only History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrat to serve as president during the Prog ...

appointed him as the civilian member on the Board of Ordnance and Fortifications for the

War Department War Department may refer to: * War Department (United Kingdom) * United States Department of War The United States Department of War, also called the War Department (and occasionally War Office in the early years), was the United States Cabinet ...

, where he served until his death in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

Notes

References

* Bailey, Anne, "Francis Marion Cockrell", ''The Confederate General'', Vol. 2, Davis, William C., and Julie Hoffman (eds.), National Historical Society, 1991, . * Eicher, John H., and Eicher, David J., ''Civil War High Commands'', Stanford University Press, 2001, . * Sifakis, Stewart. ''Who Was Who in the Civil War.'' New York: Facts On File, 1988. . * Warner, Ezra J. ''Generals in Gray: Lives of the Confederate Commanders.'' Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1959. . * Williamson, Hugh P. "Correspondence of Senator Francis Marion Cockrell: December 23, 1885-March 24, 1888." ''Bulletin of the Missouri Historical Society'' 28 (July 1969): 296-305.

External links