Tennessee Army National Guard, Military Personnel Accounting Center - Region III
Tennessee Army National Guard, Military Personnel Accounting Center - Region III
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Joseph Alexander Cooper
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Alexander_Cooper
Joseph Alexander Cooper (November 25, 1823 – May 20, 1910) was an American farmer, soldier, and civil servant. A Southern Unionist, he fought for the Union Army during the American Civil War, commanding units at Mill Springs, Stones River, Chickamauga, Franklin, Nashville, Bentonville, and in the Knoxville and Atlanta campaigns. He had achieved the rank of Brevet Major General by the time he was mustered out in early 1866.
After the war, Cooper commanded the Tennessee State Guard, a state militia organized by Governor William G. Brownlow to quell postwar violence across Tennessee. He served as an internal revenue agent during the 1870s before moving to Kansas, where he spent the final decades of his life.
Civil War service
While in Greeneville, Cooper made a secret pact with several other East Tennessee Convention delegates, including Richard M. Edwards and Robert K. Byrd, to return to their respective homes and begin recruiting and drilling men to defend the region against a Confederate invasion.[7] Returning to Campbell County, Cooper began rallying Unionists, farming by day, and recruiting at night. By August, he had recruited over 500 men. He drilled the recruits at King Field, a remote highland meadow near Jacksboro.[8]
Upon the approach of Confederate forces, Cooper and his new unit fled to Kentucky. He was mustered in as captain of Company A of the 1st Tennessee Infantry on August 4, 1861.[5] He took part in operations around Cumberland Gap, and was present at the Battle of Mills Springs in January 1862.[5][8] In March of the same year, Cooper's company attacked and broke through Confederate defenses at Big Creek Gap, a key mountain pass in northern Campbell County. In May 1862, Cooper was promoted to colonel and placed in command of the 6th Tennessee Infantry, which he organized and recruited. In July 1862, Cooper and his regiment attacked a Confederate force at Wallace's Crossroads (near modern Andersonville, Tennessee), killing five soldiers and capturing several others.[5]
Cooper retreated with Union forces northward to the Ohio River in late September 1862, to regroup. In December 1862, he joined Union forces in Nashville. During the Battle of Stones River in early January 1863, Cooper and the 6th accompanied a supply train from Nashville to the front lines in Murfreesboro, and repulsed an attempt by Joseph Wheeler to capture the supplies.[9] Cooper skirmished with Confederate forces on Lookout Mountain during the latter phases of the Battle of Chickamauga in September 1863, and took part in the Knoxville Campaign in late 1863 and early 1864. In April 1864, Cooper commanded the 3rd brigade at the Battle of Resaca in Georgia, where his unit suffered a 30% casualty rate. He afterward took part in General William T. Sherman's Atlanta Campaign.[10]
Battle of Nashville
Cooper was promoted to brigadier general on July 30, 1864. He commanded a brigade of the 2nd Division of the XXIII Corps from June 4, 1864. At the Battle of Utoy Creek he led two brigades in a charge and flanking movement of Armstrongs Dismounted Cavalry Brigade of Bates Division along the Sandtown Road, on August 6, 1864. He temporarily obtained divisional command following the Battle of Jonesborough.[11]
Cooper was again in command of his brigade, and intermittently commanded the 2nd Division during the Franklin-Nashville Campaign. Marching to relieve Nashville, which was threatened by General John B. Hood in November 1864, Cooper was forced to proceed beyond the city to Clarksville to avoid capture, and returned to the city after resting for a day, marching over 150 miles (240 km) in six days.[9] Upon reaching the front, he helped thwart Hood's assault on the city, charging and capturing two artillery pieces and a number of Confederate soldiers.[9]
In January 1865, Cooper led the 2nd Division to North Carolina, where he took part in the Battle of Bentonville. In March 1865, he was appointed a brevet major general in the Union Army for his service throughout the war, in particular for his actions at Nashville.[11][12] He was mustered out on January 15, 1866.[13]
Tennessee State Guard
After the war, Cooper moved to Knox County and engaged in politics. When a rift developed between Governor William "Parson" Brownlow and President Andrew Johnson over how to deal with freedmen and former Confederates, Cooper supported Brownlow, who sought to extend civil rights to former slaves and disfranchise ex-Confederates. Cooper publicly denounced Johnson, and was described by one newspaper as Johnson's "most violent enemy."[14] In August 1865, Cooper ran for the 2nd district seat in Congress. Though he placed second, ahead of fellow Union officer Robert K. Byrd and future congressman Leonidas C. Houk, he was still well behind the winner, Horace Maynard.[15] He rejected subsequent calls to run for the state legislature.[16]
Brownlow's hardline stance toward former Confederates created widespread unrest among Rebel vigilante groups across the state, most notably the Ku Klux Klan. Brownlow initially sought the assistance of the federal army, but its commanders were reluctant to get involved in what was deemed a civil matter. To quell the rising violence and maintain order in the August 1867 elections, Brownlow and his allies in the state legislature created a new state militia, known as the Tennessee State Guard, in January 1867. Brownlow appointed Cooper commander of the State Guard, with the rank of brigadier general, on June 7, 1867.[17]
Cooper quickly formalized the Guard's structure, dividing its 1,900 recruits into two regiments, each containing an equal number of companies from each of the state's three grand divisions. Many of the company captains were former Union Army officers. The Guard also included a number of black soldiers. Along with formalizing the Guard's structure, Cooper also resolved various supply and logistics issues. Twenty-one companies were deployed in troubled spots across the state, mostly in Middle and West Tennessee. One week before the August 1867 elections, Cooper declared the Guard ready.[18]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Alexander_Cooper
Joseph Alexander Cooper (November 25, 1823 – May 20, 1910) was an American farmer, soldier, and civil servant. A Southern Unionist, he fought for the Union Army during the American Civil War, commanding units at Mill Springs, Stones River, Chickamauga, Franklin, Nashville, Bentonville, and in the Knoxville and Atlanta campaigns. He had achieved the rank of Brevet Major General by the time he was mustered out in early 1866.
After the war, Cooper commanded the Tennessee State Guard, a state militia organized by Governor William G. Brownlow to quell postwar violence across Tennessee. He served as an internal revenue agent during the 1870s before moving to Kansas, where he spent the final decades of his life.
Civil War service
While in Greeneville, Cooper made a secret pact with several other East Tennessee Convention delegates, including Richard M. Edwards and Robert K. Byrd, to return to their respective homes and begin recruiting and drilling men to defend the region against a Confederate invasion.[7] Returning to Campbell County, Cooper began rallying Unionists, farming by day, and recruiting at night. By August, he had recruited over 500 men. He drilled the recruits at King Field, a remote highland meadow near Jacksboro.[8]
Upon the approach of Confederate forces, Cooper and his new unit fled to Kentucky. He was mustered in as captain of Company A of the 1st Tennessee Infantry on August 4, 1861.[5] He took part in operations around Cumberland Gap, and was present at the Battle of Mills Springs in January 1862.[5][8] In March of the same year, Cooper's company attacked and broke through Confederate defenses at Big Creek Gap, a key mountain pass in northern Campbell County. In May 1862, Cooper was promoted to colonel and placed in command of the 6th Tennessee Infantry, which he organized and recruited. In July 1862, Cooper and his regiment attacked a Confederate force at Wallace's Crossroads (near modern Andersonville, Tennessee), killing five soldiers and capturing several others.[5]
Cooper retreated with Union forces northward to the Ohio River in late September 1862, to regroup. In December 1862, he joined Union forces in Nashville. During the Battle of Stones River in early January 1863, Cooper and the 6th accompanied a supply train from Nashville to the front lines in Murfreesboro, and repulsed an attempt by Joseph Wheeler to capture the supplies.[9] Cooper skirmished with Confederate forces on Lookout Mountain during the latter phases of the Battle of Chickamauga in September 1863, and took part in the Knoxville Campaign in late 1863 and early 1864. In April 1864, Cooper commanded the 3rd brigade at the Battle of Resaca in Georgia, where his unit suffered a 30% casualty rate. He afterward took part in General William T. Sherman's Atlanta Campaign.[10]
Battle of Nashville
Cooper was promoted to brigadier general on July 30, 1864. He commanded a brigade of the 2nd Division of the XXIII Corps from June 4, 1864. At the Battle of Utoy Creek he led two brigades in a charge and flanking movement of Armstrongs Dismounted Cavalry Brigade of Bates Division along the Sandtown Road, on August 6, 1864. He temporarily obtained divisional command following the Battle of Jonesborough.[11]
Cooper was again in command of his brigade, and intermittently commanded the 2nd Division during the Franklin-Nashville Campaign. Marching to relieve Nashville, which was threatened by General John B. Hood in November 1864, Cooper was forced to proceed beyond the city to Clarksville to avoid capture, and returned to the city after resting for a day, marching over 150 miles (240 km) in six days.[9] Upon reaching the front, he helped thwart Hood's assault on the city, charging and capturing two artillery pieces and a number of Confederate soldiers.[9]
In January 1865, Cooper led the 2nd Division to North Carolina, where he took part in the Battle of Bentonville. In March 1865, he was appointed a brevet major general in the Union Army for his service throughout the war, in particular for his actions at Nashville.[11][12] He was mustered out on January 15, 1866.[13]
Tennessee State Guard
After the war, Cooper moved to Knox County and engaged in politics. When a rift developed between Governor William "Parson" Brownlow and President Andrew Johnson over how to deal with freedmen and former Confederates, Cooper supported Brownlow, who sought to extend civil rights to former slaves and disfranchise ex-Confederates. Cooper publicly denounced Johnson, and was described by one newspaper as Johnson's "most violent enemy."[14] In August 1865, Cooper ran for the 2nd district seat in Congress. Though he placed second, ahead of fellow Union officer Robert K. Byrd and future congressman Leonidas C. Houk, he was still well behind the winner, Horace Maynard.[15] He rejected subsequent calls to run for the state legislature.[16]
Brownlow's hardline stance toward former Confederates created widespread unrest among Rebel vigilante groups across the state, most notably the Ku Klux Klan. Brownlow initially sought the assistance of the federal army, but its commanders were reluctant to get involved in what was deemed a civil matter. To quell the rising violence and maintain order in the August 1867 elections, Brownlow and his allies in the state legislature created a new state militia, known as the Tennessee State Guard, in January 1867. Brownlow appointed Cooper commander of the State Guard, with the rank of brigadier general, on June 7, 1867.[17]
Cooper quickly formalized the Guard's structure, dividing its 1,900 recruits into two regiments, each containing an equal number of companies from each of the state's three grand divisions. Many of the company captains were former Union Army officers. The Guard also included a number of black soldiers. Along with formalizing the Guard's structure, Cooper also resolved various supply and logistics issues. Twenty-one companies were deployed in troubled spots across the state, mostly in Middle and West Tennessee. One week before the August 1867 elections, Cooper declared the Guard ready.[18]
Birthday
American History
Military History
Civil War
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Thank you, my friend Maj Marty Hogan for making us aware that November 25 is the anniversary of the birth of Tennessee farmer, enlisted soldier in Mexican war [1847 until it ended in 1848], and civil servant Joseph Alexander Cooper who was a southern Federalist, who "fought for the Union Army during the American Civil War, commanding units at Mill Springs, Stones River, Chickamauga, Franklin, Nashville, Bentonville, and in the Knoxville and Atlanta campaigns."
Joseph Alexander Cooper "served in the Mexican War as an enlisted man in the 4th Tennessee Infantry of Knoxville under Col. Richard Waterhouse and Captain Jordan Council. His service extended from about the 1st of September 1847, until about August 1, 1848."
Images:
1. Three-quarter standing view of General Joseph Alexander Cooper by Brady.
2. Joseph Alexander Cooper bio and obituary clipped from the Hutchinson News, Hutchinson, Kansas on May 30, 1910.
3. Major General Joseph Alexander Cooper near the end of his life in early 1900's
4. Joseph Alexander Cooper tombstone at National Cemetery, Knoxville, Tennessee
Biographies:
1. tngenweb.org/campbell/hist-bogan/union.html
2. civilwartalk.com/threads/cooper-joseph-alexander.161517/
Background from tngenweb.org/campbell/hist-bogan/union.html
"MAJ. GEN. JOSEPH ALEXANDER COOPER TRIED TO MUSTER UNION SUPPORT IN CAMPBELL COUNTY By Dallas Bogan
Reprinted with Permission from Dallas Bogan. This article was published in the LaFollette Press.
As the writer has noted in other articles, the area of Campbell County was directly involved in the American Civil War. One name stands out in the County, that of Brevet Major General Joseph Alexander Cooper. At this time we shall focus on a short biography of the Generals' service as well as his life.
A letter written by General Cooper, dating June 4, 1901, from St. John, Kansas, tells a portion of the story of his life. The letter does not specify who the letter was written to. It goes as such:
"Dear Sir I will try to furnish the information you desire. My father was John Cooper from the State of Maryland and he was a bound boy and ran away from home in his teens and traveled and worked around until the breaking out of the war of 1812. He then enlisted in Capt.. Liew [?] Hales Co. which was stationed at Norfolk, Va., and got an honorable discharge from the army and then married in Gracen [?] Co., VA. Her name was Hester Sage.
"He then moved to Ky near Somerset where I was born Nov. 25, 1823. We then moved to Tenn. the following year and located in Campbell Co., 5 miles south of Jacksboro where I grew to manhood and married Mary J. Hutson in the month of April 1846 and in Sept. 47 I enlisted in the Mexican War and served until the close of the war.
"When I returned to my old home until Aug. 1 [?], 1861, and then I organized the first company from the state of Tenn. for the Federal army and made my way under the cover of night to Williamsburg, Ky., and there I was mustered into the service on the 8 day of August 1861 with 101 men. We were ordered to Camp Dick Robinson on the 17th of Aug. to join Gen. Nelson. I was mustered out of the service by a general order from the war department on the 15 day of Jan. 1866.
"I am now living in Stafford Co. Kans. five miles west and two miles north of St. John the county seat. Kind regards. Gen. Joseph A. Cooper."
As was mentioned earlier, Cooper served in the Mexican War as an enlisted man in the 4th Tennessee Infantry of Knoxville under Col. Richard Waterhouse and Captain Jordan Council. His service extended from about the 1st of September 1847, until about August 1, 1848.
As a result of his service during the Mexican War, and having been taught by his father, who had served in the War of 1812, Gen. Cooper set out to train soldiers for the Union. He had taken part in the Knoxville and Greeneville conventions of Federalists and at the latter meeting he signed with others an undisclosed agreement to drill men for the Union army.
Soon after he returned from Greeneville the General selected the King Field, a highland on the ridge above his home as the restricted place of training. This location provided a confidential place to drill. It was located far away from any public roads and allowed the soldiers to drill in completely enclosed space. Within this area they drilled and trained without any type of disturbance
Gen. Cooper tried to a great extent to get the more prominent men from Campbell County to take the initiative for the Union, but most were reluctant to make a choice because the County was just about divided equally in sentiment between the Union and Confederate forces. Failing in this attempt, he "went to work to try to organize as best he could working by day on the farm and riding by night to see parties to perfect arrangements." By this time matters were not considered safe in the County to travel on the highway, "so he used the stock trails and short cuts through the woods at night to see his partys."
Gen. Cooper, as he was gathering men for the Union cause, did not even sleep at home. He was forever making arrangements for getting his troops into Kentucky. His companies of militants were well known. Many of them had planted a crop in the spring of 1861. Cooper, as well as other troops, had to hide out from the Confederates. The General worked by day "in my farm away on a mountain away from the road and my family instructed is anyone called to not know here I was until they satisfied themselves of their friendly purpose, then to send a runner after me."
Gen. Cooper announced to his family:
"I am going to the war; I may be gone a year and perhaps three years, and may never get back home."
That same night Cooper and his men moved slowly and deliberately across the Cumberland Mountains. On August 8, 1861, he was sworn in as captain and his men mustered in at Williamsburg, Ky., as Company A, First Tennessee Infantry. At the time Cooper was 38 years old. He had, except for his stint in the Mexican War, been a farmer most of his life.
His life in the Civil War discloses that he was a direct, practical soldier who despised drunkards, and was a strict disciplinarian concerning military etiquette. He was somewhat disapproving of West Pointers, an explicit example concerning getting a wagon train along a muddy road.
His men always came first! He cared for them during a measles attack in Kentucky. He was always concerned about doing battle in his own home territory of Campbell County.
Several Confederate troops marched from Knoxville to Big Creek Gap (now LaFollette), and on one of the routes in which Union men marched into Kentucky, Cooper assembled his company together in Jacksboro to do battle with the Confederate forces and maintain a way into Kentucky. Some of Cooper's men had guns, some pistols, some scythe blades, others nothing. Asked why they had arrived, the answer was, "When you kill one we will get a gun."
Jacksboro residents were fearful that Cooper's activities would imperil the whole county. These folks believed that the Union forces could certainly defeat the present Confederate forces, but they were clearly apprehensive if a larger force were to arrive in the County.
Shortly after the battle of Fishing Creek, or Mill Spring, in Kentucky, Cooper and his men were in the detail that was to drive the Confederates out of Powell's (Powell) Valley.
In March 1862, the First Tennessee led the attack against the regiment of Confederates encamped at Big Creek Gap. Cooper writes that "such a stampede I have never seen before nor since. I saw my friends had opened the way and had redeemed my promise to my company to lead them home and inspired confidence in the loyal men and sent terror to the hearts of the rebels of the county."
Cooper and his forces, in July 1862, struck at Wallace's Cross Roads, near Andersonville, Tennessee, killing five Confederates and taking prisoners along with wagons and horses. Shortly thereafter, his company attacked a Confederate force at Big Creek Gap, they being located near where St. Mary's hospital is now situated. The Unionists attacked at dawn and within ten minutes the entire enemy force was routed, they being scattered completely around the Gap. While fleeing the scene on horseback several men stopped on the road to Powell's River just above the mouth of Cedar Creek.
As was noted previously, Cooper became Captain in the 1st Tennessee Infantry, becoming in 1862 Colonel of the 6th Tennessee. His service was mainly in East Tennessee and Georgia, and in July, 1864, was made a Brigadier-General, in which capacity he commanded his troops in the March through Georgia, receiving the brevet of Major General in March, 1865.
He held the office of collector of intternal Revenue in Tennessee from 1869 till 1879 and later resumed his farming in Kansas.
General Joseph Cooper served as a Deacon in the Longfield Baptist Church in Campbell County, and in 1842, he joined the Indian Creek Baptist Church, also in the County.
Sometime after the Civil War he was enlisted by Tennessee Governor Brownlow to quell the forces of the Ku Klux Klan disturbance in Tennessee.
General Cooper died in Kansas on May, 1910. Upon his death his body was returned to be buried in the National Veterans Cemetery in Knoxville, Tennessee.
(Portions of this article were taken from "The Land of the Lake," written by the late Dr. George L. Ridenour. Many thanks to the Campbell County Historical Society personnel for allowing the writer to use this information.)"
2. Summary background from civilwartalk.com/threads/cooper-joseph-alexander.161517/
Born: November 25, 1823
Birthplace: Cumberland Falls, Kentucky
Father: John Cooper 1780 – 1854 (Buried: Coopers View Cemetery, Jacksboro, Tennessee)
Mother: Hester Sage 1793 – 1878 (Buried: Coopers View Cemetery, Jacksboro, Tennessee)
1st Wife: Mary Jane Hutson 1830 – 1864 (Buried: Central Baptist Church Cemetery, Knoxville, Tennessee)
2nd Wife: Mary J. Poston 1851 – 1926 (Buried: Fairview Park Cemetery, St. John, Kansas)
Children:
William Riley Cooper 1847 – 1926 (Buried: Old Gray Cemetery, Knoxville, Tennessee)
Henry T. Cooper 1852 – 1914 (Buried: Woodlawn Cemetery, Knoxville, Tennessee)
Squire Hunter Cooper 1854 – 1901 (Buried: Central Baptist Church Cemetery, Knoxville, Tennessee)
Occupation before War:
Farmer in Campbell County, Tennessee
Deacon of Longfield Baptist Church
1847 – 1848: Private in 4th Tennessee Infantry Regiment
1848 – 1861: Farmer in Campbell County, Tennessee
1860: Supporter of John Bell for the Presidency
1861: Attended Knoxville and Greeneville, Tennessee Conventions
Civil War Career:
1861 – 1862: Captain in Company A 1st Tennessee Union Infantry
Participated in the fighting around the Cumberland Gap
1862: Participated in the Battle of Mill Springs, Kentucky
1862: Attacked Confederate Defenses at Big Creek Gap, Tennessee
1862 – 1863: Colonel of 6th Tennessee Union Infantry Regiment
1862: Attacked Confederate Forces at Wallace’s Crossroads, Tennessee
1862 – 1863: Participated in the Battle of Stones River, Tennessee
1863: Participated in the Battle of Chickamuga, Georgia
1863: Participated in the fighting around Knoxville, Tennessee
1864: Participated in the Battle of Resaca, Georgia
1864: Participated in the Atlanta, Georgia Campaign
1864 – 1866: Brigadier General of Union Army Infantry
1864 – 1865: Participated in the Franklin – Nashville Campaign
1865: Participated in the Battle of Bentonville, North Carolina
1866: Mustered out of the Union Army on January 15th
Occupation after War:
1866 – 1867: Brigadier General of Tennessee State Guards
1869: Delegate to Tennessee State Republican Party Convention
1869 – 1879: Collector for Internal Revenue for Knoxville District
1880 – 1910: Farmer in Stafford County, Kansas
1880 – 1909: Moderator for South Central Baptist Association
Died: May 20, 1910
Place of Death: Stafford, Kansas
Age at time of Death: 86 years old
Cause of Death: Senility
Burial Place: National Cemetery, Knoxville, Tennessee"
FYI COL Mikel J. Burroughs Lt Col John (Jack) Christensen LTC Greg Henning LTC Jeff Shearer Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D. Maj William W. 'Bill' Price CPT Scott Sharon CWO3 Dennis M. SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL SSG William Jones SGT (Join to see) SGT John " Mac " McConnell SP5 Mark Kuzinski PO1 H Gene Lawrence PO2 Kevin Parker PO3 Bob McCord Maj Kim Patterson
Joseph Alexander Cooper "served in the Mexican War as an enlisted man in the 4th Tennessee Infantry of Knoxville under Col. Richard Waterhouse and Captain Jordan Council. His service extended from about the 1st of September 1847, until about August 1, 1848."
Images:
1. Three-quarter standing view of General Joseph Alexander Cooper by Brady.
2. Joseph Alexander Cooper bio and obituary clipped from the Hutchinson News, Hutchinson, Kansas on May 30, 1910.
3. Major General Joseph Alexander Cooper near the end of his life in early 1900's
4. Joseph Alexander Cooper tombstone at National Cemetery, Knoxville, Tennessee
Biographies:
1. tngenweb.org/campbell/hist-bogan/union.html
2. civilwartalk.com/threads/cooper-joseph-alexander.161517/
Background from tngenweb.org/campbell/hist-bogan/union.html
"MAJ. GEN. JOSEPH ALEXANDER COOPER TRIED TO MUSTER UNION SUPPORT IN CAMPBELL COUNTY By Dallas Bogan
Reprinted with Permission from Dallas Bogan. This article was published in the LaFollette Press.
As the writer has noted in other articles, the area of Campbell County was directly involved in the American Civil War. One name stands out in the County, that of Brevet Major General Joseph Alexander Cooper. At this time we shall focus on a short biography of the Generals' service as well as his life.
A letter written by General Cooper, dating June 4, 1901, from St. John, Kansas, tells a portion of the story of his life. The letter does not specify who the letter was written to. It goes as such:
"Dear Sir I will try to furnish the information you desire. My father was John Cooper from the State of Maryland and he was a bound boy and ran away from home in his teens and traveled and worked around until the breaking out of the war of 1812. He then enlisted in Capt.. Liew [?] Hales Co. which was stationed at Norfolk, Va., and got an honorable discharge from the army and then married in Gracen [?] Co., VA. Her name was Hester Sage.
"He then moved to Ky near Somerset where I was born Nov. 25, 1823. We then moved to Tenn. the following year and located in Campbell Co., 5 miles south of Jacksboro where I grew to manhood and married Mary J. Hutson in the month of April 1846 and in Sept. 47 I enlisted in the Mexican War and served until the close of the war.
"When I returned to my old home until Aug. 1 [?], 1861, and then I organized the first company from the state of Tenn. for the Federal army and made my way under the cover of night to Williamsburg, Ky., and there I was mustered into the service on the 8 day of August 1861 with 101 men. We were ordered to Camp Dick Robinson on the 17th of Aug. to join Gen. Nelson. I was mustered out of the service by a general order from the war department on the 15 day of Jan. 1866.
"I am now living in Stafford Co. Kans. five miles west and two miles north of St. John the county seat. Kind regards. Gen. Joseph A. Cooper."
As was mentioned earlier, Cooper served in the Mexican War as an enlisted man in the 4th Tennessee Infantry of Knoxville under Col. Richard Waterhouse and Captain Jordan Council. His service extended from about the 1st of September 1847, until about August 1, 1848.
As a result of his service during the Mexican War, and having been taught by his father, who had served in the War of 1812, Gen. Cooper set out to train soldiers for the Union. He had taken part in the Knoxville and Greeneville conventions of Federalists and at the latter meeting he signed with others an undisclosed agreement to drill men for the Union army.
Soon after he returned from Greeneville the General selected the King Field, a highland on the ridge above his home as the restricted place of training. This location provided a confidential place to drill. It was located far away from any public roads and allowed the soldiers to drill in completely enclosed space. Within this area they drilled and trained without any type of disturbance
Gen. Cooper tried to a great extent to get the more prominent men from Campbell County to take the initiative for the Union, but most were reluctant to make a choice because the County was just about divided equally in sentiment between the Union and Confederate forces. Failing in this attempt, he "went to work to try to organize as best he could working by day on the farm and riding by night to see parties to perfect arrangements." By this time matters were not considered safe in the County to travel on the highway, "so he used the stock trails and short cuts through the woods at night to see his partys."
Gen. Cooper, as he was gathering men for the Union cause, did not even sleep at home. He was forever making arrangements for getting his troops into Kentucky. His companies of militants were well known. Many of them had planted a crop in the spring of 1861. Cooper, as well as other troops, had to hide out from the Confederates. The General worked by day "in my farm away on a mountain away from the road and my family instructed is anyone called to not know here I was until they satisfied themselves of their friendly purpose, then to send a runner after me."
Gen. Cooper announced to his family:
"I am going to the war; I may be gone a year and perhaps three years, and may never get back home."
That same night Cooper and his men moved slowly and deliberately across the Cumberland Mountains. On August 8, 1861, he was sworn in as captain and his men mustered in at Williamsburg, Ky., as Company A, First Tennessee Infantry. At the time Cooper was 38 years old. He had, except for his stint in the Mexican War, been a farmer most of his life.
His life in the Civil War discloses that he was a direct, practical soldier who despised drunkards, and was a strict disciplinarian concerning military etiquette. He was somewhat disapproving of West Pointers, an explicit example concerning getting a wagon train along a muddy road.
His men always came first! He cared for them during a measles attack in Kentucky. He was always concerned about doing battle in his own home territory of Campbell County.
Several Confederate troops marched from Knoxville to Big Creek Gap (now LaFollette), and on one of the routes in which Union men marched into Kentucky, Cooper assembled his company together in Jacksboro to do battle with the Confederate forces and maintain a way into Kentucky. Some of Cooper's men had guns, some pistols, some scythe blades, others nothing. Asked why they had arrived, the answer was, "When you kill one we will get a gun."
Jacksboro residents were fearful that Cooper's activities would imperil the whole county. These folks believed that the Union forces could certainly defeat the present Confederate forces, but they were clearly apprehensive if a larger force were to arrive in the County.
Shortly after the battle of Fishing Creek, or Mill Spring, in Kentucky, Cooper and his men were in the detail that was to drive the Confederates out of Powell's (Powell) Valley.
In March 1862, the First Tennessee led the attack against the regiment of Confederates encamped at Big Creek Gap. Cooper writes that "such a stampede I have never seen before nor since. I saw my friends had opened the way and had redeemed my promise to my company to lead them home and inspired confidence in the loyal men and sent terror to the hearts of the rebels of the county."
Cooper and his forces, in July 1862, struck at Wallace's Cross Roads, near Andersonville, Tennessee, killing five Confederates and taking prisoners along with wagons and horses. Shortly thereafter, his company attacked a Confederate force at Big Creek Gap, they being located near where St. Mary's hospital is now situated. The Unionists attacked at dawn and within ten minutes the entire enemy force was routed, they being scattered completely around the Gap. While fleeing the scene on horseback several men stopped on the road to Powell's River just above the mouth of Cedar Creek.
As was noted previously, Cooper became Captain in the 1st Tennessee Infantry, becoming in 1862 Colonel of the 6th Tennessee. His service was mainly in East Tennessee and Georgia, and in July, 1864, was made a Brigadier-General, in which capacity he commanded his troops in the March through Georgia, receiving the brevet of Major General in March, 1865.
He held the office of collector of intternal Revenue in Tennessee from 1869 till 1879 and later resumed his farming in Kansas.
General Joseph Cooper served as a Deacon in the Longfield Baptist Church in Campbell County, and in 1842, he joined the Indian Creek Baptist Church, also in the County.
Sometime after the Civil War he was enlisted by Tennessee Governor Brownlow to quell the forces of the Ku Klux Klan disturbance in Tennessee.
General Cooper died in Kansas on May, 1910. Upon his death his body was returned to be buried in the National Veterans Cemetery in Knoxville, Tennessee.
(Portions of this article were taken from "The Land of the Lake," written by the late Dr. George L. Ridenour. Many thanks to the Campbell County Historical Society personnel for allowing the writer to use this information.)"
2. Summary background from civilwartalk.com/threads/cooper-joseph-alexander.161517/
Born: November 25, 1823
Birthplace: Cumberland Falls, Kentucky
Father: John Cooper 1780 – 1854 (Buried: Coopers View Cemetery, Jacksboro, Tennessee)
Mother: Hester Sage 1793 – 1878 (Buried: Coopers View Cemetery, Jacksboro, Tennessee)
1st Wife: Mary Jane Hutson 1830 – 1864 (Buried: Central Baptist Church Cemetery, Knoxville, Tennessee)
2nd Wife: Mary J. Poston 1851 – 1926 (Buried: Fairview Park Cemetery, St. John, Kansas)
Children:
William Riley Cooper 1847 – 1926 (Buried: Old Gray Cemetery, Knoxville, Tennessee)
Henry T. Cooper 1852 – 1914 (Buried: Woodlawn Cemetery, Knoxville, Tennessee)
Squire Hunter Cooper 1854 – 1901 (Buried: Central Baptist Church Cemetery, Knoxville, Tennessee)
Occupation before War:
Farmer in Campbell County, Tennessee
Deacon of Longfield Baptist Church
1847 – 1848: Private in 4th Tennessee Infantry Regiment
1848 – 1861: Farmer in Campbell County, Tennessee
1860: Supporter of John Bell for the Presidency
1861: Attended Knoxville and Greeneville, Tennessee Conventions
Civil War Career:
1861 – 1862: Captain in Company A 1st Tennessee Union Infantry
Participated in the fighting around the Cumberland Gap
1862: Participated in the Battle of Mill Springs, Kentucky
1862: Attacked Confederate Defenses at Big Creek Gap, Tennessee
1862 – 1863: Colonel of 6th Tennessee Union Infantry Regiment
1862: Attacked Confederate Forces at Wallace’s Crossroads, Tennessee
1862 – 1863: Participated in the Battle of Stones River, Tennessee
1863: Participated in the Battle of Chickamuga, Georgia
1863: Participated in the fighting around Knoxville, Tennessee
1864: Participated in the Battle of Resaca, Georgia
1864: Participated in the Atlanta, Georgia Campaign
1864 – 1866: Brigadier General of Union Army Infantry
1864 – 1865: Participated in the Franklin – Nashville Campaign
1865: Participated in the Battle of Bentonville, North Carolina
1866: Mustered out of the Union Army on January 15th
Occupation after War:
1866 – 1867: Brigadier General of Tennessee State Guards
1869: Delegate to Tennessee State Republican Party Convention
1869 – 1879: Collector for Internal Revenue for Knoxville District
1880 – 1910: Farmer in Stafford County, Kansas
1880 – 1909: Moderator for South Central Baptist Association
Died: May 20, 1910
Place of Death: Stafford, Kansas
Age at time of Death: 86 years old
Cause of Death: Senility
Burial Place: National Cemetery, Knoxville, Tennessee"
FYI COL Mikel J. Burroughs Lt Col John (Jack) Christensen LTC Greg Henning LTC Jeff Shearer Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D. Maj William W. 'Bill' Price CPT Scott Sharon CWO3 Dennis M. SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL SSG William Jones SGT (Join to see) SGT John " Mac " McConnell SP5 Mark Kuzinski PO1 H Gene Lawrence PO2 Kevin Parker PO3 Bob McCord Maj Kim Patterson
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LTC Stephen F.
FYI PO2 John ZodunCpl James R. " Jim" Gossett JrSP5 Jeannie CarleSPC Chris Bayner-CwikTSgt David L.PO1 Robert GeorgeSSG Robert Mark Odom LTC Jeff Shearer SGT Philip RoncariCWO3 Dennis M. SFC William FarrellCynthia Croft SSG Donald H "Don" Bates SSgt Boyd Herrst Col Carl WhickerSPC Matthew LambSSG Robert "Rob" WentworthPV2 Brian Hatcher
Capt Rich Buckley
Capt Rich Buckley
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Thanks for an interesting story. The Tennessee State Guard is still active.
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