A General and his killer: McCook and Gurley

Robert Latimer McCook

       Robert Latimer McCook was born in Lisbon, Ohio in 1827. He was one of the "Fighting McCook's" that consisted of fifteen men from the same family who fought for the Union in the Civil War. Of those fifteen, four would become generals and Robert was one of those. Robert was a pre-war attorney in Cincinnati, Ohio. Although he was a democrat, he helped organize the Ninth Ohio Infantry and was appointed its colonel. 

       He would begin the war serving under George McClellan in West Virginia. In the fall of 1861, he and the brigade he was commanding were transferred to the Army of the Ohio. He would be severely wounded in the Battle of Mill Springs. He would be promoted to brigadier general while recovering from his wound. After returning to the army, he learned that the unhealed wound prevented him from riding long distances on horseback. 

The death of McCook according to the Northern papers

       On August 5, 1862, McCook was riding in an ambulance because of his wound and he was also suffering from a case of dysentery (diarrhea). He was riding far ahead of his main column accompanied by two members of his staff and nine cavalrymen who served as his escort. McCook was riding in his underwear and there was no way the enemy could know his rank at the time. They were travelling from Athens, Alabama to Winchester, Tennessee and had almost reached their destination when they were attacked by about two hundred troopers of the Fourth Alabama Cavalry. 

Captain Frank Gurley

       The teamster attempted to turn the wagon around, but the canvas top became hung on a tree branch. The wagon swerved and struck an embankment where it became stuck. The enemy cavalry opened fire, one bullet struck McCook just below his rib cage. The Confederates took him to a nearby house where he was visited by Captain Frank Gurley who commanded the group of cavalrymen. It was said that Gurley fired the fatal shot and apologized to McCook as he lay dying. McCook didn't express any bitterness toward the captain. 

       McCook survived until about noon the next day. His last words were to tell his brother Alex that "I have tried to live like a man and do my duty."

       Northern papers proclaimed that McCook was killed by lawless guerrillas led by Frank Gurley. They stated that McCook was killed while lying incapacitated in an ambulance. Captain Gurley was captured while sick in Alabama in December and the Federal authorities decided to try him for murder. Bedford Forrest and William Hardee both wrote letters to Union officers in defense of Gurley. It was claimed that McCook has actually climbed from the wagon and was attempting to dislodge it from the embankment when shot. There was no way Gurley could have known he was even firing at an officer. 

       Grant responded that Gurley would receive a fair trial by Union authorities. The military court found Gurley guilty of murder on January 11, 1864 and sentenced him to death. General George Thomas suspended the execution because he didn't believe the murder to have been a crime, but simple warfare. Judge Advocate Joseph Holt (who would later serve as prosecutor in the Lincoln assassination case) begged Lincoln to overrule Thomas. Lincoln did as Holt asked, but delayed the sentence. 

       Gurley remained a prisoner of war for the next year when he was accidentally released in an exchange. When the war was over, he took the oath of allegiance and was paroled by Union authorities. In November, he was elected Sheriff of Madison County. He was shocked to learn that Joseph Holt had petitioned President Andrew Johnson to arrest Gurley and carry out the death sentence. Johnson agreed and had Gurley arrested and held in Huntsville. 

       Friends of Gurley met with Johnson and persuaded him to stop the execution. Johnson also heard that threats of violence would be carried out against Federal authorities if Gurley was indeed hanged. Holt protested, but Grant urged Johnson to release the man. Johnson agreed with General Grant and had Gurley released.

       

Robert's Grave

       McCook rests today in Spring Grove Cemetery in Cincinnati, Ohio. His father and one of his brothers would also die during the war. He was described as likable, courteous, brave and devoted to his country. He was thirty-four years old.

       

Frank Gurley in uniform

       Frank Gurley died of natural causes in Gurley, Alabama in 1920 at the age of eighty-four. He rests there today in Gurley Cemetery. He never changed his story that McCook was killed in a combat situation by regular Confederate cavalry. 

Captain Gurley's grave

Southern born Federal Generals in the Civil War

Virginia Born Winfield Scott

       Recently, on facebook, I noticed a couple of guys on my friends list discussing who had more generals from the other country, North or South. One young man guessed the North had more Southern born generals than the South had Northern born generals. He was quickly corrected by another friend who informed him that there were more Northern born generals who fought for the South. Initially, I believed him until I researched the situation myself. 

       After finding the answer, I realized that it should have been obvious to me all along. There were 33 Northern born Confederate Generals. There were 35 Southern born Federal generals that served during the Civil War. There were 583 generals commissioned during the Civil War on the Federal side and 425 Confederate generals commissioned during the war. Percentage wise, that puts the Confederacy in the lead, but number wise, it places the Federal army in the lead. Here is a complete list of the Southern born Federal generals and why they served the North.

       

Montgomery Cunningham Meigs

       There were nine Federal generals born in the South who grew up on Northern soil before the war. They were Montgomery C. Meigs (Georgia, grew up in Pennsylvania), Jacob Ammen (Virginia, grew up in Ohio), David B. Birney (Alabama, grew up in Kentucky), William Birney (Alabama, grew up in Kentucky), James W. Denver (Virginia, grew up in Ohio), Benjamin M. Prentiss (Virginia, grew up in Illinois), William T. Ward (Virginia, grew up in Kentucky), Louis D. Watkins (Florida, grew up in Washington, D.C.), and Joseph R. West (Louisiana, grew up in Pennsylvania). 

        

George Henry Thomas

       There were 11 Southern born Federal generals that were in the old army before the war began and refused to leave the army in which they had served their entire adult lives. These officers were Philip St. George Cooke (Virginia, father of Confederate General John R. Cooke and father-in-law of Confederate General Jeb Stuart), John W. Davidson (Virginia), Alexander B. Dyer (Virginia), Alvan C. Gillem (Tennessee), Andrew J. Hamilton (Alabama), William S. Harney (Tennessee), John Newton (Virginia), George D. Ramsey (Virginia), Winfield Scott (Virginia, the hero of the Mexican War), William R. Terrill (Virginia, his brother James B. Terrill became a general in the Confederate Army), and George Henry Thomas (Virginia, possibly the best Federal general of the entire war).

U.S. President Andrew Johnson

       Eight Federal Generals fought for the North because they opposed secession and remained loyal to the Union. They were William B. Campbell (Tennessee), Samuel P. Carter (Tennessee), Edmund J. Davis (Florida), Lawrence P. Graham (Virginia), Isham N. Haynie (Tennessee), William Hays (Virginia), Andrew Johnson (Tennessee, became president of the United States, Lincoln assigned him military governor of Tennessee with the rank of brigadier general), and James G. Spears (Tennessee).

John C. Fremont

       There were five Southern born Union generals that moved North when they reached adulthood and remained loyal when the war began. They were Thomas T. Crittenden (Alabama, moved to Indiana), John C. Fremont (Georgia, moved to Missouri), Stephen A. Hurlbut (South Carolina, moved to Illinois), Solomon Meredith (North Carolina, moved to Indiana and commanded the famed Iron Brigade), and John D. Stevenson (Virginia, moved to Missouri). 

       There was one more Federal general who had been born in the South, but was loyal to the Union because he served in the Federal Navy before the war. He was John B. McIntosh (Florida,  made New Jersey his home, he was the brother of Confederate General James M. McIntosh). 

       I will be the first to admit that I was shocked by the numbers. I knew George Thomas was born in Virginia and fought for the Union. I also knew about Winfield Scott. I'd heard about William R. Terrill and Stephen A. Hurlburt, but was truly surprised to learn that Andrew Johnson was commissioned a general by Abraham Lincoln. It just goes to show that a historian can always learn something new when he digs deep enough.

Fighting Dick

Israel Bush Richardson

       Israel Bush Richardson was born in 1815 in Vermont. Supposedly a descendant of Revolutionary War hero Israel Putnam, he gained entry to the United States Military Academy. He graduated 38 out of 58 cadets in the West Point Class of 1841. He saw action in the Second Seminole War. He gained quite a bit of fame from his action during the Mexican War. It would be in Mexico that he earned the nickname, "Fighting Dick." 

       He left the army in 1855 to take up farming in Michigan. When the Civil War began, he helped organize the 2nd Michigan Infantry. He married Fannie Travor in early 1861. His regiment was sent to Washington where he again met Winfield Scott. Upon seeing him, Scott exclaimed, "I'm glad to have my 'Fighting Dick' with me again." 

       He disobeyed orders at Blackburn's Ford and engaged Longstreet against Federal General McDowell's wishes. His brigade was repulsed there, but he made up for this by covering the rearguard during the retreat to Washington. Following this action he was promoted to brigadier general. 

       He commanded a brigade during the Peninsula Campaign, seeing action at Yorktown, Seven Pines and the Seven Days battles. After the campaign, he was promoted to major general. He was engaged at Second Manassas and South Mountain. 

       Richardson would see his last action at Antietam. His troops smashed through the center of the Confederate line at what would later become known as 'Bloody Lane' and was in position to break Lee's army in half. Taking the lane, his men were hit by severe artillery fire from the Confederate reserve. He was talking with one of his artillery officers when an exploding shell sent shrapnel into his side, chest and shoulder. 

Site where Richardson was wounded

       While being carried from the field, he told a surgeon, "Tell General McClellan I have been in the front rank doing the duty of a colonel. I have done a hard days work, and have worked all day. I am wounded and he must detail someone to take my command."

        The wound was not considered to be dangerous. He was carried to the Phillip Pry house, the home McClellan used as his headquarters. Surgeons stopped the bleeding. President Abraham Lincoln visited Richardson in October, but infection set in, followed by pneumonia. He died in November. 

Phillip Pry House

       Richardson was forty-six years old. Nicknamed "Fighting Dick" and also "Greasy Dick" because of his fighting prowess. He was known for his courage in combat and was perfectly fearless in action. Fort Richardson in Texas is named for him. He rests in Oak Hill Cemetery, Pontiac, Michigan. 

Richardson's grave

       Not known for his social skills, his men loved him. He had said to them, "I won't ask you to go anywhere I won't go myself."

       I wonder if Todd Richardson, a good friend of mine, would deny being related to Israel Bush Richardson. Being a lieutenant in the 26th Alabama Infantry re-enacting group, I'm sure he would deny this. Maybe, I'll just nickname him "Greasy Dick."

Only Indiana General Killed During The Civil War

Brigadier General Hackleman

       Pleasant Adam Hackleman was a lawyer and politician before the Civil War. Because of his hard work helping Lincoln get elected, he was commissioned a brigadier general in the Federal army. He saw action early in the war at the fiasco at Ball's Bluff. Hackleman would then be sent to the western army where he would not see action again until the Battle of Corinth under General Rosecrans.

       On the first day of the battle there, the Confederate army under Van Dorn hit Rosecrans hard. Part of the Federal line began to fall apart. Hackleman was attempting to rally his men  when he was struck in the neck by a bullet. 

       Being carried to the rear, Hackleman stated, "I am dying, but I die for my country. If we are victorious send my remains home; if not, bury me on the field."

       They would be the last words the forty-seven year old general would ever utter. He was carried to the Tishomingo Hotel and laid on the floor of the ladies' parlor. Surviving until nightfall, his division commander Thomas Davies would be by his side as he took his last breath.

Tishomingo Hotel

       The battle went from an apparent defeat to a victory the next day and Pleasant Hackleman would get his wish of being buried at home. Today, he rests in East Hill Cemetery, Rushville, Indiana.

Site of Pleasant Hackleman's death today

Pleasant Hackleman's grave