Samuel Cooper | |
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| Born | (1798-06-12)June 12, 1798 |
| Died | December 3, 1876(1876-12-03) (aged 78) |
| Place of burial | Christ Church Cemetery, Alexandria, Virginia, US |
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| Conflicts | Second Seminole War Mexican–American War American Civil War |
Samuel Cooper (June 12, 1798 – December 3, 1876) was an American military officer, who served in theSecond Seminole War and theMexican–American War in theUnited States Army. Although little-known today, Cooper was technically the highest-rankinggeneral officer in theConfederate States Army throughout theAmerican Civil War, even outrankingRobert E. Lee. After the conflict, Cooper remained inVirginia as a farmer.
Samuel Cooper was born inNew Hackensack,Dutchess County, New York.[1][2][3] He was one of the sons of Samuel Cooper and his wife Mary Horton.[4] In 1813, he entered theUnited States Military Academy at age 15. He graduated 36th in a class of 40 two years later (the standard length of study in that period.)[5] He was appointed abrevetsecond lieutenant in the U.S. Light Artillery on December 11, 1815. He was promoted tofirst lieutenant in 1821 and tocaptain in 1836.[6]
In 1827, Cooper married Sarah Maria Mason, granddaughter ofDeclaration of IndependencesignerGeorge Mason and sister of future Confederate diplomatJames M. Mason. Sarah's sister, Ann Maria Mason, was the mother of Confederate cavalry generalFitzhugh Lee, a nephew ofRobert E. Lee, while her brother John Mason, was a son-in-law of Gen.Alexander Macomb. Cooper served asaide-de-camp for Gen. Macomb from 1828 to 1836 and, under his supervision, received credit for the publication ofA Concise System of Instructions and Regulations for the Militia and Volunteers of the United States.[7] (Although published under the byline "Prepared and Arranged by Brevet Captain S. Cooper," it was actually a translation of a French military manual which had been initially translated byBrevet Major General Winfield Scott, who was not acknowledged in the text at all; Cooper had only edited Scott's translation.)[8]
Cooper served in numerous artillery units until 1837 when he was appointed chief clerk of theU.S. War Department. In 1838 he received a brevet promotion tomajor and was appointed assistant adjutant general of the Army. Nine years later, with a brevet aslieutenant colonel, he served in the same capacity.
Cooper's service in theSecond Seminole War of 1841–42 was a rare departure for him from Washington, D.C. He was chief of staff for Col.William J. Worth. After hostilities ended, he returned to staff duty in Washington from 1842 to 1845.[9] Cooper received a brevet promotion tocolonel on May 30, 1848, for his War Department service in theMexican–American War, and was promoted to the permanent rank of colonel in theregular army and appointed the army'sAdjutant General on July 15, 1852.[6] Cooper also served very briefly as actingU.S. Secretary of War in 1857.[10]
Cooper was also a slaveowner: at the time of the 1850 census, he had six slaves.[11] On February 5, 1857, his daughter Sarah Maria Mason Cooper (August 4, 1836 – December 15, 1858) marriedFrank Wheaton, who became aUnion Army general during theAmerican Civil War. They had one child, Sarah Maria Cooper Wheaton, in 1858.[12]
Cooper joined the Confederacy at the beginning of the American Civil War. His wife's family was from Virginia, and he had a close friendship withJefferson Davis, who had also been U.S. Secretary of War.[13] One of his last official acts as Adjutant General of the U.S. Army was to sign an order dismissingBrig. Gen.David E. Twiggs from the army. Twiggs had surrendered his command and supplies inTexas to the Confederacy (and was shortly after that made a Confederatemajor general.) This order was dated March 1, 1861, and Cooper resigned six days later. He traveled toMontgomery, Alabama, at the time the Confederacy's capital, to join the Confederate States Army.[5]
On reaching Montgomery, Cooper was immediately given a commission as abrigadier general on March 16, 1861.[6] He served as both Adjutant General andInspector General of the Confederate Army, a post he held until the end of the war. Cooper provided much-needed organization and knowledge to the fledgling Confederate War Department, drawing on his years performing duties as Adjutant General of the U.S. Army.[14]
On May 16, 1861, Cooper was promoted tofull general in the Confederate Army.[6] He was one of five men promoted to the grade at that time and one of only seven during the war, but with the earliest date of rank. Thus, despite his relative obscurity today, he outranked the better-known confederatesAlbert Sidney Johnston,Robert E. Lee,Joseph E. Johnston, andP. G. T. Beauregard.[15] Cooper reported directly toConfederate President Jefferson Davis.[5] At the war's end in 1865, Cooper surrendered and was paroled on May 3 atCharlotte, North Carolina.[6]
While building defenses near Washington, D.C., Union forces demolished his home and used its bricks to build a fort dubbed "Traitor's Hill" in dishonor of Cooper.[16]
Cooper's last official act for the Confederacy was to preserve the official records of the Confederate Army and turn them over intact to the United States government, where they form a part of theOfficial Records,The War of the Rebellion: a Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, published starting in 1880. Military historians have highly regarded Cooper for this action.[17] Historian Ezra J. Warner believed that in doing so Cooper was "thereby making a priceless contribution to the history of the period."[14]
After the war, Cooper was a farmer at his home, Cameron, nearAlexandria, Virginia. His house had been taken over by the U.S. government during the war and turned intoa fort, but he was able to move into what had been an overseer's house. Due to his age, Cooper earned a meager living. On August 4, 1870, Robert E. Lee, on behalf of other former Confederates, sent Cooper $300 (~$7,460 in 2024). Lee wrote to him saying, "To this sum I have only been able to add $100, but I hope it may enable you to supply some immediate want and prevent you from taxing your strength too much."[5] Samuel Cooper died at his home in 1876 and is buried in Alexandria'sChrist Church Episcopal Cemetery.[6]
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| Preceded by | Adjutant General of the U. S. Army July 15, 1852 – March 7, 1861 | Succeeded by |
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