Edwin Stanton McCook

One of a famous family of Civil War officers, the "Fighting McCooks," he was born in Carrollton, Ohio, a son of Daniel McCook. He was educated at the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland, and was a member of the Naval Lodge #69 of the Freemasons in New York City.

When the Civil War erupted, McCook recruited a company and joined the 31st Illinois Infantry, serving under his friend, Col. John A. Logan. He saw action in the battles of Fort Henry and Fort Donelson, where he was severely wounded. He was later assigned to command Logan's brigade when the latter assumed division command. By the Vicksburg Campaign, McCook had again been promoted to replace Logan as division commander, leading it during the Siege of Vicksburg under Ulysses S. Grant. In 1864, he served with distinction in the Chattanooga and Atlanta campaigns and in the March to the Sea under William T. Sherman. He was severely wounded three separate times but survived the war.

On January 13, 1866, President Andrew Johnson nominated McCook for appointment to the grade of brevet brigadier general of volunteers, to rank from March 13, 1865, and the United States Senate confirmed the appointment on March 12, 1866.[1] On April 16, 1867, the United States Senate confirmed McCook's nomination for appointment to the grade of brevet major general of volunteers to rank from March 13, 1865.[2]

After the war, he moved out west and was named as Secretary of the Dakota Territory in 1872. McCook was appointed acting governor of Dakota Territory in spring 1873 to replace the corrupt John A. Burbank. On September 11, 1873, he was shot and killed by Peter P. Wintermute, a banker and political adversary, at a public meeting being held in a saloon in Yankton, Dakota Territory. Wintermute was upset with McCook's stance in the Dakota Southern Railroad dispute.

McCook was buried in Spring Grove Cemetery in Cincinnati, Ohio, along with several other members of the famed family. His grave can be located in Section 10, Lot 1.

McCook County, South Dakota, is named for him.

• List of American Civil War brevet generals (Union)
• List of assassinated American politicians

• Eicher, John H., and David J. Eicher, Civil War High Commands. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001. ISBN 978-0-8047-3641-1.
• Whalen, Charles and Barbara, The Fighting McCooks: America's Famous Fighting Family, Westmoreland Press, 2006.
• Ohio Historical Society
• Howe, Henry (1889). "Carroll County". Historical Collections of Ohio, The Ohio Centennial Edition. 1. The State of Ohio. p. 369. ISBN 9781404753761.