Chauncey H. Cooke
| Chauncey H. Cooke | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Chauncey Herbert Cooke |
| Born |
May 15, 1846 Columbus, Ohio, U.S. |
| Died | May 11, 1919 (aged 72) Mondovi, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Buried at | Buffalo County, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Allegiance |
 United States of America |
| Service/branch |
 U.S. Army (Union Army) |
| Years of service | August 1862 – May 15, 1865 |
| Rank |
 Private |
| Unit |
 Company G, 25th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiment
|
| Battles/wars |
Indian Wars (1862) American Civil War (1862–1865) |
| Spouse(s) | Sarah Eliza Caves (m. 1882) |
| Relations | Warren W. Cooke (son), Samuel P. Cooke (son), Rodney Cooke (son), Samuel Shattuck Cooke (father), Loduskey Gardner (mother) |
| Other work | Freedmen's schoolteacher, farmer, Buffalo County commission member, Grand Army of the Republic commander |
Chauncey Herbert Cooke (May 15, 1846 – May 11, 1919) was a United States Army soldier from Buffalo County, Wisconsin who fought in the American Civil War. After the war ended, he worked as a schoolteacher, teaching former slaves in Texas.
Cooke was born in Columbus, Ohio in May 1846; he had three brothers and a sister. He visited Winchester, Indiana in 1856 and grew up in Buffalo County, Wisconsin. While growing up in Wisconsin, he lived amicably near Native Americans, and both he and his father had a favorable opinion of them.
In August 1862, Cooke joined the U.S. Army with the 25th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiment. He was 16 years old and thus underage at the time, but was this was not noticed by his superiors. He joined the U.S. Army as both he and his father were abolitionists who were opposed to slavery. Upon joining the army, Cooke's father reminded of him of why he was fighting for the United States, saying to him, "Don't forget that there are four million slaves whose hope of liberty is at stake in this war."
However, after he joined the army, his unit was sent to Minnesota to fight Sioux Native Americans. Cooke disliked this for two reasons, first as he had joined the army to fight against the Confederacy and its cause of slavery, and second because he had a favorable opinion of Native Americans and felt that they were being treated unfairly by the U.S. government. The unit's mission in Minnesota ended without major combat in November 1862, as the reason for its deployment had been resolved. The unit was then sent to Illinois and arrived there in February 1863. Afterwards, they then headed to Kentucky.
While in Kentucky, Cooke met with many slaves that had been freed by the U.S. Army, and was impressed by their demeanor. He was especially impressed by freed slaves he had met that were from Louisiana and could speak multiple languages. Meeting these slaves strengthened Cooke's dislike of slavery, as he felt that some of these slaves, who were more intelligent than he was, should not be enslaved.
Cooke stated that his primary reason for fighting for the U.S. in the war was to free the slaves, stating that "I have no heart in this war if the slaves cannot go free."
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Wikipedia