University of New Mexico UNM Digital Repository History ETDs Electronic Theses and Dissertations 7-2-2011 Philip St. George Cooke: On the Vanguard of Western Expansion with the U.S. Army, 1827-1848 Jeffrey V. Pearson Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/hist_etds Recommended Citation Pearson, Jeffrey V.. "Philip St. George Cooke: On the Vanguard of Western Expansion with the U.S. Army, 1827-1848." (2011). https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/hist_etds/63 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Electronic Theses and Dissertations at UNM Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in History ETDs by an authorized administrator of UNM Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. PHILIP ST. GEORGE COOKE: ON THE VANGUARD OF WESTERN EXPANSION WITH THE U.S. ARMY, 1827-1848 by JEFFREY V. PEARSON B.A., History, Indiana University-Bloomington, 1998 M.A., History, University of New Mexico, 2001 DISSERTATION Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctorate of Philosophy in History The University of New Mexico Albuquerque, New Mexico May 2011 $%"&"'!()*!+,-./,!0--1,2!34!)%,!564/76.8!-9!:,;),.4!<='64;"-4!>")%!)%,!?*(*[email protected]!! DEFGHDEIE! ! JB! ! K,99.,B!5*!$,6.;-4! J*@*C!L";)-.BC!M48"646!?4"#,.;")BHJ&--A"4/)-4C!DNNE! O*@*C!L";)-.BC!?4"#,.;")B!-9!P,>!O,="Q-C!FRRD! $%*S*C!L";)-.BC!?4"#,.;")B!-9!P,>!O,="Q-C!FRDD! ! @J(TU@0T! ! ! S7."4/!)%,!9".;)!)>-!8,Q68,;!-9!%";!.,A6.16V&,!9-.)BH;"=!B,6.;!-9!A"&")6.B!;,.#"Q,C! 9.-A!DEFG!)-!DEIEC!$%"&"'!()*!+,-./,!0--1,!&"),.6&&B!Q.-;;,8!)%,!Q-4)"4,4)!6;!6!A,AV,.!-9! )%,!?4"),8!()6),;[email protected]!648!Q-4)."V7),8!;"/4"9"Q64)&B!)-!)%,!,;)6V&";%A,4)!-9!)%,!46)"-4!6;!6! 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Chapter One “Foundations” On May 4, 1829, nineteen year old Second Lieutenant Philip St. George Cooke stood on the gunwale of a flat boat contemplating his final mission as an officer in the United States Army. He had graduated from West Point two years earlier, and like so many young officers who had completed the terms of their first enlistment, Cooke had decided to resign his commission in order to “seek a more stirring and exciting profession.” Before he submitted his resignation, however, he wanted to take to the field and experience the frontier. His company had been assigned to escort a caravan of traders down the Santa Fe Trail, and the lieutenant did not believe it would be honorable to tender his resignation before the mission was completed. Furthermore, since graduating from the academy, Cooke had entertained dreams of adventure in the far West and the escort would undoubtedly provide the drama he hoped to experience before returning to civilian life. Suddenly, as the flat boat approached the steamer that would carry him and the other members of the escort from Jefferson Barracks to Cantonment Leavenworth, Cooke heard the faint sound of metal sliding across metal followed by a splash in the river below him. Turning toward the water, he saw the fading glimmer of his sword’s scabbard disappearing into the murky depths of the Mississippi River. Inexplicably it had detached from his belt, slid down the blade, and left Cooke standing on the deck with sword in hand. Whereas most would have viewed the incident as the unfortunate loss of a valuable piece of equipment, Cooke saw it as a sign of his destiny. As he looked at the sword clutched in his hand, all thought of resigning his 1 commission faded from his mind. The young officer decided his destiny rested in service to the United States Army and the Republic.1 For those familiar with the nineteen year old Cooke, the decision he made that day on the Mississippi was undoubtedly a surprise. Prior to that moment he had demonstrated no interests in a career as a professional soldier. In fact, his presence in the army was more the result of unfortunate circumstances that had befallen his family following the death of his father a decade earlier than a reflection of the young man’s martial ambitions. In 1823, at the age of fourteen, Philip had accepted an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point. This was more of a way to satisfy his widowed mother’s desire to see him educated than from any personal desire to become a soldier. Cooke, however, was a born romantic. Since childhood, he had read histories and novels that told of the daring exploits of heroes real and imagined, and as a cadet, he became enamored with the esprit de corps of military life. Furthermore, during his two years on active duty, the camaraderie he experienced serving alongside veteran officers of frontier service combined with the tales they told of distant outposts and encounters with Indians excited his desires for adventure. Although Cooke well knew the life of a soldier could be filled with the dull repetition of duties, suffocating discipline, and painfully slow rates of promotion, it was also a life that offered experiences that were as thrilling and romantic as any published by the most skilled chroniclers of history or writers of fiction. Born in Leesburg, Virginia on June 13, 1809 to Dr. Stephen and Catherine Cooke, Philip—or St. George as he was called by family members—began life as the son of a prosperous physician and landowner, and a gentle woman of British heritage. His parents had met during the American Revolution while Stephen, a surgeon in the fledgling U.S. Navy, was 2 being held as a prisoner of war on the island colony of Bermuda following the capture of his ship in late 1776. Although a prisoner, Stephen’s status as an officer and physician afforded him considerable liberties on the island, and during his five years of captivity, he struck up a friendship with John Esten, a former governor and the colony’s Chief Justice. The catalyst of their friendship is unclear, but Esten was a devout Whig and it is not impossible to imagine that he sympathized with the struggle undertaken by the American colonists. Regardless of circumstances, Stephen became a frequent guest at Esten’s home in St. George. What is equally certain is that Stephen became smitten with Esten’s teenage daughter, Catherine. Paroled in 1781, Stephen briefly returned to the United States, but his love for Esten’s daughter was such that a year later he returned to Bermuda and married the sixteen-year-old Catherine. In 1783, the couple left Catherine’s home in Bermuda and sailed for Boston. Stephen resumed his medical practice, but also increased his fortunes through a series of successful shipping investments. In 1789, Dr. Cooke moved his family, which included three children, to Alexandria, Virginia. By the mid-1790s, Stephen stopped practicing medicine and relocated his family to Loudoun County in the interior of the state. His agricultural pursuits provided a comfortable life for his growing brood as well as membership in the local gentry. Surviving evidence indicates that the Cookes were a happy couple and produced several children during the course of their marriage. Philip, in all probability, was the youngest son and among the last of the couple’s offspring. While few intimate details are known of the family’s daily life, it is certain that Stephen and Catherine placed great importance on their children’s education.