Joseph Alexander Cooper (November 25, 1823 – May 20, 1910) was an American farmer, soldier, and civil servant. He briefly served in the United States Army during the Mexican–American War, and later he was a Union Army general during the American Civil War, fighting most notably during the 1864 Battle of Nashville.
Cooper was born in 1823 on a farm near Cumberland Falls, Kentucky. He and his parents moved to Campbell County, Tennessee the followin...
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Joseph Alexander Cooper (November 25, 1823 – May 20, 1910) was an American farmer, soldier, and civil servant. He briefly served in the United States Army during the Mexican–American War, and later he was a Union Army general during the American Civil War, fighting most notably during the 1864 Battle of Nashville.
Cooper was born in 1823 on a farm near Cumberland Falls, Kentucky. He and his parents moved to Campbell County, Tennessee the following year. He grew up in Campbell County, and married Mary J. Hutson in April 1846. In 1847 Cooper served in the U.S. Army during the Mexican–American War, enlisting as a private in the 4th Tennessee Infantry in August and mustering out that October.
After the war ended he returned to Campbell County, and was involved in farming near Jacksboro, Tennessee.
When the American Civil War began in 1861, Cooper chose to follow the Union cause. He was elected a delegate to the 1861 Union convention at Knoxville. He next spent a few months recruiting men...
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