Philip Cook

Philip Cook Sr. (July 31, 1817 – May 21, 1894)

Once the American Civil War started, Cook sided with the Confederate States of America and enlisted as a private in the 4th Georgia Volunteer Infantry. By the end of the Seven Days campaign on the Virginia Peninsula, Cook had advanced to the rank of lieutenant colonel. He also fought in the battles of Second Manassas, Antietam and Chancellorsville, where he was wounded in the leg. As a result, he missed the Gettysburg campaign while he recovered.

For a short time, Cook took a leave of absence to serve in the Georgia Legislature before returning to the army. The first action he saw after recovering and returning to the war was the Battle of Cold Harbor. At the Battle of Cold Harbor in 1864 he took command of the brigade when Brig. Gen. George P. Doles was killed. Cook was wounded again at the Battle of the Crater during the Siege of Petersburg. After recovering, he fought under Maj. Gen. Stephen D. Ramseur at the Battle of Cedar Creek in the Shenandoah Valley before returning with his men to the trenches around Petersburg, Virginia. He was wounded a third time during the 1865 attack on Fort Stedman.

After the war ended in early 1865, Cook moved to Americus, Georgia, where he set up a law practice and was active in local and state politics. From 1873 to 1883, Cook was a member of the United States House of Representatives as a Democrat,