From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
James Wallace Cooke
(August 23, 1812 ? June 21, 1869) was an American naval officer, serving in the
United States Navy
and during the
American Civil War
serving in the
Confederate Navy
.
Pre-war life
[
edit
]
James Wallace Cooke was born in
Beaufort, North Carolina
, and was orphaned at the age of 4. In 1828, with the help of his uncle, he was appointed to the United States Navy as a
Midshipman
. In May 1861, while holding the rank of
Lieutenant
, he resigned his U.S. commission.
Civil War service
[
edit
]
At the start of the Civil War in 1861 Cooke joined the
Virginia
State Navy, and entered the service of the
Confederacy
in the following June. Later that year he was placed in command of the small
gunboat
CSS
Ellis
, and was captured with her after a hard fight near
Roanoke Island
, North Carolina on February 10, 1862. Wounded in that action and soon paroled, he was promoted to
commander
in June 1862.
CSS
Albemarle
Commander Cooke's next assignment was to oversee the construction of the
ironclad
ram
CSS
Albemarle
, under construction at "Edward's Ferry" near modern-day
Scotland Neck, North Carolina
, from January 1863. After many difficulties,
Albemarle
was successfully completed in April 1864, and Cooke became her commanding officer. On April 19 and May 5, he took her into action against Federal forces, sinking one gunboat and disabling or driving off others. That June he was promoted to the rank of
captain
and was later placed in charge of Confederate naval forces on North Carolina's internal waters, holding that position until the end of the Civil War in 1865.
Late life and death
[
edit
]
James W. Cooke died at
Portsmouth, Virginia
in 1869, and is buried at
Cedar Grove Cemetery
.
References
[
edit
]
- This article incorporates text from the
public domain
U.S. Naval Historical Center
.