John Hartwell Cocke
Encyclopedia
John Hartwell Cocke II (September 19, 1780 – June 24, 1866) was an American
military officer, planter and businessman. During the War of 1812
, Cocke was a brigadier general
of the Virginia militia
.
After his military service, he invested in the James River and Kanawha Company
and helped Thomas Jefferson
establish the University of Virginia
. The family estate that Cocke built at Bremo Plantation
is now a National Historic Landmark
.
. With the exception of a younger brother, Robert Kennon Cocke who died in 1790, John Hartwell Cocke II was the only son of eight children born to John Hartwell Cocke I and Elizabeth Kennon Cocke. The elder Cocke was a colonel who married Elizabeth Kennon from another plantation named Mount Pleasant in Chesterfield County, Virginia
. The younger Cocke was orphaned by the age of twelve and was left his father's plantation estate and slaves. At the age of fourteen, Cocke enrolled at The College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia
, where he stayed at the home of Colonel Champion Travis. Cocke graduated as part of the class of 1798. Upon his twenty-first birthday in 1801, he legally inherited the Mount Pleasant plantation.
Cocke married Anne Blaus (or Blaws) Barraud in Norfolk, Virginia
, on December 25, 1802. Her father, Philip Barraud, was a physician who practiced medicine in Williamsburg, where Cocke had studied. Anne stayed in Norfolk until March 1803, while Cocke renovated the plantation home in Surry County. The Cockes had a son, John Hartwell, in 1804 and a daughter, Louisiana Barraud, in 1806 at Mount Pleasant. In 1809, Cocke sold the plantation to his sister Sally and her husband Nicholas Faulcon and moved to Bremo
on the northern bank of the James River
in Fluvanna County, Virginia
. The family had another son, Philip St. George
, in 1809 and another daughter, Ann Blaus, in 1811 at Bremo.
During the War of 1812
, Cocke became a brigadier general
in command of the Virginia militia
based out of Camp Carter and Camp Holly. His brigade
was composed of companies
of troops from Fluvanna County. From 1812 to 1813, Cocke led the defense of Richmond, Virginia
along the Chickahominy River
against British forces.
Cocke was noted for being a distinguished officer; the strict discipline he enforced upon insubordinate soldiers was compared to that of Baron von Steuben
. Cocke rode a bay stallion named Roebuck during the war.
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After the war, Cocke returned to his estate at Bremo, where he again had another son, Cary Charles, in 1814. Cocke's wife Anne died in December 1816, a few months after the birth of their youngest daughter, Sally Faulcon. Anne was buried at Bremo Recess.
In 1819, Cocke completed construction of a large plantation mansion at Upper Bremo with master builder John Neilson, who had worked with Thomas Jefferson
on Monticello
. That year, Cocke was appointed by Virginia governor James Patton Preston
to the first Board of Visitors of the University of Virginia
. By the time Cocke retired from the board in 1852, annual enrollment at the university had reached 400 students.
In 1835, Cocke joined the board of directors of the James River and Kanawha Company
, which was established to develop canals to facilitate water transportation along 200 miles of the James River. The river traffic became an important part of the local economy in the following decades, but a series of floods and the American Civil War
brought an end to this era. By 1848, Cocke started another plantation in Alabama, where he was teaching self-government to slaves for eventual emancipation. He had spent some of his own money to send freed slaves to Liberia
. In 1855, Cocke traded his mansion for the smaller home of his son Cary Charles on the plantation, where he retired for the remainder of his years.
John Hartwell Cocke's son Philip St. George Cocke
became a colonel in the Confederate States Army
, commanding troops at the Battle of Blackburn's Ford and the First Battle of Bull Run
. Though Philip St. George was promoted to brigadier general in 1861, he committed suicide that year over perceived slights from his superior officers.
In 1881, last surviving son Cary Charles Cocke, along with William Cocke and Charles E. Cosby, purchased land nearby in Bremo Bluff
to move a chapel that John Hartwell Cocke had built for his slaves on the plantation. Consecrated
as part of an episcopal church, the Bremo Slave Chapel
was listed on the Virginia Landmarks Register
in December 1979 and the National Register of Historic Places
in March 1980. Cocke's plantation estate was declared a National Historic Landmark
as Bremo Historic District
in November 1971.
, sometimes trading for items grown at Jefferson's Monticello
estate. Cocke collaborated with James Madison
, James Monroe
, and Joseph Carrington Cabell to fulfill Jefferson's dream of establishing the University of Virginia
. Cocke and Jefferson were appointed to the building committee to supervise the construction of the new university. Cocke's conservative practicality occasionally clashed with Jefferson's creative aesthetics, such as his opposition to Jefferson's flat roof design that he felt would compromise the durability of buildings for students.
Cocke's journals have attracted the attention of historians in recent years because of the ongoing debate over Jefferson's relationship
with Sally Hemings
. Cocke wrote of his knowledge that Jefferson had fathered children with his slave mistress. However, unlike former government employee James T. Callender
, who sought to discredit Jefferson with scandal while in office, Cocke never brought up the issue until years after his colleague had passed away.
People of the United States
The people of the United States, also known as simply Americans or American people, are the inhabitants or citizens of the United States. The United States is a multi-ethnic nation, home to people of different ethnic and national backgrounds...
military officer, planter and businessman. During the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
, Cocke was a brigadier general
Brigadier general (United States)
A brigadier general in the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, is a one-star general officer, with the pay grade of O-7. Brigadier general ranks above a colonel and below major general. Brigadier general is equivalent to the rank of rear admiral in the other uniformed...
of the Virginia militia
Virginia Militia
The Virginia militia is an armed force composed of all citizens of the Commonwealth of Virginia capable of bearing arms. The Virginia militia was established in 1607 as part of the British militia system. Militia service in Virginia was compulsory for all free males...
.
After his military service, he invested in the James River and Kanawha Company
James River and Kanawha Canal
The James River and Kanawha Canal was a canal in Virginia, which was built to facilitate shipments of passengers and freight by water between the western counties of Virginia and the coast....
and helped Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
establish the University of Virginia
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
. The family estate that Cocke built at Bremo Plantation
Bremo Historic District
Bremo, also known as Bremo Plantation or Bremo Historic District, is a plantation estate covering on the west side of Bremo Bluff in Fluvanna County, Virginia. The large mansion at Upper Bremo is believed to be based on the architectural work of Thomas Jefferson...
is now a National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
.
Biography
John Hartwell Cocke II was born on September 19, 1780, at the Mount Pleasant plantation in Surry County, VirginiaSurry County, Virginia
As of the census of 2010, there were 7,058 people, 2,619 households, and 1,917 families residing in the county. The population density was 24 people per square mile . There were 3,294 housing units at an average density of 12 per square mile...
. With the exception of a younger brother, Robert Kennon Cocke who died in 1790, John Hartwell Cocke II was the only son of eight children born to John Hartwell Cocke I and Elizabeth Kennon Cocke. The elder Cocke was a colonel who married Elizabeth Kennon from another plantation named Mount Pleasant in Chesterfield County, Virginia
Chesterfield County, Virginia
Chesterfield County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia, a state of the United States. In 2010, its population was estimated to be 316,236. Chesterfield County is now the fourth-largest municipality in Virginia . Its county seat is Chesterfield...
. The younger Cocke was orphaned by the age of twelve and was left his father's plantation estate and slaves. At the age of fourteen, Cocke enrolled at The College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia
Williamsburg, Virginia
Williamsburg is an independent city located on the Virginia Peninsula in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia, USA. As of the 2010 Census, the city had an estimated population of 14,068. It is bordered by James City County and York County, and is an independent city...
, where he stayed at the home of Colonel Champion Travis. Cocke graduated as part of the class of 1798. Upon his twenty-first birthday in 1801, he legally inherited the Mount Pleasant plantation.
Cocke married Anne Blaus (or Blaws) Barraud in Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
, on December 25, 1802. Her father, Philip Barraud, was a physician who practiced medicine in Williamsburg, where Cocke had studied. Anne stayed in Norfolk until March 1803, while Cocke renovated the plantation home in Surry County. The Cockes had a son, John Hartwell, in 1804 and a daughter, Louisiana Barraud, in 1806 at Mount Pleasant. In 1809, Cocke sold the plantation to his sister Sally and her husband Nicholas Faulcon and moved to Bremo
Bremo Historic District
Bremo, also known as Bremo Plantation or Bremo Historic District, is a plantation estate covering on the west side of Bremo Bluff in Fluvanna County, Virginia. The large mansion at Upper Bremo is believed to be based on the architectural work of Thomas Jefferson...
on the northern bank of the James River
James River
The James River may refer to:Rivers in the United States and their namesakes* James River * James River , North Dakota, South Dakota* James River * James River * James River...
in Fluvanna County, Virginia
Fluvanna County, Virginia
As of 2002, Fluvanna County's population was 20,047. There are 7,387 households, and 5,702 families residing in the county. The population density was 70 people per square mile . There were 8,018 housing units at an average density of 28 per square mile...
. The family had another son, Philip St. George
Philip St. George Cocke
Philip St. George Cocke was a brigadier general in the Confederate States Army during the first year of the American Civil War. He is best known for organizing the defense of Virginia along the Potomac River soon after the state's secession from the Union...
, in 1809 and another daughter, Ann Blaus, in 1811 at Bremo.
War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
, Cocke became a brigadier general
Brigadier General
Brigadier general is a senior rank in the armed forces. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of colonel and major general. When appointed to a field command, a brigadier general is typically in command of a brigade consisting of around 4,000...
in command of the Virginia militia
Virginia Militia
The Virginia militia is an armed force composed of all citizens of the Commonwealth of Virginia capable of bearing arms. The Virginia militia was established in 1607 as part of the British militia system. Militia service in Virginia was compulsory for all free males...
based out of Camp Carter and Camp Holly. His brigade
Brigade
A brigade is a major tactical military formation that is typically composed of two to five battalions, plus supporting elements depending on the era and nationality of a given army and could be perceived as an enlarged/reinforced regiment...
was composed of companies
Company (military unit)
A company is a military unit, typically consisting of 80–225 soldiers and usually commanded by a Captain, Major or Commandant. Most companies are formed of three to five platoons although the exact number may vary by country, unit type, and structure...
of troops from Fluvanna County. From 1812 to 1813, Cocke led the defense of Richmond, Virginia
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
along the Chickahominy River
Chickahominy River
The Chickahominy is an river in the eastern portion of the U.S. state of Virginia. The river rises about northwest of Richmond and flows southeast and south to the James River...
against British forces.
Cocke was noted for being a distinguished officer; the strict discipline he enforced upon insubordinate soldiers was compared to that of Baron von Steuben
Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben
Friedrich Wilhelm August Heinrich Ferdinand von Steuben , also referred to as the Baron von Steuben, was a Prussian-born military officer who served as inspector general and Major General of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War...
. Cocke rode a bay stallion named Roebuck during the war.
Post-war life
In 1819, Cocke completed construction of a large plantation mansion at Upper Bremo with master builder John Neilson, who had worked with Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
on Monticello
Monticello
Monticello is a National Historic Landmark just outside Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was the estate of Thomas Jefferson, the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence, third President of the United States, and founder of the University of Virginia; it is...
. That year, Cocke was appointed by Virginia governor James Patton Preston
James Patton Preston
James Patton Preston was a U.S. political figure. He served as the 20th Governor of Virginia between 1816 and 1819. He was the brother-in-law of John Floyd and uncle of James McDowell and John Buchanan Floyd....
to the first Board of Visitors of the University of Virginia
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
. By the time Cocke retired from the board in 1852, annual enrollment at the university had reached 400 students.
In 1835, Cocke joined the board of directors of the James River and Kanawha Company
James River and Kanawha Canal
The James River and Kanawha Canal was a canal in Virginia, which was built to facilitate shipments of passengers and freight by water between the western counties of Virginia and the coast....
, which was established to develop canals to facilitate water transportation along 200 miles of the James River. The river traffic became an important part of the local economy in the following decades, but a series of floods and the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
brought an end to this era. By 1848, Cocke started another plantation in Alabama, where he was teaching self-government to slaves for eventual emancipation. He had spent some of his own money to send freed slaves to Liberia
Liberia
Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open...
. In 1855, Cocke traded his mansion for the smaller home of his son Cary Charles on the plantation, where he retired for the remainder of his years.
Legacy
Philip St. George Cocke
Philip St. George Cocke was a brigadier general in the Confederate States Army during the first year of the American Civil War. He is best known for organizing the defense of Virginia along the Potomac River soon after the state's secession from the Union...
became a colonel in the Confederate States Army
Confederate States Army
The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...
, commanding troops at the Battle of Blackburn's Ford and the First Battle of Bull Run
First Battle of Bull Run
First Battle of Bull Run, also known as First Manassas , was fought on July 21, 1861, in Prince William County, Virginia, near the City of Manassas...
. Though Philip St. George was promoted to brigadier general in 1861, he committed suicide that year over perceived slights from his superior officers.
In 1881, last surviving son Cary Charles Cocke, along with William Cocke and Charles E. Cosby, purchased land nearby in Bremo Bluff
Bremo Bluff, Virginia
Bremo Bluff is an unincorporated community located on the northern bank of the James River in Fluvanna County, Virginia, United States. The locale was established by the Cocke family in 1636. During the American Civil War, the family of General Robert E. Lee sought refuge in the community...
to move a chapel that John Hartwell Cocke had built for his slaves on the plantation. Consecrated
Consecration
Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service, usually religious. The word "consecration" literally means "to associate with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different groups...
as part of an episcopal church, the Bremo Slave Chapel
Bremo Slave Chapel
Bremo Slave Chapel, constructed in 1835 and located in Bremo Bluff, Virginia, USA, is the only slave chapel known to exist in the Commonwealth of Virginia. This Gothic Revival structure originally served as a place of worship for the slaves at the Bremo Plantation of General John Hartwell Cocke...
was listed on the Virginia Landmarks Register
Virginia Landmarks Register
The Virginia Landmarks Register is a list of historic properties in the state of Virginia. The state's official list of important historic sites, it was created in 1966. The Register serves the same purpose as the National Register of Historic Places...
in December 1979 and the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in March 1980. Cocke's plantation estate was declared a National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
as Bremo Historic District
Bremo Historic District
Bremo, also known as Bremo Plantation or Bremo Historic District, is a plantation estate covering on the west side of Bremo Bluff in Fluvanna County, Virginia. The large mansion at Upper Bremo is believed to be based on the architectural work of Thomas Jefferson...
in November 1971.
Collaboration with Thomas Jefferson
Cocke was a longtime associate of former president Thomas JeffersonThomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
, sometimes trading for items grown at Jefferson's Monticello
Monticello
Monticello is a National Historic Landmark just outside Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was the estate of Thomas Jefferson, the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence, third President of the United States, and founder of the University of Virginia; it is...
estate. Cocke collaborated with James Madison
James Madison
James Madison, Jr. was an American statesman and political theorist. He was the fourth President of the United States and is hailed as the “Father of the Constitution” for being the primary author of the United States Constitution and at first an opponent of, and then a key author of the United...
, James Monroe
James Monroe
James Monroe was the fifth President of the United States . Monroe was the last president who was a Founding Father of the United States, and the last president from the Virginia dynasty and the Republican Generation...
, and Joseph Carrington Cabell to fulfill Jefferson's dream of establishing the University of Virginia
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
. Cocke and Jefferson were appointed to the building committee to supervise the construction of the new university. Cocke's conservative practicality occasionally clashed with Jefferson's creative aesthetics, such as his opposition to Jefferson's flat roof design that he felt would compromise the durability of buildings for students.
Cocke's journals have attracted the attention of historians in recent years because of the ongoing debate over Jefferson's relationship
Jefferson DNA Data
The Jefferson-Hemings controversy concerns the question of whether there was an intimate relationship between Thomas Jefferson and his mixed-race slave, Sally Hemings. The controversy started as early as the 1790s...
with Sally Hemings
Sally Hemings
Sarah "Sally" Hemings was a mixed-race slave owned by President Thomas Jefferson through inheritance from his wife. She was the half-sister of Jefferson's wife, Martha Wayles Skelton Jefferson by their father John Wayles...
. Cocke wrote of his knowledge that Jefferson had fathered children with his slave mistress. However, unlike former government employee James T. Callender
James T. Callender
James Callender was a political pamphleteer and journalist whose writing was controversial in his native Scotland and the United States. His contemporary reputation was as a "scandalmonger", due to the content of some of his reporting, which overshadowed the political content...
, who sought to discredit Jefferson with scandal while in office, Cocke never brought up the issue until years after his colleague had passed away.
See also
- American Colonization SocietyAmerican Colonization SocietyThe American Colonization Society , founded in 1816, was the primary vehicle to support the "return" of free African Americans to what was considered greater freedom in Africa. It helped to found the colony of Liberia in 1821–22 as a place for freedmen...
- American Temperance UnionAmerican Temperance UnionA national temperance union was formed in the United States 1826. Shortly thereafter, a second national temperance union was organized and the two groups merged in 1833 to form the American Temperance Union...
External links
- Fluvanna's John Hartwell Cocke at Cedar Creek Publishing
- John Hartwell Cocke II at Mount Pleasant Plantation
- John Hartwell Cocke's letters to Thomas Jefferson (May 3, 1819)