Francis Cockrell

Francis Cockrell

Francis Marion Cockrell (born on 1. October 1834 in Warrensburg, Johnson County, Missouri ; † 13. December 1915 in Washington, DC ) was a US senator and Brigadier General of Confederate in the Civil War and a member of the Interstate Commerce Commission .

Life

Francis Marion Cockrell was the son of Joseph Cockrell and Nancy Ellis. His older brother was Jeremiah Vardaman Cockrell , who was a member of the US Congress in the late 19th century . Cockrell attended local schools and graduated from Chapel Hill College in Lafayette County in 1853. He then studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1855. He practiced in Warrensburg.

With the start of the Civil War he went as captain for the Confederate Army and served in the Missouri State Guard . Promoted to Brigadier General with his own command, he played an important role in the Battle of Vicksburg from May 18 to July 4, 1863. In April 1865, he was captured by Union troops in Alabama and released a few weeks later on word of honor .

After his release, Cockrell went back to Missouri, continued his legal practice and engaged in politics. In 1874 he was elected to the US Senate as the Democratic representative for Missouri and took over the office on a rotating basis in 1875. There he succeeded Carl Schurz . He was re-elected four times, giving him a 30-year term. As a result of the landslide victory of the Republicans under Theodore Roosevelt in 1904, he lost his re-election. In the Senate, worked on the grant and military committees.

Roosevelt nominated him immediately after taking office after re-election for the seat of James D. Yeomans on the Interstate Commerce Commission. Confirmation by the Senate followed shortly afterwards and he took up his position on March 11, 1905 with a term of office until December 31, 1910.

In 1911, he was President Taft member of the Commission to define the boundaries between Texas and New Mexico appointed. 1913 called in President Wilson as a civilian on the board of directors for the procurement of the army. He was a member of this body until his death. His successor was Balthasar H. Meyer .

literature

• David J. Eicher: The Civil War in Books: An Analytical Bibliography. University of Illinois, 1997, ISBN 0-252-02273-4 .
• Richard N. Current: Encyclopedia of the Confederacy. 1993 4 vol. ISBN 0-13-275991-8 .
• John H. Eicher & David J. Eicher: Civil War High Commands. Stanford University Press 2001, ISBN 0-8047-3641-3 .
• Ezra J. Warner: Generals in Gray: Lives of the Confederate Commanders. Louisiana State University Press 1959, ISBN 0-8071-0823-5 .

Web links

• Francis Cockrell in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)

• Francis Cockrell in the database of Find a Grave (English)
• Clarence Altha Miller: The lives of the Interstate Commerce Commissioners and the Commission's secretaries. Washington, 1946 ( hathitrust.org [accessed June 25, 2019]).