Background
McCook was born in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, the son of an Irish revolutionary, George McCook, who had fled to the United States about 1780.
McCook was born in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, the son of an Irish revolutionary, George McCook, who had fled to the United States about 1780.
He graduated from Jefferson College.
In 1826 the family moved to New Lisbon, Ohio, then to Carrollton, where McCook practiced law. He was an elder at John McMillan"s church. With the outbreak of the Civil War, McCook, although 63 years old, volunteered his services to the Union.
He was commissioned as a major and paymaster.
When Confederate Brigade General John H. Morgan led his troops through southern Ohio during Morgan"s Raid, Major McCook joined in the advance of the Union pursuit.
Early in the morning of July 19, 1863, Federal troops attacked Morgan at Buffington Island, where the Confederates were planning to cross the Ohio River back into Kentucky. McCook was shot and mortally wounded.
He died two days later, and his body was buried with full military honors in Spring Grove Cemetery in Cincinnati, Ohio.
The Daniel McCook House in Carrollton has been restored and was listed in 1970 as a National Historic Place.