Lemuel Cook


Lemuel Cook was one of the last verifiable surviving veterans of the American Revolutionary War.

Early life and education

Cook was born in September 10, 1759, in Litchfield County, Connecticut, to Henry Cook and his wife Hannah Benham.

Military service

Enlisting in the Continental Army at the age of 16, Cook was assigned to the 2nd Continental Light Dragoons, and by his death he was the last surviving member. He fought at Brandywine and in the Virginian campaign, and was wounded several times. He was present at Charles Cornwallis' surrender in October 1781. He received an honorable discharge signed by George Washington on June 12, 1784.

Later life and death

Following the war, Cook became a farmer and married Hannah Curtis. They had seven sons and three daughters.
He was an active Mason and a lifelong Democrat. His church was Congregational. He lived in Plymouth, Connecticut until 1790, where he then moved to Clinton, New York. In 1795 he returned to Plymouth, then moved to Pompey, New York in 1805. He moved to North Bergen, New York in 1821 and finally to Clarendon, New York in 1832.
Lemuel was the oldest and last living pensioner of the American Revolution. He died May 20, 1866, at the age of 106, having lived to see the start and the end of the American Civil War. He was buried with full military and Masonic honors. At the time of his death, only three other revolutionary veterans Samuel Downing, Daniel F. Bakeman and John Gray) were still alive.

Photography

He was one of seven American Revolutionary War veterans who, having survived into the age of photography, were featured in the 1864 book The Last Men of the Revolution, which gives many details of his life.