John Esten Cooke (November 3, 1830 – September 27, 1886) was an American novelist, writer and poet. He was the brother of poet Philip Pendleton Cooke. During the American Civil War, Cooke was a staff officer for Maj. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart in the Confederate States Army cavalry and, after Stuart’s death, for Brig. Gen. William N. Pendleton.
Cooke has often been labeled by modern historians as part of the “lost cause myth,” I say that’s even more of a reason to read his writings! Although he does embellish stories–Cooke does a good job at romanticizing the Confederacy as the heroes that they truly were.
