John Alexander Cocke

John Alexander Cocke (December 28, 1772February 16, 1854) was an American politician and soldier who represented Tennessee's 2nd district in the United States House of Representatives from 1819 to 1827. He also served several terms in the Tennessee Senate and the Tennessee House of Representatives, and was Speaker of the latter for two sessions (1811–1813 and 1837–1839). During the Creek War, Cocke commanded the Eastern Division of the Tennessee militia. Early life Cocke was born in Brunswick in Nottoway County in the Colony of Virginia in 1772, the eldest son of frontiersman and future senator, William Cocke, and wife Mary (Maclin) Cocke. While still a young child, he moved with his parents across the Appalachian Mountains to what is now Tennessee, where his father was active in the State of Franklin movement. The family settled in what is now Grainger County, but was then part of Hawkins County. The younger Cocke studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1793. Cocke was elected to the inaugural Tennessee Senate in 1796, serving until 1801. In 1807, he was elected to the Tennessee House of Representatives, and was elevated to Speaker in 1811. On April 26, 1808, Cocke shot and mortally wounded Knoxville merchant Thomas Dardis in a duel. In November 1811, during the first year of Cocke's speakership, the House voted to impeach his father, William, then a state supreme court justice. Creek War At the outbreak of the War of 1812, Cocke was Major General of the Eastern Division of the Tennessee militia, while Andrew Jackson was Major General of the Western Division. Responding to President James Madison's request for troops, Governor Willie Blount ordered Jackson and the Western Division south to Natchez in early 1813. Though Jackson's army was recalled within a few weeks, members of the Eastern Division grew restless, wanting to join the war. Cocke and a number of men (including his 65-year-old father, William) joined Colonel John Williams on a raid into the Seminole country of Florida in February 1813.