Robert Cobb Kennedy

Robert Cobb Kennedy (25 October 1835 – 25 March 1865) was a Confederate operative who was hanged for his role in a failed plot to burn New York City during the American Civil War. Early life and family Kennedy was born in Georgia to John Bailey Kennedy, a physician, and his wife Eliza Lydia Cobb. His mother came from a prominent family, and was a distant relative of Howell Cobb, a Speaker of the U.S. House, U.S. Treasury Secretary, and governor of Georgia. He was the oldest of seven children. His family relocated to Alabama shortly after his birth, but due to declining fortunes they moved again to northwest Louisiana in 1846, settling in Claiborne Parish. The family's fortunes improved in Louisiana, where they amassed over 3,000 acres of land as well as dozens of slaves, making them one of the wealthier families of the region. At the age of 18, Kennedy left home to attend West Point. He entered in the same class as Joseph Wheeler and Edwin H. Stoughton, who would both later serve as generals on opposing sides of the Civil War, but Kennedy proved a poor student. He accumulated numerous demerits and a poor academic record, and was finally thrown out after two years of study when he was caught drunk off-campus with another cadet. After two years of lackluster study, Kennedy returned to Louisiana. He quarreled often with his father and gained a reputation as a heavy drinker.