Editing Lemuel Cook

{{short description|American Revolutionary War veteran}}
{{Infobox military person
|name=Lemuel Cook
|birth_date = {{Birth date|1759|9|10}}
|death_date = {{Death date and age|1866|5|20|1759|9|10}}
|image=Lemuel Cook-2.jpg
|caption=Cook {{circa}} 1864
|birth_place=[[Litchfield County, Connecticut|Litchfield County]], [[Colony of Connecticut]], [[British America]]
|death_place=[[Clarendon, New York]], U.S.<ref>[http://www.burrcook.com/history/lemuel.htm Lemuel Cook – The Last Revolutionary Patriot and Pensioner – Dead]. Rochester Union Advertiser. May 22, 1866</ref>
|placeofburial=
|placeofburial_label=
|nickname= 
|allegiance= {{Flag|United States of America|1777}}
|branch= {{Flagicon image|Gadsden flag.svg}} [[Continental Army]]<br/>{{flag|United States Army|1784}}
|serviceyears= 1775&ndash;1784
|unit= [[2nd Continental Light Dragoons]]
|rank = [[Private (rank)|Private]]
|spouse = Hannah Curtis
|children = 10
|commands= 
|battles= [[American Revolution]]
*[[Battle of White Plains|Battle of Valentine's Hill]]
*[[Battle of Brandywine]]
*[[Siege of Yorktown]]
|awards= 
|relations=
|laterwork= [[Agriculture in the United States|Farmer]]
}}
'''Lemuel Cook''' (September 10, 1759 – May 20, 1866) was one of the last verifiable surviving [[veteran]]s of the [[American Revolutionary War]].

==Early life and education==
Cook was born on September 10, 1759,<ref name=":0" /> in [[Litchfield County, Connecticut]], to Henry Cook and his wife Hannah Benham.

==Military service==
Cook enlisted in the [[Continental Army]] in 1775 at the age of 16. He was assigned to the [[2nd Continental Light Dragoons]], and by his death he was the last surviving member.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.dragoons.info/Trooper%20Trails.htm |title=Sheldon’s Veterans Records<!-- Bot generated title --> |access-date=2005-12-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060718005214/http://www.dragoons.info/Trooper%20Trails.htm |archive-date=2006-07-18 |url-status=dead }}</ref> He fought at [[Battle of Brandywine|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 Democrat since the party’s establishment in 1828. His church was [[Congregational]]. He lived in [[Plymouth, Connecticut]] (then Northbury) until 1790, when he moved to [[Clinton, Oneida County, New York|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 one of the oldest and among the last living pensioners of the American Revolution. He died May 20, 1866,<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=Root Cemetery|url=https://orleans.nygenweb.net/cemeteries/cemroot.htm|access-date=2020-06-07|website=orleans.nygenweb.net}}</ref> 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 [[freemasonry|Masonic]] honors. At the time of his death, only three other revolutionary veterans (Samuel Downing, [[Daniel F. Bakeman]] and [[John Gray (American Revolutionary War)|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.

==See also==
{{Portal|Biography|Connecticut}}
*[[Last surviving United States war veterans]]

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
*Reverend E.B. Hillard, ''[[The Last Men of the Revolution]]'' (1864), republished 1968 with additional notes by Wendell Garrett.
*Don N. Hagist, "The Revolution's Last Men: The Soldiers Behind the Photographs, Hardcover – April 6, 2015

==External links==
*[http://www.burrcook.com/history/lemuel.htm Lemuel Cook: Last Survivor of the Revolutionary War from a Burr/Cook genealogy page]
*[https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/18755968 Burial site of Lemuel Cook at Find a Grave]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cook, Lemuel}}
[[Category:1759 births]]
[[Category:1866 deaths]]
[[Category:American men centenarians]]
[[Category:Continental Army soldiers]]
[[Category:United States Army soldiers]]
[[Category:People from Litchfield County, Connecticut]]
[[Category:People from Clarendon, New York]]


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