Philip St. George Cocke

Biography

Philip St. George Cocke, born in 1809, was a Virginia planter and militia leader who turned his attention to the defense of his home state as sectional tensions crescendoed. When the Confederacy formed, he accepted duty as a brigadier, bringing to the new army the experience and discipline he had cultivated overseeing his lands and helping to guide his community.

He labored through the early months of 1861 trying to shape a reliable force, and though the burdens weighed heavily upon him, his commitment to Virginia's soldiers never wavered. He was laid to rest in Hollywood Cemetery, where visitors can reflect on the often painful demands placed on those early leaders.