Born near Dayton, Ohio, September 8, 1830, he graduated from West Point in 1852.
In 1861 he was promoted to Captain and gave good service in Western Virginia and in September was promoted to Brigadier General of U.S. Volunteers, taking command of the Kanawha District.
He was in command of the Division of Cavalry in the Army of the Cumberland, was at Chickamauga and drove Joseph Wheeler across the Tennessee. He was breveted Major General of Volunteers, July 1864, and was put in command of the Army of West Virginia, and took part in General Philip Henry Sheridan’s operations in the Shenandoah Valley. In late February 1865, he was captured by Confederate guerrillas, being exchanged the next month.
He was breveted Brigadier and Major General, U.S. Army on March 14, 1865, afterwards distinguishing himself in several campaigns against Indians, particularly in the battles of Powder River, Tongue River and the Rosebud.
He died on March 21, 1890 at Chicago while in command of the Department of the West. Crook Walk in Arlington National Cemetery is named for him. He was originally buried in Oakland, Maryland, but was moved to Section 2 of Arlington National Cemetery on November 11, 1898.
His wife, Mary Tapscott Dailey Crook, born at Moorefield, Virginia, May 7, 1842 and who died at Oakland, Maryland, September 24, 1895, is buried with him.
Michael Robert Patterson was born in Arlington and is the son of a former officer of the US Army. So it was no wonder that sooner or later his interests drew him to American history and especially to American military history. Many of his articles can be found on renowned portals like the New York Times, Washingtonpost or Wikipedia.
Reviewed by: Michael Howard