Postbellum Career
Cooper's last official act in office was to preserve the official records of the Confederate Army and turn them over intact to the United States government, where they form a part of the Official Records, The War of the Rebellion: a Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, published starting in 1880. Military historians have highly regarded Cooper for this action. Historian Ezra J. Warner believed that in doing so Cooper was "thereby making a priceless contribution to the history of the period."
After the war, Cooper was a farmer at his home, Cameron, near Alexandria, Virginia. His house had been taken over by the U.S. government during the war and turned into a fort, but he was able to move into what had been an overseer's house. Due to his age Cooper earned a meager living. On August 4, 1870, Robert E. Lee, on the behalf of other former Confederates, sent Cooper $300. Lee wrote to him saying, "To this sum I have only been able to add $100, but I hope it may enable you to supply some immediate want and prevent you from taxing your strength too much." Samuel Cooper died at his home in 1876, and is buried there in Christ Church Episcopal Cemetery.
Read more about this topic: Samuel Cooper (general)
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