| Birth Date: | May 7, 1812 |
| Birth Place: | Davidson County, Tennessee, US |
| Death Place: | Cooke County, Texas, US |
| Allegiance: | (1837–1846) (1846–1861) (1861–1862) |
| Branch: | Army |
| Branch Label: | Branch |
| Rank: | Colonel |
| Battles: | |
| Battles Label: | Wars/battles |
Colonel William Cocke Young (May 7, 1812 – October 16, 1862) was an American jurist and Confederate States Army colonel.
Young was born on May 7, 1812, in Davidson County, Tennessee, to Daniel Young and Peggy Branch. In 1837, he moved to nearby Pecan Point, Red River County, Texas. He served as the first sheriff of the county in 1837. On February 5, 1844, Sam Houston appointed him district attorney of the Republic of Texas' Seventh Judicial District.[1]
Young served under Edward H. Tarrant in the Battle of Village Creek, and helped bury John B. Denton afterwards. He served as a representative from Red River County during the Convention of 1845, which resolved the Texas Revolution.
During the Mexican–American War, Young and James G. Bourland organized the 3rd Texas Cavalry Regiment, which Young served as colonel under. They and their army were sent into battle in August 1846.
In 1851, Young moved to Shawneetown, Illinois, where he practiced law for six years before serving one term in the United States Marshals Service. In 1854, he and Charles Stanfield Taylor were appointed Land Commissioners to inspect land titles in West Texas counties, but Young declined the position. In 1856, the Texas Legislature named Young County, Texas in his honor.
During the American Civil War, after consulting with Jefferson Davis in Montgomery, Alabama, Young organized the 11th Texas Cavalry Regiment. In May 1861, he and his army crossed the Red River, stopping possible invasions from the north. He fell ill in 1862 and returned to his home in Cooke County, Texas, where he was involved in the Great Hanging at Gainesville.[2]
During a hunting trip on October 16, 1862, Young was murdered. Following his death, nineteen more Unionists were hung.[3] [4]