Born in South Carolina, Cooper married his first wife, Lucinda, and moved first to Tennessee and then to Courtland, Alabama.

In November 1835, Cooper joined Courtland doctor Jack Shackelford's Alabama Red Rovers,[2] a filibuster force raised to support Texas' effort to secede from Mexico[3] Cooper remained in camp with the Rovers until December 12, 1835 when the unit set out for Texas, stopping first in New Orleans and arriving at Dimmit's Landing on Lavaca Bay on January 19, 1836.

[3] From there, the Red Rovers joined James Fannin's command and on March 19–20, fought in the Battle of Coleto Creek where Cooper suffered minor wounds.

[4] Cooper soon linked up with three other surviving members of Red Rovers, Zachariah S. Brooks, Wilson Simpson, and Isaac D. Hamilton.

[5] The same source claims that near the end of his life Cooper was living on a "pitiful pension" of $150 a year from the state of Texas leaving him in poverty.