John Daniel Wood (1840-1921)

Full name
John Daniel Wood (1840-1921)

Vital statistics

 * Sex : Male
 * Born: 8 at Larkinsville, Jackson County, Alabama
 * Died: 3 at Tupelo, Lee County, Mississippi at age ??
 * Interment: d at Priceville Church Cemetery, Tupelo, Lee County, Mississippi

Pedigree
John D. Wood is the son of James Taylor Wood (1813-?) and Mary ___ (1817-?).

Spouses

 * Mary C_____ Wood (10 April 1853-16 October 1906)
 * Emily Parker; married 10 December 1906, Tupelo

Military Service
Wartime personnel records show that Wood enlisted in the 4th Alabama Infantry, recruited from his home area around Scottsboro and commanded by (eventual) Brig. Gen. Evander McIvor Law, on April 27, 1861. He signed up on that date in his hometown, Larkinsville, with a Capt. Lindsay's company of "Larkinsville Guards." By May 7, he was in Lynchburg, Va., where his unit was mustered into the Army of the Confederate States of America.

The muster rolls show John hospitalized in Richmond, for "chronic rheumatism," from March 30 to April 19 and May 7 to May 12, 1862. On June 27, 1862, he was wounded in the leg while taking part in a battle involving Law's 3rd Brigade, near Richmond. Family tradition says he carried a Minié ball, or its scar, for the rest of his life.

Wood took part in the battle of Fredericksburg, Va. on December 11-13, 1862. Law's brigade fought under the command of Maj. Gen. George E. Pickett, forming part of a well-entrenched sector of the Confederate line against which six Union divisions charged in wave after wave on the afternoon of December 13, incurring the majority of the 12,653 casualties, including 1,284 killed, that the Union Army suffered in the overall battle. General Robert E. Lee was watching this fighting when he was heard to make the now-famous remark: "It is well that war is so terrible, or we should grow too fond of it."

Wood missed most of the 4th Alabama's engagements, however, due to wounds or illness. From April 25, 1863, he was absent from his unit, again hospitalized, suffering from "Rubeola" (Measles). As of December 3, 1863, he is still recorded as being in hospital in Montgomery Springs, Va. At some point he returned to duty with comrades in the trenches before Petersburg, Va., where Union forces laid siege beginning in June 1964. On August 4, 1864, he deserted his unit. Captured the next day, he was sent to a Union prison in Philadelphia.

Contributors
EThomasWood