- John Taylor Wood
John Taylor Wood (
August 13 ,1830 –July 19 ,1904 ) was an officer in theU.S. Navy who became acaptain in theConfederate Navy during theAmerican Civil War .The son of Robert Crooke Wood, an Army surgeon, and
Anne Mackall Taylor , daughter of PresidentZachary Taylor , Wood was born inMinnesota onAugust 13 1830 . He became a U.S. NavyMidshipman in 1847 and graduated from theU.S. Naval Academy in 1853. He served at sea during the last part of theMexican-American War , off the coast ofAfrica and in theMediterranean , as well as performing shore duty as a Naval Academy officer. In April 1861,Lieutenant Wood's southern sympathies led him to resign from the Navy and take up farming nearAnnapolis, Maryland . Fearing arrest, he later went toVirginia and, in October 1861, received a commission as a Confederate NavyFirst Lieutenant .Following service with shore batteries on the Potomac, he became an officer in the newly-converted
ironclad "Virginia", participating in her actions with Union forces in theHampton Roads area. In May 1862, after "Virginia" was destroyed, he assisted with the defense ofDrewry's Bluff , on the James River. During the next two years, Wood led several successful raids against Federal ships and also served as naval aide to Confederate PresidentJefferson Davis . Promoted toCommander in May 1863, he simultaneously held the rank ofColonel in thecavalry . These dual ranks, with his reputation for extraordinary daring and his family connections to Confederate leaders, allowed him to play an important liaison role between the South's army, navy and civil government.In August 1864, Wood commanded "
CSS Tallahassee " during her very fruitful cruise against U.S. shipping off the Atlantic coast. He received the rank ofCaptain in February 1865. A few months later, as the Confederacy was disintegrating, he took part in President Davis' attempts to evade capture. Though briefly taken prisoner, Wood was able to make his way toCuba . He subsequently went to Halifax, Nova Scotia, where he became a businessman. John Taylor Wood died there on July 19, 1904.Descendents
* oldest son
Zachary Taylor Wood was ActingRoyal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Commissioner andCommissioner of the Yukon Territory from 1902 to 1903.
* youngest son LieutenantCharles Carroll Wood , graduated from theRoyal Military College of Canada 1896 student # 352 served forCanada in theBoer War and died in 1899. He is memorialized on the Royal Military College Memorial Arch.
* GrandsonStuart Taylor Wood was RCMP Commissioner
* Great-grandsonJohn Taylor Wood was named in his honour and is a retired RCMP Superintedent.
* GrandsonDonald Taylor Wood served in the431 Squadron in theRoyal Canadian Air Force and died in 1944.ource
* [http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/pers-us/uspers-w/jt-wood.htm U.S. Naval Historical Center]
References
*Shingleton, Royce, "John Taylor Wood Sea Ghost of the Confederacy", University of Georgia Press, 1979
External links
* [http://www.biographi.ca/009004-119.01-e.php?&id_nbr=7152 Biography at the "Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online"]
* [http://ns1763.ca/hfxrm/woodtaylor.html Photographs of John Taylor Wood's tombstone, Halifax, Nova Scotia]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.