John Taylor Wood

John Taylor Wood
John Taylor Wood
BornAugust 13, 1830
Fort Snelling, Michigan Territory, United States
DiedJuly 19, 1904(1904-07-19) (aged 73)
Nova Scotia, Canada
Allegiance United States of America
 Confederate States of America
Service / branch United States Navy
 Confederate States Navy
 Confederate States Army
Years of service1847–1861 (USN)
1861–1865 (CSN)
Rank Lieutenant (USN)
Captain (CSN)
Colonel
Battles / warsMexican-American War
Suppression of the Slave Trade
American Civil War
RelationsZachary Taylor (grandfather)

John Taylor Wood (August 13, 1830 – July 19, 1904) was an officer in the United States Navy and the Confederate Navy. He resigned from the U.S. Navy at the beginning of the American Civil War, and became a "leading Confederate naval hero" as a captain in the Confederate Navy.[1] He was a lieutenant serving aboard CSS Virginia when it engaged USS Monitor in 1862,[2] one of the most famous naval battles in Civil War and U.S. Naval history.[3] He was caught in 1865 in Georgia with Confederate President Jefferson Davis's party, but escaped and made his way to Cuba.[3] From there, he got to Halifax, Nova Scotia, where he settled and became a merchant. His wife and children joined him there, and more children were born in Canada, which is where he lived out the remainder of his life.

  1. ^ Bell, 2002, p.68
  2. ^ Bell, 2002, p.1
  3. ^ a b Bell, 2002, p.41