Henry Clay Wood was born in Winthrop, Maine, on May 26, 1832, and attended Bowdoin College, where he received a AB degree in 1854. He entered the military service on March 28, 1856 as a major and aide-de-camp to Major General Samuel Wood of the Maine Militia. On June 27, 1856, he was commissioned a second lieutenant in the First U. S. Infantry, and was promoted to first lieutenant on May 10, 1861.
Wood was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions during the Battle of Wilson’s Creek on August 10, 1861. Although his citation reads simply “Distinguished Gallantry,” Lieutenant Wood, after being wounded, held his company of recruits together and led them in an orderly retreat from Ray’s Cornfield while under heavy Confederate musket fire. The award was not presented to Wood until October 28, 1893.
Henry Clay Wood continued his service in the U. S. Army, rising to the rank of brigadier general; he retired on May 26, 1896. He died on August 30, 1918, and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery with members of his family.
Image Courtesy Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield Library Collection
