Charles R. Woods
Charles Robert Woods | |
|---|---|
2nd U.S. Infantry | |
| Battles/wars |
|
Charles Robert Woods (February 19, 1827 – February 26, 1885) was a career United States Army officer and a Union general during the American Civil War. He is noted for commanding the relief troops that first attempted to resupply Fort Sumter prior to the start of the conflict, and served with distinction during the war.
Early life and career
Charles Woods was born in the city of Newark in Licking County, Ohio, the younger brother of William Burnham Woods and the brother-in-law of Willard Warner, both future Union generals.[1] He grew up on his family's farm in Ohio, where he received a minimal education from tutoring.[2]
Woods entered the
Civil War service
In early 1861, Woods was ordered by the U.S. Army to lead reinforcements to Fort Sumter, located in
On January 8 at dark Woods arrived off Charleston Harbor, and when it was light enough on January 9 they entered the bay. Woods and the steamer weren't fired upon until they arrived within one and three-quarter miles (about three kilometers) of both Sumter and Fort Moultrie, when they were fired on by an artillery battery near the northern end of Morris Island. Woods described in his report what occurred next:[6]
We kept on, still under the fire of the battery, most of the balls passing over us, one just missing the machinery, another striking but a few feet from the rudder, while a ricochet shot struck us in the fore-chains, about two feet above the water line... The American flag Was flying at Fort Sumter, but we saw no flag at Fort Moultrie, and there were no guns fired from either of these fortifications. Finding it impossible to take my command to Fort Sumter, I was obliged most reluctantly to turn about, and try to make my way out of the harbor before my retreat should be cut off by vessels then in sight...[6]
Woods and the Star of the West returned to New York Harbor on January 12, 1861, and he filed his full report the next day from
In 1862, Woods began his
Woods fought with distinction at the
Postbellum
Woods chose to continue his military career and remain in the U.S. Army after the end of the American Civil War. He was assigned to command the Department of
On September 24, 1866, Woods was transferred to the
Woods died at the age of 58 at his estate named "Woodside" in Newark, Ohio.[5] He was buried there in Cedar Hill Cemetery, as would be his brother and brother-in-law.[1]
See also
References
- Eicher, John H., and ISBN 0-8047-3641-3.
- Warner, Ezra J., Generals in Blue: The Lives of the Union Commanders, Louisiana State University Press, 1964, ISBN 0-8071-0822-7.
- link Woods' report about Sumter expedition, from the Official Records, U.S. War Department, 1901, Series 1, Vol. 1, Chapter 1.
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f g h Eicher, p. 581.
- ^ Warner, p. 571.
- ^ Eicher, p. 580.
- ^ Warner, pp. 571-2.
- ^ a b c d e Warner, p. 572.
- ^ a b c d "Woods' report on Sumter expedition". www.civilwarhome.com. Retrieved 2008-09-08.
- ^ Promotion in the Regular Army was a permanent rank, compared to a promotion in the volunteer service (Union Army), which was not permanent.
- ^ Eicher, p. 581. To Brig. Gen. for Atlanta, Ga. and to Maj. Gen. for Bentonville, N.C.
External links
Accompanying Document No. 11 to “Report of Carl Schurz on the States of South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana,” 1865.
