[1] In 1861, Wright enlisted in the Union Army for the American Civil War, becoming a private in Company I, 39th Ohio Infantry.

[1] After the war, Wright took part in the activities of several veterans' organizations, including the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States and the Grand Army of the Republic.

[1] Following his discharge from the army, Wright determined to pursue a legal career rather than a medical one, and began to study law in the office of Dewitt Clinton Loudon, a Georgetown, Ohio attorney and fellow Union Army veteran.

After a court reorganization, in 1897 Wright was reelected to the bench, this time as judge of the Sixth Circuit.

His service terminated on March 16, 1905, due to his appointment to the Eastern District of Illinois.