[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.

[5] Wood was born on August 13, 1830,[4] at Fort Snelling then in the Northwest Territory near present-day St. Paul, Minnesota.

At the end of the Mexican War in 1848, Wood returned to Ohio and saw service in the newly acquired California territory during the gold rush.

After serving at sea on Ohio for three years, Wood's ship returned to Boston where he was given a three-month leave of absence.

[8] Wood served at sea during the last part of the Mexican–American War, performing shore duty as a Naval Academy officer.

During the last part of the war he sailed off the coast of Africa suppressing the African slave trade and in the Mediterranean.

He served aboard USS Porpoise patrolling in the Gulf of Guinea when it captured a Spanish slave ship.

The voyage lasted three weeks and was pitted against stormy seas but Wood succeeded in reaching Monrovia with his ship and passengers intact.

The authorities in Liberia denied Wood the right to land his human cargo in the capital and he was forced on another one hundred and fifty mile voyage to Grand Bassa.

[10] Following service with shore batteries on the Potomac River,[11] he became an officer in the newly converted ironclad CSS Virginia serving under Commander Buchanan.

[2][6] Wood commanded the stern pivot gun during the battle and fired the shot that seriously wounded Lieutenant John Lorimer Worden, captain of Monitor.

During the next two years, Wood led several successful raids against Federal ships and also served as naval aide to Confederate President Jefferson Davis.

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.

A few months later, as the Confederacy was disintegrating, he accompanied President Davis in his attempt to evade capture and leave the country.