Wood (c. 1836 – July 1, 1878) was a Union Navy sailor in the American Civil War and a recipient of the U.S. military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor, for his actions at the Battle of Suffolk.
Born in about 1836 in New Garden, Ohio, Wood was still living in that city when he joined the Navy.
During the Battle of Suffolk on April 14, 1863, he was temporarily assigned to the USS Mount Washington as it conducted operations on the Nansemond River in Virginia.
Mount Washington, during action against the enemy in the Nansemond River, 14 April 1863.
Mount Washington drifted against the bank and all men were driven from the decks by escaping steam following several successive hits which struck her boilers and stopped her engines, Wood boarded the stricken vessel and, despite a strike on the head by a spent ball, continued at his gun for 6 hours as fierce artillery and musketry continued to rake her decks.