[1] After taking an interest in medicine, Wood went to South Carolina to begin a study under Dr. Waring and afterwards, went to attend the Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and earned the rank of M.D.

He then moved to Utica, New York to practice medicine there until May 28, 1825, where he joined the United States Army as an assistant surgeon and was then stationed at the Detroit Barracks but was then transferred to Fort Snelling until May 1833 with the 1st Infantry Regiment.

[1] Wood arrived at Corpus Christi, Texas in October and after spending the winter there, he was sent to a camp that overlooked Matamoros, Tamaulipas.

Due to his brother-in-law Jefferson Davis being elected United States Secretary of War, Wood was then assigned to become the Acting Surgeon General of Thomas Lawson's administration.

[1] With Lawson's death in 1861 however, there was an opening for Lawson's successor and Wood was a strong candidate due to his extensive experience within the medical field however due to the rise of the Republican Party, President Abraham Lincoln chose to put Clement Finley in the office instead.