Item No. 1258225

A signed CDV portrait of Brigadier General Henry Clay Wood, best known for receiving the Medal of Honor for his action at the Battle of WIlson’s Creek. On the reverse is the imprint of photographer G. Grelling of Detroit, Michigan. Wood signed in ink, “H. Clay Wood / U.S.A.” The photograph was part of the album of Bernard J. D. Irwin, the noted army surgeon, naturalist, and fellow Medal of Honor recipient. The two likely encountered each other in St. Louis or Memphis during the war. The carte measures about 2 1/2” x 4”.

Wood entered the U.S. Army as a second lieutenant of infantry in 1856. At the outbreak of the Civil War he served in Missouri under General Nathaniel Lyon and commanded a company of mounted rifle recruits at the Battle of Wilson’s Creek. He was wounded during the fighting, but maintained control of his largely untrained command and led it in covering the Union retreat under heavy fire, actions for which he later received the Medal of Honor. He was promoted to captain later that year and served on the staff of John C. Frémont during the Pathfinder’s command of the Department of the West, afterward holding mustering and disbursing duties in the Provost Marshal General’s Bureau. He received brevet promotions through colonel in 1865 for faithful and meritorious service. He served in several commands through the postwar years and retired in 1896. He was promoted brevet brigadier general in 1904 and died in 1918. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.