Wergeland enrolled at the
Norwegian Military Academy (
Krigsskolen) at the age of twelve, graduating at the age of seventeen. He held the military rank of Second Lieutenant. In 1857 he was promoted to the rank of
colonel, and made chief of the
General Staff. In 1859 he had been promoted to
major general. In 1875, Wergeland was appointed commander of
Akershus Fortress, having reached the rank of
lieutenant general. Wergeland also made his mark on civil life. He was a member of the board of directors of the
Royal Norwegian Society for Development, the
Norwegian Association of Hunters and Anglers and the
Norwegian National Academy of Craft and Art Industry. He wrote books on a broad range of subjects, including the heating and ventilation of rooms, protection of lesser birds and
oyster cultivation. For the latter purpose, he also founded a commercial company
Det Norske Østers Compagni in 1877. Wergeland retired from his military career in 1890. He died in 1893 in
Kristiania. ==Honours and awards==