Early life and career Born in
Baltimore, Maryland, Wood graduated from the
Medical School at the
University of Maryland, was appointed Assistant Surgeon on May 16, 1829, and, between 1830 and 1834, served with the
West Indies and
Home Squadrons, as well as with the
Army during the
Seminole Wars. For several years he conducted a medical practice in
Terre Haute, Indiana, where he and his family followed his mother and siblings in relocating from Baltimore after the completion of the
National Road in 1834. He resumed sea duty as Passed Assistant Surgeon aboard the
ship-of-the-line in 1836, sailing to
St. Petersburg, Russia, where
Czar Nicholas boarded and inspected, before the
Independence sailed to the South Atlantic. His wife Hannah died while he was serving on the
Independence and he returned to Terre Haute to tend to his young daughters Hannah and Elizabeth and the family property in the middle of 1838. During 1839 he served with the West Indies Squadron and the
receiving ship in Baltimore, before being assigned to the Pacific Squadron in 1843. He became Fleet Surgeon with the
Pacific Squadron in 1844 and, upon completion of his tour in 1846, was about to return to the United States when relations between that country and Mexico became decidedly strained. The commander of the Navy's Pacific Squadron, Commodore
John D. Sloat, consequently entrusted certain dispatches to Wood to carry back to the United States with him. Wood volunteered to travel through Mexico and report upon conditions there. Accompanied by the American consul from
Mazatlán, Mexico, the former fleet surgeon commenced his journey across Mexico.
Mexican–American War Arriving at
Guadalajara on May 10, Wood and his companion found the town "in a high state of agitation" owing to the reception there of the news of the battles between American and Mexican forces
at Palo Alto and
Resaca de la Palma, on the
Rio Grande. The surgeon immediately wrote a dispatch to Sloat at Mazatlán, and it was delivered in five days – an exceptional occurrence in those days. His message that hostilities with Mexico had actually commenced was the first tidings of that nature that Sloat had received. Wood meanwhile continued on his journey across Mexico and subsequently arrived at Mexico City to be "startled and shocked by hearing newsboys crying through the streets 'Grand victory over the North Americans. He later learned through a trusted friend of the Mexican minister of war that General
Zachary Taylor's men had, in fact, annihilated the
Mexican Army's choice
regiment. Surgeon Wood remained in Mexico City not less than a week and gathered more information which he sent off to Commodore Sloat, apprising him of the situation, via Guadalajara. Wood continued his mission, as he had since the beginning of it, in civilian clothes—running the risk of being apprehended as a spy—and, while posing as an
Englishman, inspected the defenses of the castle at
Chapultepec. Continuing on to Veracruz, the surgeon carefully took notes on Mexico, its condition and resources. Ultimately, the physician reached a neutral man-of-war and was taken to the
flagship of the American blockading squadron. Sailing on a vessel especially detached for the purpose, Wood carried the vital intelligence information to Washington, D.C. Meanwhile, Commodore Sloat took action. As he later recorded in a letter to Wood, "The information you furnished me at Mazatlan from the City of Mexico, via Guadalajara, (at the risk of your life) was the only reliable information I received of that event, and which induced me to proceed immediately to California, and upon my own responsibility to take possession of that country, which I did on 7 July 1846." Sloat considered the performance of Wood's journey through Mexico "as an extraordinary feat, requiring great courage, presence of mind, and address. How you escaped from the heart of an enemy's country ... has always been a wonder to me."
1848–1861 Following the
Mexican–American War, Wood served in the
receiving ship at Baltimore and later went to the
steamer , the first US Navy iron-hulled warship, operating on the
Great Lakes, and homeported in Erie, Pennsylvania. During this period, he sold his property in Terre Haute, and married a niece of President Zachary Taylor, Rose Mary Carson, daughter of
Pennsylvania Senate leader Thomas Carson, and made his home with his family in Erie Pennsylvania until the end of the Civil War. Dr. Wood and Rose had six sons and a daughter, including William Maxwell Jr,
Charles Erskine Scott, Thomas Carson, Peter Bryson, James McIntosh, David Abbott, and Roberta Morgan. While in Erie, Wood treated President Zachary Taylor during a visit to Erie, and became Taylor's personal consulting physician. From 1853 to 1855 Wood served at the Naval Hospital at
Sackett's Harbor, New York. He again served as Fleet Surgeon—this time with the
East India Squadron—from 1856 to 1858, serving under Commodore
James Armstrong aboard the , and took part in the negotiations with the King of
Siam in opening that country to American trade, in establishing the first American consulate to Japan, and in Commander
Andrew H. Foote's attack upon the
Chinese Barrier Forts—of "enormous strength ... built of large blocks of granite ... heavily armed."—at
Canton, China, in response to Chinese attacks upon American shipping during the
Second Opium War.
American Civil War Wood subsequently served a second tour in
Michigan before he became Fleet Surgeon for the
Western Gulf Blockading Squadron aboard the , and the
North Atlantic Blockading Squadron during the
American Civil War. While serving aboard the flagship , Wood participated in the
Battle of Hampton Roads, and witnessed the historic battle of the
ironclads
USS Monitor and
CSS Virginia (the former ) in
Hampton Roads; and later took part in the assault and capture of
Sewall's Point, and the capture of the Hatterras Forts. Wood established a Naval Hospital at Sewell's Point, and later served as medical inspector of the
James River Flotilla, before being transferred back to the
Michigan before the end of the U.S. Civil War.
Command of Bureau of Medicine and Surgery – First Surgeon General of US Navy After the Civil War, Dr. Wood purchased a farm in Owings Mills, Maryland, named Rosewood Glen, where he and his family would live during the pinnacle of his Naval career, and through retirement until his death in 1880. After his last duty on the USS
Michigan in Erie, Wood served on various Naval medical examining boards in
Boston and New York and at
Baltimore and
Annapolis in 1866 and 1867 and was President of the
Naval Examining Board in 1868. He became Chief of the
Bureau of Medicine and Surgery in 1870. During his tenure in that role, the Naval Hospital at Mare Island, California was completed and opened. He was appointed the first
Surgeon General of the United States Navy and Medical Director on March 3, 1871, with equivalent rank of Commodore, concurrent with Congressional Passage of The Appropriations Bill of 3 March 1871, which created the Navy Medical Corps of Officers. Wood was retired for age later in 1871 but continued to serve the Navy in a civilian capacity as medical inspector – general hospitals and fleets until his final retirement in 1873.
Writings Wood was a writer of books and essays, focusing on his travels, life at sea in the US Navy, various Naval battles and Naval missions, and his political beliefs and ideas for improving the US Navy. His books include
Wandering Sketches of People and Things in South America, Polynesia, California, and Other Places Visited During a Cruise Aboard the U.S. Ships Levant, Portsmouth, and Savannah,
A Shoulder to the Wheel of Progress, and
Fankwei: or The San Jacinto in the Seas of India, China, and Japan.
Retirement After retirement Wood managed his farm, Rosewood Glen, in Owings Mills, Maryland, with his wife Rose and his children, Peter Bryson, Thomas Carson, James McIntosh, David Abbott, and Roberta Morgan. He became president of the Garrison Woods Farmers Association, and was a member of St. Thomas Episcopal Church. His son William Maxwell Jr attended the US Naval Academy and had a successful career as a naval officer. His son Charles Erskine Scott (CES) attended the US Military Academy at West Point whereupon graduation he was assigned to the Northwest US. He is noted for being General Howard's adjutant during the Nez Perce War and transcribed Nez Perce Chief Joseph's surrender speech, eventually becoming a close friend of Chief Joseph, ultimately leaving the military life for a successful legal career in Portland OR, before becoming a noted author and civil libertarian in Portland, Oregon and Los Gatos, California.
Death Wood died at his farm, Rosewood Glen, in
Owings Mills, Maryland, March 1, 1880. He is buried at the family plot in the St. Thomas Church Cemetery, along with his wife Rose Carson Wood, a daughter Hannah, and his son Peter Bryson. His grave marker includes the inscription "He served his country well". ==Honors==