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Honoring American TroopsMedal of Honor Archive

Private · U.S. Army

Mark Wood

Private Mark Wood, Army, received the Medal of Honor for actions in April 1862 in Georgia during the Civil War.

U.S. Civil War April 1862Born in England

Serving as a soldier in the U.S. Army, Private Mark Wood received the Medal of Honor for his actions in April 1862 in Georgia during the Civil War. At the time he was serving with Company C, 21st Ohio Infantry. Wood was about 23 years old.

The medal was presented on January 15, 1864, 2 years after the action.

Wood was born in 1839 in England — one of 98 recipients born in England. His Medal of Honor is credited to Portage, Wood County, Ohio. Wood died on July 11, 1866 in Toledo, Ohio, at the age of about 27. He is buried at Forest Cemetery in Toledo, Ohio.

Wood is one of 1,525 Medal of Honor recipients from the Civil War and one of 256 credited to Ohio.

Official Medal of Honor citation

One 19 of 24 men (including two civilians) who, by direction of Gen. Ormsby M. Mitchell, penetrated nearly 200 miles south into enemy territory and captured a railroad train at Big Shanty, Ga., in an attempt to destroy the bridges and track between Chattanooga and Atlanta.

Citation text: U.S. Government, public domain.

Battles and campaigns

1862 · Civil War

Great Locomotive Chase

Result: Confederate victory, The General recaptured

5 Medal of Honor recipients

Also served in: American Civil War.

Places

  • Born: Nottingham — map
  • Died: Toledo — map
  • Buried: Forest Cemetery — map

Veteran resources, cemeteries and meeting places in Ohio →

Timeline

  1. 1839
    Born in England
  2. April 1862
    Act of valor — Georgia
    Age about 23. Company C, 21st Ohio Infantry
  3. January 15, 1864
    Medal of Honor presented
  4. July 11, 1866
    Died in Toledo, Ohio
    Age about 27.
  5. Resting place
    Forest Cemetery
    Toledo, Ohio

Biography

Mark Wood (September 22, 1839 – July 11, 1866) was an American soldier who fought in the American Civil War. Wood received his country's highest award for bravery during combat, the Medal of Honor, for his role in the celebrated Great Locomotive Chase. Wood and a fellow participant in the raid, John A. Wilson, were captured close to Union lines in Stevenson, Alabama after they abandoned The General. Wood and Wilson escaped from captivity and after sailing down the Chattahoochee River, were rescued by a Union ship. He was honored with the award on May 12, 1865. Wood joined the Army from Portage, Ohio in August 1861.

From the Wikipedia article “Mark Wood (Medal of Honor)”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the full article →

Further reading

Same unit

John Alfred Wilson Private · Army Civil War · 1862

More Civil War recipients from Ohio

NW Nelson W. Ward Private · Army Civil War · 1864 JP John T. Patterson Principal Musician · Army Civil War · 1863 EW Edward Welsh Private · Army Civil War · 1863 JH Joseph S. Hedges First Lieutenant · Army Civil War · 1864 WA William J. Archinal Corporal · Army Civil War · 1863 JS James (Ovid) Smith Private · Army Civil War · 1862
Sources. Service and award details compiled from the recipient record of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, Wikidata and Wikipedia. The narrative summary is generated from these records. Spotted an error? Send a correction.