William T. Wofford

	Email		Print
	Bookmark		Link

William T. Wofford

William Tatum Wofford (June 28, 1824 – May 22, 1884) was an officer during the Mexican-American War and a general in the Confederate States Army

Confederate States Army

The Confederate States Army was a military organization whose primary mission was to provide the necessary forces and capabilities to support the National Security and defense of the Confederate States of America during its brief existence from 1861 to 1865....
during the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War , also known as the War Between the States and several Naming the American Civil War, was a civil war in the United States....
.

ord was born in Habersham County, Georgia

Habersham County, Georgia

Habersham County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia . It was created on December 15, 1818 and named for Colonel Joseph Habersham....
to William H. Wofford and Nancy M. Tatum. In 1844 he graduated from Franklin College

Franklin College of Arts and Sciences

The Franklin College of Arts and Sciences is the founding college of the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia, United States. The college was named in honor of Benjamin Franklin....
, now part of the University of Georgia

University of Georgia

Discussion

Ask a question about 'William T. Wofford'

Start a new discussion about 'William T. Wofford'

Answer questions from other users

Full Discussion Forum

Encyclopedia

William Tatum Wofford (June 28, 1824 – May 22, 1884) was an officer during the Mexican-American War and a general in the Confederate States Army

Confederate States Army

American Civil War

The American Civil War , also known as the War Between the States and several Naming the American Civil War, was a civil war in the United States....
.

Early life and career

Wofford was born in Habersham County, Georgia

Habersham County, Georgia

Franklin College of Arts and Sciences

University of Georgia

The University of Georgia is a public university research university located in Athens, Georgia, Georgia , the oldest and largest of the state's institutions of higher learning....
. Wofford first experienced military life in 1847 during the Mexican-American War, where he was a captain in the Georgia Mounted Volunteers. Wofford was mustered out of the volunteer service on July 12, 1848 and afterwards worked as a planter, served as a state legislator, and then became a lawyer. In 1852 he was editor of the Cassville

Cassville, Georgia

Cassville is an unincorporated area in Bartow County, Georgia in the U.S. state of Georgia . It was originally the county seat before the name was changed from Cass County....
Standard newspaper.

Civil War service

Wofford had previously voted against secession

Secession in the United States

Attempts or aspirations of secession have been a feature of the politics of the United States since the country's birth. The line between actions based on a constitutional right of secession as opposed to actions justified by the extraconstitutional natural right of revolution has shaped the political debate....
, but offered his services to his state and the Confederate Army. He was appointed a colonel

Colonel (United States)

In the United States Army, United States Air Force, and United States Marine Corps, Colonel is a senior field officer United States Military Officer military rank just above the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and just below the rank of Brigadier General ....
in the Georgia State Militia

Militia

The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service....
, then a captain in the 18th Georgia Infantry

18th Georgia Volunteer Infantry

The 18th Georgia Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. Originally brigaded with the three Texas regiments of John Bell Hood's Texas Brigade, it was transferred to Thomas R.R....
in April 1861. On the 25th of that month Wofford was promoted to colonel

Colonel (United States)

North Carolina

North Carolina is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Seaboard in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north....
and Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia is an United States U.S. state on the East Coast of the United States of the Southern United States. The state is known as the "Old Dominion" and sometimes as "Mother of Presidents", because it is the birthplace of Lists of United States Presidents by place of birth#By state....
before being assigned to Gen. John Bell Hood

John Bell Hood

John Bell Hood was a Confederate States Army general during the American Civil War. Hood had a reputation for bravery and aggressiveness that sometimes bordered on recklessness....
's Texas Brigade

Texas Brigade

Battle of Eltham's Landing

}|-||}The Battle of Eltham's Landing, also known as the Battle of Barhamsville, or West Point, took place on May 7, 1862, in New Kent County, Virginia, as part of the Peninsula Campaign of the American Civil War....
, and Seven Pines

Battle of Seven Pines

The Battle of Seven Pines, also known as the Battle of Fair Oaks or Fair Oaks Station, took place on May 31 and June 1, 1862, in Henrico County, Virginia, as part of the Peninsula Campaign of the American Civil War....
during the Peninsula Campaign

Peninsula Campaign

The Peninsula Campaign of the American Civil War was a major Union operation launched in southeastern Virginia from March through July 1862, the first large-scale offensive in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War....
. Wofford and the 18th also fought at Second Bull Run

Second Battle of Bull Run

The Second Battle of Bull Run, or, as it was called by the Confederate States of America, the Battle of Second Manassas, was fought August 28–30, 1862, as part of the American Civil War....
and Antietam

Battle of Antietam

The Battle of Antietam , fought on September 17, 1862, near Sharpsburg, Maryland, and Antietam Creek, as part of the Maryland Campaign, was the first major battle in the American Civil War to take place on Northern United States soil....
, where he commanded the Texas Brigade

Texas Brigade

The Texas Brigade, also often referred to as Hood's Brigade, was an infantry brigade in the Confederate States Army that distinguished itself for its fierce tenacity and fighting capability during the American Civil War....
.

In November 1862, Wofford and the 18th Georgia were transferred to the Georgia Brigade of General Thomas R. R. Cobb. They fought under Cobb at the Battle of Fredericksburg

Battle of Fredericksburg

The Battle of Fredericksburg, fought in and around Fredericksburg, Virginia, from December 11 to December 15, 1862, between General Robert E. Lee's Confederate States Army Army of Northern Virginia and the Union Army Army of the Potomac, commanded by Major general Ambrose E....
in December, defending the famous stone wall at the base of Marye's Heights. Cobb was mortally wounded in the battle, and Wofford assumed command of his brigade and was promoted to brigadier general on January 17, 1863. He led the brigade, now referred to as Wofford's Brigade, at Chancellorsville

Battle of Chancellorsville

The Battle of Chancellorsville was a major battle of the American Civil War, fought near the village of Spotsylvania Courthouse, Virginia, from April 30 to May 6, 1863....
and Gettysburg

Battle of Gettysburg

The Battle of Gettysburg , fought in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, as part of the Gettysburg Campaign, was the battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War and is frequently cited as the war's Turning point of the American Civil War....
, where he followed William Barksdale

William Barksdale

William Barksdale was a lawyer, newspaper editor, United States House of Representatives, and a Confederate States Army General officer in the American Civil War....
's Mississippi

Mississippi

Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Deep South of the United States. Jackson, Mississippi is the state capital and largest city. The state's name comes from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, and takes its name from the Anishinaabe language word misi-ziibi ....
brigade in the assault through the Peach Orchard

Battle of Gettysburg, Second Day

During the Second Day of the Battle of Gettysburg, on July 2, 1863, Confederate States Army General Robert E. Lee attempted to capitalize on his first day's success....
late in the afternoon of July 2nd. There Wofford's men drove Union troops out of the Wheatfield but had to stop short of the new Union line near Little Round Top.

Traveling to Georgia with Longstreet

James Longstreet

James Longstreet was one of the foremost Confederate States Army General officers of the American Civil War and the principal subordinate to General Robert E....
's First Corps

First Corps, Army of Northern Virginia

The First Corps, Army of Northern Virginia was a military unit fighting for the Confederate States of America in the American Civil War. It was formed in early 1861 and served until the spring of 1865, mostly in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War....
to reinforce the Army of Tennessee

Army of Tennessee

The Army of Tennessee was the principal Confederate States Army operating between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River during the American Civil War....
, he arrived on the field too late to participate in the Battle of Chickamauga

Battle of Chickamauga

The Battle of Chickamauga, fought September 19–20, 1863, marked the end of a Union Army offensive in south-central Tennessee and northwestern Georgia called the Chickamauga Campaign....
. His whereabouts are unknown during Longstreet's siege of Knoxville, Tennessee. Wofford fought in the Overland Campaign

Overland Campaign

The Overland Campaign, also known as Grant's Overland Campaign and the Wilderness Campaign, was a series of battles fought in Virginia during May and June 1864, in the American Civil War....
at the Wilderness

Battle of the Wilderness

The Battle of the Wilderness, fought May 5–7, 1864, was the first battle of Lieutenant general Ulysses S. Grant's 1864 Virginia Overland Campaign against General Robert E....
and Spotsylvania

Battle of Spotsylvania Court House

The Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, sometimes simply referred to as the Battle of Spotsylvania, was the second major battle in Lieutenant general Ulysses S....
, and was wounded in both battles. He left the Army of Northern Virginia

Army of Northern Virginia

The Army of Northern Virginia was the primary military force of the Confederate States of America in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War of the American Civil War....
before the Richmond-Petersburg Campaign and assumed command of the Subdistrict of Northern Georgia, of the District of Georgia, Department of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida on January 20, 1865, a post he held until he was paroled at Resaca, Georgia

Resaca, Georgia

Resaca is a city in Gordon County, Georgia, Georgia , along the Oostanaula River. The population was 815 at the 2000 census....
on May 2, 1865. Shortly afterwards Wofford was pardoned by the U.S. government on July 24th.

Postbellum

After the war Wofford was a planter and active in the law, Democratic

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major party contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party . It is the oldest political party in continuous operation in the United States and it is one of the oldest parties in the world....
politics, and education. As a delegate to the Georgia Constitutional Convention of 1877, he argued for the repeal of convict leasing, for Confederate veterans' benefits, and for African-American education. Many of his ideas appeared in the platform of the Populist Party

Populist Party (United States)

The Populist Party, also known as the People's Party, was a relatively short-lived political party in the United States in the late 19th century....
a decade later. He died in Cass Station, Ga. and is buried in nearby Cassville Cemetery.