Joseph Wood (1712–1791) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

planter and soldier from

Liberty County, Georgia Liberty County is a county in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population is 65,256. The county seat is Hinesville. Liberty County is part of the Hinesville, Georgia Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included i ...

. He served as a delegate from Georgia to the

Continental Congress The Continental Congress was a series of legislative bodies, with some executive function, for thirteen of Britain's colonies in North America, and the newly declared United States just before, during, and after the American Revolutionary War. ...

in 1777 and 1778.

Early life

Joseph Wood was born in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, but moved to Georgia around 1774.

Military career

As the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...

neared, he was frustrated by the Georgia Assembly's delay in deciding to support the united colonies. They didn't send a delegate to the Continental Congress in 1774. In February 1775 he made an appeal to their General Committee to join the war effort of the northern colonies. They still deferred action, although later that year they would send

Lyman Hall Lyman Hall (April 12, 1724 – October 19, 1790) was an American Founding Father, physician, clergyman, and statesman who signed the United States Declaration of Independence as a representative of Georgia. Hall County is named after him. He ...

to the Congress. Wood didn't wait, but returned to Pennsylvania to join the

2nd Pennsylvania Regiment The 2nd Pennsylvania Regiment, formed with lauded veterans from the 1st Pennsylvania Battalion, was raised in December 1776. The 1st Pennsylvania Battalion was raised in October 1775, under the command of Colonel John Bull for service with the ...

in the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was establis ...

. Captain Wood went with the regiment in the Invasion of Canada. The following year he saw action in New Jersey and was promoted first to major and then to colonel on September 6, 1776.

Continental Congress, later life

When the Continental Line was reorganized at the end of 1776 there were too many officers, so Colonel Wood retired and returned to Georgia. On his return in January 1777, Georgia named him as one of their delegates to the

and he was elected again in 1778. Wood died on his plantation, near Riceborough in Liberty County in 1791. He was survived by his wife Catholina, and their children John, Jacob, Hester, and Elizabeth.

References

External links

* https://web.archive.org/web/20110720094519/http://www.yorkblog.com/yorktownsquare/2010/05/continental-congress-courageou.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Wood, Joseph 1712 births 1791 deaths Continental Army officers from Pennsylvania Continental Congressmen from Georgia (U.S. state) 18th-century American politicians People from colonial Pennsylvania American planters People from Liberty County, Georgia