Micajah Woods (May 17, 1844 – March 14, 1911) was a Virginia lawyer, who served as the Commonwealth's Attorney in

Charlottesville, Virginia Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. It is named after Queen Ch ...

for 41 years, and was a president of The

Virginia Bar Association The Virginia Bar Association (VBA) is a voluntary organization of lawyers, judges and law school faculty and students in Virginia, with offices in Richmond, Virginia. Key elements are advocacy, professionalism, service and collegiality. It provid ...

. Woods began life in

Albemarle County, Virginia Albemarle County is a county located in the Piedmont region of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Its county seat is Charlottesville, which is an independent city and enclave entirely surrounded by the county. Albemarle County is part of the Char ...

. He was educated at the Lewisburg Academy, the military school taught by Colonel John Bowie Strange, and the Bloomfield Academy. Woods joined the

Confederate Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...

in August 1861 at the age of seventeen as a volunteer on the staff of

John B. Floyd John Buchanan Floyd (June 1, 1806 – August 26, 1863) was the 31st Governor of Virginia, U.S. Secretary of War, and the Confederate general in the American Civil War who lost the crucial Battle of Fort Donelson. Early family life John Buchan ...

. Not yet of military age, he spent the winter of 1861-62 at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

and then joined the

2nd Virginia Cavalry The 2nd Virginia Cavalry Regiment was a cavalry regiment raised in Virginia for service in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. It fought mostly with the Army of Northern Virginia. The unit was organized by Colonel Jubal E ...

. In 1863, he became a First Lieutenant in Thomas E. Jackson's Battery, Virginia Horse Artillery, and saw action at Gettysburg, New Market, and Cold Harbor. Woods returned to the University after the war and in 1868 earned a

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

degree. He practiced in

Charlottesville Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. It is named after Queen Cha ...

and became Commonwealth's Attorney in 1870. In 1872 he was made a member of the board of visitors of the University of Virginia, a position which he held for four years, at the time of his appointment being the youngest member of the board ever selected. Woods served as president of The

in 1909. He was a member of the board of visitors of

Virginia Tech Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also ...

in 1911. Woods is remembered locally as the prosecuting attorney in the murder trial of J. Samuel McCue, a three-term Mayor of Charlottesville who was convicted of murdering his wife then became the last man to be hanged in Albemarle County, and as the father of Maud Coleman Woods, the first "Miss America," at least for the

Pan-American Exposition The Pan-American Exposition was a World's Fair held in Buffalo, New York, United States, from May 1 through November 2, 1901. The fair occupied of land on the western edge of what is now Delaware Park, extending from Delaware Avenue to Elmwood A ...

of 1901."Maud Coleman Woods (1877-1901), Charlottesville's Reluctant 'Miss America,'" published i
Piedmont Preservation Newsletter, November, 2002

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Woods, Micajah 1844 births 1911 deaths People from Albemarle County, Virginia Virginia lawyers County and city Commonwealth's Attorneys in Virginia University of Virginia School of Law alumni 19th-century American lawyers 20th-century American lawyers