Notable people · Soldier · Engineer
Eleazer D. Wood
Eleazer Derby Wood was the Army engineer who designed and helped build Fort Meigs on the Maumee River in 1813. Wood County, Ohio, is named for him.
At a glance
- Born
- 1783-12
- Died
- 1814-09-17
- Education
- U.S. Military Academy, West Point, NY, 1805-1806
- Known as
- Soldier, Engineer
- Organizations
- U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Life story
Eleazer Derby Wood was born in Lunenburg, Massachusetts, in late 1783. He entered West Point in 1805 and graduated in 1806.
He worked on harbor defenses at Governor's Island and became a captain of engineers in 1812. In the Northwest he built Fort Meigs and helped defend it in the spring of 1813; he was brevetted major for the May 6, 1813, sortie.
He then fought at the Thames and in the northern campaigns. Brevetted lieutenant colonel after the Battle of Niagara in July 1814, he died of wounds suffered leading a sortie from Fort Erie on September 17, 1814.
Fort Wood on Bedloe's Island, the base of the Statue of Liberty, was named for him, and so was Wood County, Ohio. His burial place is unknown despite a monument at West Point.
Timeline
- 1783-12: Born (Lunenburg, MA) source
- 1806-10-30: Graduates from West Point (West Point, NY) source
- 1812-07-01: Promoted to captain source
- 1813-05-06: Brevetted major for the Fort Meigs sortie (Fort Meigs, OH) source
- 1814-07-25: Brevetted lieutenant colonel after Niagara source
- 1814-09-17: Dies of wounds from a sortie at Fort Erie (Fort Erie) source
What Eleazer is known for
- Chief engineer who built Fort Meigs at what is now Perrysburg
- Brevetted major for the sortie at Fort Meigs, May 1813
- Killed in action at Fort Erie, 1814
Inventions and firsts
Honors and things named for them
- Wood County, Ohio, named for him
- Fort Wood, Bedloe's Island
- Monument at West Point
Ohio places
Where Eleazer D. Wood was born, lived, worked and is remembered, with the ZIP code, town and county pages for each.
- Worked: Perrysburg, Wood County ZIP 43551 · Perrysburg · Wood County
Myths and corrections
- Disputed: His grave is not known, though a monument to him stands at West Point.
Further reading
Sources
- Wikipedia: Eleazer D. Wood birth, West Point, promotions, War of 1812 actions, death, honors
