Charles Carroll Wood

Lieutenant Charles Carroll Wood (19 March 1876 – 11 November 1899) was the first Canadian Officer to die in the Second Boer War. As a member of a family that had distinguished itself in America, his great grandfather being Zachary Taylor, 12th President of the United States, he was buried with full military honours.

Also known as Lieut. C. C. Wood, on the news of his death, Queen Victoria wrote a letter of condolence to his family and, at the Queen's request, Lieut. Wood's portrait was sent to her at Windsor. Robert E. Lee Jr. was among others to send his condolences to Wood's family having met Wood in Halifax, Nova Scotia, three years earlier. His brother was Zachary Taylor Wood. On his maternal side, Wood was a descendant of Charles Carroll of Carrollton, a signatory of the United States Declaration of Independence. An obituary stated that the 'lamented death of this promising young officer, when fighting in defence of the Mother Country, will be deeply felt by all, and will be an enduring example of the Colonial sons of the Empire'.

After his death, Chaswood, Nova Scotia, was named in his honour to 'perpetuate the memory of Charles Wood, a native of Halifax and the first Canadian soldier to be killed in action in the South African War'. The cornerstone of the monument was laid in October 1901 by the Duke of Duchess of York and Cornwall, the Duke later reigning as King George V. Wood also has a commemorative plaque on the memorial staircase at the RMC Club in Kingston, Ontario, and his memory is recorded on a statue in Toronto.

Life General Lord William Seymour, who represented the British Army at the memorial service of Lieut. Wood, St. Luke's Cathedral, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

Charles Carroll Wood was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia where his father, John Taylor Wood, had resided since the end of the American Civil War having served as a Confederate Officer. His great-great-grandfather was Colonel Richard Taylor, an Officer in the Continental Army of the American Revolutionary War.

Wood's mother was Lola Mackubin Wood and his brother was Zachary Taylor Wood. Wood's mother hailed from the Carrolls of Carrollton.

Charles Carroll Wood was educated in England at Bedford Modern School between 1886 and 1889, When his father left the United States for Canada after the American Civil War, Wood remained a British Subject of Canadian birth and was commissioned into the 1st Loyal North Lancashire Regiment. He served in India before being sent to South Africa at the outset of the Second Boer War and was made Lieutenant in 1899.

On 11 November 1899, Charles Carroll Wood was killed at Belmont, near Orange River, having 'been wounded in the head and chest with his face to the foe'. Wood's Colonel, Cecil Edward Keith-Falconer of the Northumberland Fusiliers, was killed at the same time. Corporal Lincoln, who had been involved in the skirmish at Belmont, stated in his diary that it 'had been a splendid victory for the British arms completely defeating the Boers on their own chosen position which was one of great natural strength'. Wood and his Colonel were buried in the same veldt with full military honours. Shortly after Lieut. Wood's death, a memorial service was held in his honour at St. Luke's Cathedral in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

On the news of his death, Queen Victoria wrote a letter of condolence to his family and, at her request, Lieut. Wood's portrait was sent to her at Windsor. Robert E. Lee Jr. was among others to send his condolences to Wood's family having met Wood in Halifax, Nova Scotia, three years earlier. Wood also has a commemorative plaque on the memorial staircase at the RMC Club in Kingston, Ontario.