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Sterling Alexander Martin Wood was born on March 17, 1823, in Florence, Alabama. Educated by Jesuits, he was graduated from St. Joseph's College in Bardstown, Kentucky, in 1841. Wood studied law, then worked as an attorney in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, later establishing a practice in Florence, Alabama. In 1851, he was appointed solicitor for the 4th circuit court of Alabama, then was elected to the state legislature in 1857. Wood became editor of the Florence "Gazette" in 1860. When the Civil War began, Wood, a Confederate, led troops in the Alabama Infantry, and was promoted to brigadier general on January 7, 1862. After serving in the Battle of Shiloh , he was wounded in the Battle of Perryville. Wood also took part in the Battle of Stone's River and the Chickamauga Campaign. Wood resigned from the military at Chattanooga, on October 17, 1863, for reasons unknown to historians. Wood returned to Alabama, settling and setting up a law practice in Tuscaloosa. After the Civil War, he worked as an attorney for the Alabama Great Southern Railway, was elected to the state legislature n 1882 and taught law at the University of Alabama. Wood died in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, on January 26, 1891.
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