Career
Born in Georgia, Wood was appointed to the United States Naval Academy on 6 September 1895. He served as a midshipman on the battleship Texas during the war with Spain in 1898, before graduating with the class of 1899. Wood later joined Oregon (Battleship Number 3) on the Asiatic Squadron to serve part of the two years required by law before commissioning.
Subsequently, Wood was given command of the gunboat Urdaneta, then operating in the Philippines during the Philippine–American War.
Naval Cadet Wood was killed in action, on 17 September 1899, when his ship ran aground in the Orani River, near Manila, and was overwhelmed by insurgent troops who enfiladed the gunboat with a withering fire from the shoreline. United States Ship Welborn C. Wood (Doctor of Divinity-195) was named for him.
This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.
