Background
William was born on August 14, 1824, in Amherst County, Virginia, United States. His early life is unknown.
Charlottesville, VA, United States
William Terry graduated from the University of Virginia in 1848.
Charlottesville, VA, United States
William Terry graduated from the University of Virginia in 1848.
lawyer military politician teacher
William was born on August 14, 1824, in Amherst County, Virginia, United States. His early life is unknown.
After graduating from the University of Virginia in 1848, William taught school and studied law.
In 1851, he was admitted to the bar in Wytheville, Virginia, where William Terry also became a merchant and editor of the Wytheville Telegraph before the Civil War.
Terry was a lieutenant in the state militia during John Brown’s raid on Harper’s Ferry in 1859, and, when the Civil War began, he entered the Confederate Army as a lieutenant of the 1 st Virginia Infantry.
Promoted to major after the battle of First Manassas, he fought in the Seven Days’ battles before being wounded at the battle of Second Manassas in August 1862. He was promoted to colonel in September 1863 and to brigadier general on May 19, 1864. He was again wounded during the defense of Petersburg in 1864 but returned to fight with the Army of Northern Virginia until he was severely wounded during the sortie at Fort Stedman in March 1865.
He surrendered and was paroled in the spring of 1865. After the war, he returned to his law practice at Wytheville. He was inactive in politics during the early years of Reconstruction but served in the United States House of Representatives from 1871 to 1873 and from 1875 to 1877.
In 1880, he was a delegate to the Democratic national convention. Terry drowned in an accident near his home on September 5, 1888, in Wytheville.
William Terry was married to Emma Wigginton, by whom he had six children.
