Civil War Confederate Brigadier General. Born into a family with a strong military reputation (both his grandfather and great-grandfather fought during the American Revolution), his father died when he was 3 years old, leaving his mother and grandfather to raise him and his two sisters. In 1827, the Wofford family drew a Cass (Bartow) County land lot during the Georgia Land Lottery and moved there shortly thereafter. In 1836 he attended the Gwinnett Manual Labor Institute in Lawrenceville, Georgia. One of his classmates was Charles Henry Smith, author of the famous "Bill Arp" stories from the Civil War era. After graduation from school in Lawrenceville, Wofford studied law and was admitted to the state bar in 1844. When the Mexican War began, he was appointed as a Captain in 1847 and ordered to raise a company of volunteers. During the war, he and his men engaged in combat twice. After the war, he returned to his practice in Cassville, Georgia. In 1849 he was elected to the Georgia House of Representatives. An anti-secessionist, he was elected to represent Cass County at the Georgia secession convention, where he voted against Georgia leaving the union. When Georgia seceded from the Union, he was elected Colonel and commander of what would become the 18th Georgia Infantry Regiment. Reaching the rank of Brigadier General by the end of the war, he surrendered the last southern troops east of the Mississippi in Resaca, Georgia on May 12, 1865. After the war he was elected to Congress, but was refused his seat by radical Republicans. He spent the rest of his life representing Confederate veterans, helping them and their families acquire food, money, and clothing. General Wofford died in his sleep after a lengthy illness, and was laid to rest in Cassville Cemetery.
Civil War Confederate Brigadier General. Born into a family with a strong military reputation (both his grandfather and great-grandfather fought during the American Revolution), his father died when he was 3 years old, leaving his mother and grandfather to raise him and his two sisters. In 1827, the Wofford family drew a Cass (Bartow) County land lot during the Georgia Land Lottery and moved there shortly thereafter. In 1836 he attended the Gwinnett Manual Labor Institute in Lawrenceville, Georgia. One of his classmates was Charles Henry Smith, author of the famous "Bill Arp" stories from the Civil War era. After graduation from school in Lawrenceville, Wofford studied law and was admitted to the state bar in 1844. When the Mexican War began, he was appointed as a Captain in 1847 and ordered to raise a company of volunteers. During the war, he and his men engaged in combat twice. After the war, he returned to his practice in Cassville, Georgia. In 1849 he was elected to the Georgia House of Representatives. An anti-secessionist, he was elected to represent Cass County at the Georgia secession convention, where he voted against Georgia leaving the union. When Georgia seceded from the Union, he was elected Colonel and commander of what would become the 18th Georgia Infantry Regiment. Reaching the rank of Brigadier General by the end of the war, he surrendered the last southern troops east of the Mississippi in Resaca, Georgia on May 12, 1865. After the war he was elected to Congress, but was refused his seat by radical Republicans. He spent the rest of his life representing Confederate veterans, helping them and their families acquire food, money, and clothing. General Wofford died in his sleep after a lengthy illness, and was laid to rest in Cassville Cemetery.
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