Early Years
Henry Alexander Wise was born in Drummondtown on December 3, 1806, the son of John Wise and Sarah Corbin Cropper Wise. John Wise served as a major in the Virginia militia after the Revolutionary War (1775–1783), and held a seat in the Virginia House of Delegates (1790–1800). A prominent and wealthy landowner in Accomack County, John Wise married twice and fathered ten children. He died in 1812, followed by Sarah in 1813, making young Henry Wise an orphan. Two paternal aunts and his grandfather, Revolutionary War hero John Cropper, took responsibility for raising the boy. Wise received only a small amount of land after his parents' death, perhaps spurring his decision to pursue a legal career. Educated by private tutors until he was twelve, he then attended Margaret Academy, near Pungoteague, in Accomack County. Wise later lamented that his time at Margaret Academy did not serve him well, but one of the teachers there suggested Wise's next step: Washington College, in southwestern Pennsylvania (now Washington and Jefferson College). He studied there from 1822 until 1825.
Wise returned to Virginia to read law in Winchester with the prominent attorney Henry St. George Tucker, completing his studies in 1828. In the same year, Wise married Ann Eliza Jennings. The couple moved to Nashville, Tennessee, where Wise practiced law and contemplated a number of business opportunities. He also became acquainted with U.S. president Andrew Jackson, a friend of the Jennings family; the newlyweds honeymooned at Jackson's estate, the Hermitage. Lacking funds to engage in land speculation in Tennessee, Wise returned to his own, relatively modest farm on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, called Only, in 1830. The couple had four children before Ann's death in 1837.
In Congress
Elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1833 as a Jacksonian Democrat, Wise won a narrow victory over Richard Coke. The candidates engaged in a bitter campaign, leading to an 1834 duel in which Wise seriously injured Coke, shooting him in the shoulder. In Washington, D.C., Wise bucked his party, and his friend in the White House, by opposing the Democrats on two of the major issues of the day—the Force Bill and the president's efforts to crush the National Bank. The Force Bill, which eventually passed, authorized Jackson to send federal troops to South Carolina to end the Nullification Crisis there. Wise opposed the Carolinians' efforts to nullify a federal tariff; however, he supported states' rights and the right to secede, but only as a last resort.
This would be only the first of many occasions when Wise confounded his nominal allies; he also habitually criticized Virginia's tradition-bound political elite. Wise left Congress in 1844, after winning election five times. Reflecting his flexibility and his loyalty to U.S. president John Tyler, he won two terms, in the middle of his tenure, as a member of the Whig Party, a new party formed in part to oppose Jackson. During this period he married his second wife, Sarah Sergeant, in 1840; the couple had ten children, but only three survived infancy. Sarah Sergeant Wise died during childbirth in 1850. Wise married Mary Elizabeth Lyons in 1853 and the couple had no children.
After leaving Congress, Wise accepted Tyler's appointment as minister to Brazil, where he served from 1844 until 1847. The Virginian's tenure was controversial, largely due to his outspoken criticism of Brazil's continued participation in the international slave trade. After his return from South America, Wise entered the debate over a new Virginia state constitution. He was a major force at the constitutional convention of 1850–1851, which resulted in a new compact that increased the representation of western Virginia in the General Assembly. He advocated policies that included internal improvements to facilitate economic advancement and universal education, and he sought the governorship to further these goals.
Governor
In 1859, however, such hopes ended with John Brown's failed attempt to initiate a slave revolt at Harpers Ferry, Virginia (now West Virginia). Brown's small band was captured by United States Army forces led by Colonel Robert E. Lee, and Brown received a death sentence for treason and murder. As governor, Henry Wise held the power to commute Brown's sentence to life imprisonment, a move that many moderates and Northern abolitionists advocated. Wise briefly wavered, and considered ordering Brown to a mental hospital. But after he met personally with Brown in his jail cell, Wise decided that the man failed to meet any standard for insanity. Instead, the governor allowed the execution to take place, partly out of respect for Brown's high sense of purpose, but also to send a strong message to abolitionists.
Secession
In death, John Brown instantly became a martyr, but Wise, too, gained notoriety from the incident. The governor's handling of the crisis resulted in renewed support among Virginians and some talk of Wise as a presidential candidate. The tumultuous election of 1860, though, found Virginia Democrats struggling with both the Northern and Deep South factions of their party. Wise hoped that his stature would allow him to enter the fray as a compromise candidate; another Virginian, Robert M. T. Hunter entertained similar designs. But instead, the Democrats split into geographic factions and nominated two other candidates, U.S. senator Stephen A. Douglas of Illinois and U.S. vice president John C. Breckinridge of Kentucky. The Democrats' division helped ensure the election of the Republican candidate, Abraham Lincoln of Illinois, and the secession crisis ensued.
In a climactic speech to the convention, Wise revealed that Virginia militia units from the Shenandoah Valley had pledged their loyalty to him personally—not to the state—and were en route to capture the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry, lest those arms be first secured by the Lincoln administration. Governor John Letcher gave his blessing after the fact, but it was clear to the delegates that Wise was working outside the law. Brandishing a revolver, Wise declared that "blood will be flowing at Harpers Ferry before night."
John Baldwin of Staunton dramatically engaged Wise in a heated debate, arguing that his actions presumed secession before secession had been approved by the convention or confirmed by Virginia voters. Wise responded that delay could mean ruin for Virginia, and, in the end, his argument won the day. The convention voted to secede on April 17, 1861, and the ordinance passed the statewide referendum on May 23.
Civil War and Later Years
Time Line
-
December 6, 1806 - Henry Alexander Wise is born in Drummondtown (now Accomac), to John Wise and Sarah Corbin Cropper Wise.
-
1812 - John Wise, father of Henry A. Wise, dies.
-
1813 - Sarah Corbin Cropper Wise dies, leaving her son, Henry A. Wise, an orphan.
-
1822 - Henry A. Wise enters Washington College in southwestern Pennsylvania.
-
1825 - Henry A. Wise completes his studies at Washington College in southwestern Pennsylvania.
-
1826–1828 - Henry A. Wise studies law with Henry St. George Tucker in Winchester and is admitted to the Virginia Bar.
-
1828 - Henry A. Wise moves to Nashville, Tennessee, and marries his first wife, Ann Eliza Jennings. The couple has four children.
-
1830 - Henry A. Wise moves from Tennessee to his farm Only in Accomack County.
-
1833–1844 - Henry A. Wise serves five terms in the U.S. House of Representatives; he is elected three times as a Democrat, and twice as a Whig.
-
1837 - Ann Eliza Jennings, wife of Henry A. Wise, dies.
-
1840 - Henry A. Wise marries Sarah Sergeant. The couple has ten children, only three of whom survive infancy.
-
1844–1847 - Henry A. Wise serves as U.S. minister to Brazil in the administration of President John Tyler. His tenure is controversial because of his criticism of Brazil's participation in the international slave trade.
-
1850 - Sarah Sergeant, second wife of Henry A. Wise, dies during childbirth.
-
1850–1851 - Henry A. Wise participates in Virginia's state constitutional convention; he leads the faction advocating a broader electoral base, internal improvements, and universal public education.
-
1853 - Henry A. Wise marries his third wife, Mary Elizabeth Lyons, of Richmond.
-
1856–1860 - Henry A. Wise serves as governor of Virginia as the national debate over slavery intensifies. His popularity wanes as he vacillates on a number of policies.
-
October 16–18, 1859 - John Brown and twenty-one raiders attack Harpers Ferry and capture the U.S. Arsenal there in an attempt to start a slave rebellion. Five men are killed (four white and one black). Ninety United States Marines, under the command of Colonel Robert E. Lee, capture Brown, who is
-
December 2, 1859 - After a gripping trial held in Charles Town in which John Brown is found guilty of conspiracy, of inciting servile insurrection, and of treason against the state, he is hanged.
-
1860 - Former Virginia governor Henry A. Wise aspires to become a compromise Democratic candidate for U.S. president, but his hopes are dashed when the party splits into two factions. Wise supports the Southern Democratic candidate, Vice President John C. Breckinridge.
-
1861 - After Lincoln's election, former Virginia governor Henry A. Wise vehemently advocates for Virginia's secession. His fiery speeches and intense lobbying at Virginia's secession convention are pivotal; Virginia votes to secede from the Union.
-
1861–1865 - Former Virginia governor Henry A. Wise is appointed brigadier general in the Confederate army, despite having no military experience. He struggles in the early years of the war, but performs ably at Petersburg (1864–1865) and during the retreat to Appomattox (1865).
-
April 7, 1865 - Henry A. Wise is temporarily field promoted to major general.
-
September 12, 1876 - Former Virginia governor and Confederate general Henry A. Wise dies in Richmond. He is buried in Hollywood Cemetery.
References
Further Reading
External Links
Cite This Entry
APA Citation:MLA Citation:
First published: May 18, 2009 | Last modified: March 24, 2014