Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 7).djvu/319

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WADLEIGH, George Henry, naval officer, b. in Dover. N. II.. 2S .Sept., 1843. and was gracUmteil at the V. S. naval academy in 1863. He was a[i- pointed ensign and ordered to the " Lackawanna," of tlie West Gulf blockading squadron, being pres- ent at the attack on Fort Powell, in Farragut's famous battle of Mobile and subsequent operations resulting in the surrender of Fort Morgan and cap- ture of the Confederate vessels. After serving on several stations and being assigned to various shore duties, he was sent in the steum-slooji " Alliance" in the summer of 1881 on a special Arctic voyage in search of the lost •'Jeannotte," proceeding as far as latitude 80^ 10', the highest f)oint ever reached by a shirwjf-war. He attained to the rank of cap- tain in July, 1894, and he commanded the " Phila- delphia" when the American flag was raised over the Hawaiian islands, 12 Aug., 1898. Capt. Wad- leigh is at present in command of the receiving- ship " Wabash " at the Charlestown navy-yard. He is No. 13 on the list of naval captains.

WADSWOKTH, James Wolcott. congress- man, b. in Philadelphia, 12 Oct., 1K46. He is a son of Gen. James S. Wadsworth (g. v.), and left school in 1864 to enter the army, in which he served as aide-de-camp on the staff of Gen. G. K. Warren, and was brevetted major for the battle of Five Forks. After the close of the war he took a two years' special course at the Sheffield scientific school, and later became a farmer in Geneseo, N. Y. In 1880-'1 he was comptroller of the state. and two years later was elected to congress, lieing re-elected in 1884 and again in 1890. Mr. Wads- worth was also elected to the 54th and two suc- eeeiling congres-sos. His younger brother, William, is a prominent agriculturist of Livingston county, and is widely identified with the importing and imj)roving of the Henry Clay breed of horses.

WAGNER, Madge Morris, jouriuilist, b. on the plains, 25 April. 1862. when her parents were on their way to California. She is a desc-endant of Capt. Morris, who built Fort Morris, in Vir- ginia. .She was educated in the common schools, and early became a journalist and poet. Her pa- triotic yioem " Libert v Bell" led to the construction of the Columbian liberty bell. From 1885 to 1895 she was the editor of " The Golden Gate." to which Bret Harte, Jowpiin Miller, and JIark Twain were constant contributors. Mrs. Wagner is the author of " Debris, a Hook of Poems" (.San Fran- cisco, 1881);" MvstervofCannel. and other Poems" (1885); and a iiov.l. "The Tilled Plebeian " (1890).

'''WAINWRIGHT. Richard.''' naval officer, b. in Washington. D. C. 17 Dec, 1849. He wasa[ipoint- ed to the naval academy, where he was graduated in 1868. He then served on the "Jamestown," of the Pacific fleet, and was promoted to ensign, 19 April. 1869; master. 12 July. 1870; and later serving on the "Colorado," flan-ship of the .Asiatic fleet. He was commissioned lieutenant, 25 Sept., 1873. and later commamled the coast-survey vessel "Arago." He was flag-lieutenant to .Admiral Patterson, commanding the Asiatic station, and later served on the "Tennessee" on the North Atlantic station. He was secretary to Admiral Jouelt, commanding the North Atlantic squiwlron, served on the "Galena," and was on duty at the naval academy. He was appointed lieutenant- commander. 16 Sept., 1894. and was executive officer of the battle-ship "Maine "when she was blown up in Havana harbor, in February, 1898. During the war with Spain he was in command of the "Gloucester." and took part in the destruction of Admiral Cervera's squatlron. Commander Wain Wright's father, Richard (q. v.), died near New Orleans, 10 Aug., 1862, while commanding Farragut's famous flag-ship, the " Hartford."

WAITE, Stand, Indian soldier, b. in old Chero- kee Nati<m. 15 Feb., 1810; d. there. 12 Aug., 1867. He attended a Moravian school at Brainard, where the Moravians had a mission in the Cherokee Nation. He claimed descent on his father's side from a Spanish officer of the followers of De Soto, who left the Spaniards when they passed through the Cherokee country and married a Cherokee woman. His mother was a sister of Charles Reese, who distinguished himself under Jackson at the battle of the Horse Shoe. He was fond of read- ing, and could write well in EnglisI;, but never learned to speak it well. He was noted for his si- lence, but wasalwaysan attentive listener. Though small in stature, he was exceedingly strong and active, and was a famous ball-player. When the troubles of the Cherokees regarding their lands in Georgia occurred Stand Waite and his brother, Elias Boudinot, the Rogers, John Adair, and others attended and participated in what was known as the Schimmerliorn treaty in 1835, by which they ceded their lands in Georgia in exchange for lands in the west. A large number of the Cherokees re- pudiated the treaty and refused to move, but they were compelled to do so by the government. It was in 1839, after the immigration was over, that a council was held to determine what should be done about it. The council was an informal one, and was held at Double Springs. No one knew what was decided to be done until it was done. Klias Boudinot was then living at the Park Hill mission station. One morning not long after the council he was tomahawked to death. On the same day Major Ridge and his brother, John Ridge, were killed. Stand Waite was to have been killed also, but received warning in time to make his escape. From that time until 1846 bloo<l flowed in the Cherokee Nation like water. Waite took no active hand in the feud except once, when he accidentally met just over the line in Arkansas the leiuler of 'the band who had killed his uncle. Major Ridge. Him he killed, for which he was duly tried in Fayetteville, and furnished an (K'casion for a famous lawyer of that period, named Arring- ton, to make one of the greatest speeches of his life. The treaty of 1839 buried the hatchet be- tween the hostile parties, and .Stand W'aite applied himself to business and soon acquired a fortune. On the breaking out of the civil war he took sides with the Confederates, and was cho.sen colonel of the Isl (Cherokee regiment of infantry in October, 1861. He was appointed brigadier-general, 10 May, 1864, his command consisting of the 1st and 2d Creek regiments of infantry, a Cherokee battalion of infantry, a Seminole battalion of infantry, and an Osage battalion. He was chief of the Cherokee Nation from October. 1862. to September, 1865.

'''WAKEMAN. Abram''', lawyer, b. in Fairfield, Conn., 31 May, 1824 ; li. in New York city. 29 June, 1889. He moved to New Rochelle at the age of sixteen, where he taught school, but subsequent- Iv settled in New York city, and was admitted to t}ie bar in 1847. In 1850 and 1851 he was sent to the legishiliire. He was electeil to the 35th con- gress as a representative. He was appointed post-