Colonel Peter C. Woods, 32nd Texas Cavalry

Peter Cavanaugh Woods was born December 30, 1819, a son of Peter Woods, Jr., a sheriff in Franklin County, Tennessee, and Sarah Winslow Davidson Woods. His father was killed while making an arrest when Peter was but 6 weeks old. Sarah, along with her two sons, Pinckney and Peter, went to live with Sarah’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. George Davidson near Winchester, Tennessee. When Sarah remarried, the two youngsters continued to live with their maternal grandparents.

In 1836 the Davidson family moved to Yalobusha County, Mississippi. In 1837, when Peter was 18 years old, the grandparents and three of their sons died of “milk fever” (brucellosis). In 1840, Peter began the study of medicine under Dr. Walker. He graduated in 1842 from Louisville Medical Institute, now known as the University of Louisville. He returned to Mississippi where he began his practice of medicine. In 1846 Peter married Georgia Virginia Lawshe in Water Valley, Miss.

Between 1846 and 1852, Dr. Woods and his father-in-law, Lewis Lawshe, went to New York and attended a seminar about surgical infections in the recuperation of patients. He learned to use a diluted solution of carbolic acid to cleanse surgical instruments and wounds and to use a diluted spray to kill air borne germs before surgery. This knowledge would serve him well and save many lives during the war.

In 1852, Dr. Woods left Mississippi and settled in Bastrop, Texas. A cholera epidemic in Bastrop took the lives of two of he and Georgia’s children. In 1854 the family moved to Hays County near San Marcos.

When the war began, Dr. Peter Woods joined up with a group of men who met near San Antonio. He was elected their Captain. The unit became known as the 32nd Texas Cavalry and General Henry McCullough appointed Peter, Colonel of the regiment. The regiment served with the 1st, 2nd and 23rd Cavalry and the 3rd Texas Infantry on both the Rio Grande and the Gulf Coast. They patrolled from Fredericksburg to Brownsville at least until July 1862. They protected cotton wagons going into Mexico to sell cotton to English traders. They protected the salt flats between the King Ranch and the Rio Grande. From August 1862 to November 1863, the regiment was in Houston. In February 1864 they were camped on Matagorda Bay. By April 1864 the regiment was on the move to Mansfield and Pleasant Hill, La., and participated in part of the Battle of Mansfield. From April 12-22, 1864, they marched all night and participated in skirmishes all day from Pleasant Hill to Blair’s Landing on the banks of the Red River. Col. Woods taught the physician of the 32nd the use of the aseptic technique to help save the extremities and lives of his men. Not a one of Col. Wood’s men had to have their extremities removed due to infection.

The Battle of Yellow Bayou was fought on May 18, 1864. During this battle Col. Woods was shot. The Yankee ball entered his left hand, coursed up the entire forearm and came out near his elbow. The aseptic technique he learned in New York helped him to a quick recovery from his wound. The arm was saved, however, his medical and surgical practice was limited.

The regiment was requested to remain in Louisiana until the war was over. The regiment, along with Bushel’s regiment remained there from May 1864 until April 26, 1865. The Colonel and one of his sons who had joined him earlier went home to San Marcos and his farm and ranch which Georgia and her father had kept solvent during the war. Upon arriving home, Peter freed all his slaves and told them they were free to go. Only two left. He gave each family that stayed, 15-20 acres of land to continue to live nearby and work, if they chose. More children were born to Peter and Georgia, and Georgia died in 1872. He later remarried.

There is so much more to be told about this good man, but space precludes that. Summarizing the next years, he was a delegate to the Texas State Convention at Austin in 1866. He was on the Indian Affairs Committee and on the committee for providing a “blue law” for the state. He served in the Methodist Episcopal Church. He was a doctor. He did so many things. Before his death in 1898, he attended a reunion of the 32nd Texas Cavalry. He spoke to those present and told them how proud he was to have spent the time with them during the war. He remembered that no other men of the Confederacy had nobler hearts or more soldierly abilities than the ones he had the honor to command. With tears in his eyes he paid tribute to the men who died on the battlefield. He spoke of many of them by name. He spoke of the pride he had in all the men who survived and made a better life for themselves and their families. In addition, he had praise for the “noble women” left at home, who also wore a badge of honor. There were heroes on the field of battle and heroines at home.

Dr. Colonel Peter C. Woods practiced medicine in San Marcos for 44 years. If the patient did not respond to his treatment, he was known to kneel by the bedside and pray. He was, indeed, a thorough Christian gentleman. Thus lived and died a fine friend to all, rich or poor. He was a good man, a caring commander and a noble gentleman.

Information provided by Dorothy Woods Schwartz of Alvarado, Texas.