Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)/Wise, Henry Alexander

WISE, HENRY ALEXANDER, an American statesman; born in Drummondtown, Va., Dec. 3, 1806; was educated at Washington College, Pa.; admitted to the bar in 1828; member of Congress in 1833-1843; minister to Brazil, under President Tyler, in 1844-1847; and Democratic governor of Virginia in 1856-1860. He opposed secession, but in 1861 joined the Confederate army as Brigadier-General. He was defeated in the Kanawha valley in 1861, and at Roanoke Island in 1862. After the war he resumed the practice of law in Richmond, Va., and died there Sept. 12, 1876.