of Petersburg should not arrive in time to save the capital, but as Early's advance arrived in the sub- urbs of Washington on the north, Wright's troops were landing at the wharves on the south. With some regiments of the 19th corps just arrived from the Gulf and a few other hastdy gathered troops, Gen. Wright was ready to meet any assault. Early was soon forced to withdraw in the face of a strong reconnoissance which Gen. Wright pushed out. "I have sent from here," wrote Gen. Grant to President Lincoln from the Petersburg lines, "a whole corps, commanded by an excellent officer." And to a prominent official of the war department he said : " Boldness is all that is needed to drive the enemy out of Maryland, and Wright is the man to assume that." Gen. Wright rallied the troops under his command, re-formed the line, and did much to retrieve the fortunes of the early sur- prise at Cedar Creek, 19 Oct., 1864. His 6th corps first broke the strong lines at Petersburg on Sun- day morning, 2 April, 1865. In his official report of that battle Gen. Grant said : " Gen. Wright penetrated the line with his whole corps, sweeping everything before him, and to his left toward Hatcher's Run, capturing many guns and several thousand prisoners." He was brevetted brigadier- general, u. S. army, 13 March, 1865, for gallantry in the battle of Cold Harbor, and major-general for the capture of Petersburg, Va. On 14 June, 1865 he received the thanks of the Connecticut legislature. He was made lieutenant-colonel, 23 Nov., 1865, and then served on various engineer- ing boards, becoming colonel, 4 March, 1879, and chief-of-engineers with the rank of brigadier-gen- eral, 30 June, 1879. On 22 March, 1884, he was retired from active service. Gen. Wright is co- author of a " Report on the Fabrication of Iron for Defences " (Washington, 1871).
WRIGHT, Sir James, bart, governor of Geor-
gia, b. in Charleston, S. C, about 1714 ; d. in Lon-
don, England, 20 Nov., 1785. His father, Robert,
removed from Durham, England, to Charleston,
and was chief justice of South Carolina for many
years. The son was probably educated in England,
studied law, and practised in Charleston. He was
appointed agent of the province in Great Britain,
and beeame chief justice and lieutenant-governor
of South Carolina on 13 May, 1760. He was ap-
pointed royal governor of Georgia in 1764, and
was the last to administer its affairs in the name
of the king. He arrived in Savannah in October,
1764, and his management of affairs was successful
until the passage of the stamp-act. He labored to
convince the people that they should submit to the
king's authority, but the governor's proclamations
only served to exasperate them. On 5 Dec, 1766,
his majesty's ship "Speedwell" arrived in the Sa-
vannah river with the stamped paper, which was
placed under the care of the commissary ; but, on
receiving news that the "Liberty boys" had de-
termined to break open the fort and destroy the
papers, the governor ordered a guard to prevent
their seizure, and afterward had them removed
to Fort George, on Cockspur island. In 1768 the
governor charged the assembly with revolution-
ary conduct and dismissed it. On 17 June, 1775,
several men-of-war arrived in Tybee, and, to pre-
vent the governor from holding communication
with them, Joseph Habersham entered his dwell-
ing and took him prisoner ; but the governor made
his escape, and went to Bonaventure, whence he
was conveyed to the armed ship "Scarborough,"
where he addressed a letter to nis council. The
assembly adjourned without giving Gov. Wright an
answer, and he then planned an attack upon the
town, which proved unsuccessful, and he afterward
sailed for England. In 1779 he was despatched
to resume the government of Georgia. Savannah
was at this time in possession of the British, and
the Americans were endeavoring to recover it.
The friends of Gen. Wright say that, owing to
his determination and spirit, the defence of his
capital "was one of the most brilliant events of
the war in the south," and would not have been
made but for his deciding vote in the council
of war. At the close of hostilities he retired to
England, and his extensive property was confis-
cated. He was created a baronet on 8 Dec. 1772.
Wrightsborough, Columbia co., Ga., was named in
his honor. — His brother, Jermyn, was in command
of a fort on St. Mary's river, which became a
rendezvous for the Tories of that part of the coun-
try, and was unsuccessfully assailed by the patriots.
A severe writer calls it a " nest of villains." An-
other account is that Wright's force consisted of
negroes. In 1778 he was attainted, and lost his
estate. His name appears in the confiscation act
of South Carolina in 1782. — James's son, James,
succeeded his father in 1785. The Georgia Royal-
ists were raised for him in 1779, but his name is
found in connection with ' that corps only at the
siege of Savannah, when his post was in a redoubt
built of green wood strengthened by fillings of
sand, and mounted with heavy cannon. He died
in 1816 without issue, and his title reverted to his
grand-nephew, Sir James Alexander. — Another
son, Alexander, b. in 1751, married Elizabeth,
the only daughter and heiress of John Izard, of
South Carolina. At the close of the Revolution
he settled in Jamaica, W. I. He was of " known
and just influence."
WRIGHT, Joel Tombleson, Canadian clergy-
man, b. in Upwell, Isle of Ely. England, 16 March,
1834. He removed to Canada in 1855, and was
ordained as a priest of the Church of England in
Canada in 1862 by Bishop Benjamin Cronyn. He
was incumbent of Wardsville and adjacent places
in Middlesex county for eight years, and has since
been rector of St. James's church, St. Mary's, Ont.
He was plaintiff in the celebrated chancery suit,
Wright vs. the Synod of Huron, instituted in 1881
on behalf of himself and other clergy of the dio-
cese. The case finally reached the supreme court
of Canada, which decided against Mr. Wright, who
thereupon, in 1884, appealed to the privy council
of Great Britain, where it is now pending. He is
known as a lecturer on Freemasonry, and has pub-
lished a work on " Constitutional Government and
Synod Legislation " (1879).
WRIGHT, John C., jurist, b. in Wethersfield,
Conn., in 1783; d. in Washington, D.C., 13 Feb.,
1861. He received an academic education, learned
the trade of a printer, and went to Troy, N.Y.,
where he edited “The Gazette” for several years.
After studying law he was admitted to the bar and
began practice in Steubenville, Ohio. For many
years he was judge of the state supreme court, and
he was elected to congress as an Adams Democrat,
serving from 1 Dec., 1823, till 3 March, 1829, and
being afterward defeated for re-election as a
Henry Clay
Democrat. He and Tristam Burgess, of
Rhode Island, were the only two members of the
house that ventured to reply to
John Randolph of Roanoke
in the style of sarcasm that characterized
Randolph's speeches. He was a delegate to the
peace congress in Washington in February, 1861,
but died before its adjournment. For several years
he was the editor and proprietor of the Cincinnati
“Gazette.” His speeches in congress on the “resolution
calling on the secretary of state for information
