High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! William Burnham Woods (August 3, 1824 ? May 14, 1887) was an American jurist, politician, and soldier.Woods was born on August 3, 1824 in Newark, Ohio. He was the older brother of Charles R. Woods, another future Civil War general. He attended college at both Western Reserve University and Yale University, graduating from Yale in 1845. Upon his graduation he returned home to Newark and studied law, being admitted to the bar in 1847 and establishing a practice with his tutor.