Benjamin Franklin Wysor

Benjamin Franklin Wysor, born November 24, 1813; died May 26, 1864, Newbern, Pulaski County, Va. Married Harrier Jane Jordan, daughter of Michael and Elizabeth (Trollinger) Jordan.78 Graduate in law from the University of Virginia.79 He "was a lawyer and a prominent man, many years commonwealth's attorney of Pulaski county, a member of the Constitutional convention of 1850-1851, and a member, of the Secession convention of 1861 . . . . he was shot of by Federal troops, at Newbern, Virginia, in 1864, just at the close of the battle of Cloyd's Mountain, in which he had taken part, and he died from his wounds on May 26, 1864. He made a deep and lasting impression on the people of Southwest Virginia, where he is still [1906} remembered with honor and affection . . .80 Governor Wise called him the ablest constitutional lawyer of the state."81

Benjamin Franklin Wysor was a member of the Confederate Homeguard and Reserves. He survived the Battle of Cloyd's Mountain, but was mortally wounded afterwards on the streets of Newbern by victorious Union Soldiers. The Union Soldiers had made their way into the county seat of Newbern and were breaking into homes and warehouses. Wysor tried to stop them and was shot twice, the second shot going thru his neck, and witnessed by his wife and children. He lived for almost two weeks after that but died from complications of his wounds. Wysor served as an attorney in Pulaski County, and represented the area in the 1850-51 Virginia Constitutional Convention and again in the 1861 Virginia Secession Convention, where he drafted the proposal. He was born in Christiansburg VA, married Harriett Jordan, and raised nine children. All his sons were in the Confederate Army. Son Huge was later the Sheriff of Pulaski County, and son William Wirt was appointed by President Cleveland as the Vice Consul to Spain.

• Reference: Find A Grave Memorial - SmartCopy: Nov 13 2022, 1:00:10 UTC