{{short description|American politician}} {{Use American English|date=March 2017}} {{Use mdy dates|date=March 2017}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = William Sydney Wilson | order= Member of the [[Provisional Congress of the Confederate States]] for Mississippi | term_start = February 4, 1861 | term_end = April 29, 1861 | predecessor = ''Office established'' | successor = [[Jehu Amaziah Orr]] | birth_date = {{Birth date|1816|11|07}} | birth_place = [[Snow Hill, Maryland]] | death_date = {{Death date and age|1862|11|03|1816|11|07}} | death_place = near [[Sharpsburg, Maryland]] | allegiance = {{Flag|Confederate States of America}} | rank = [[Major (United States)|Major]] | unit = [[48th Mississippi Infantry Regiment|2nd Battalion, Mississippi Infantry]] | battles = [[American Civil War]] }} '''William Sydney Wilson''' (November 7, 1816 – November 3, 1862) was an Mississippi [[politician]], [[Confederate States Congress|Confederate Congressman]], and soldier who died in the [[American Civil War]].
==Biography== William Sydney Wilson, the son of [[Ephraim King Wilson]] and brother of [[Ephraim King Wilson II]] was born in [[Snow Hill, Maryland]], and later moved to [[Mississippi]]. Wilson settled in [[Port Gibson, Mississippi|Port Gibson]], practiced law, and served as a member of the [[Mississippi State Legislature]] from 1858 to 1859 and 1860 to 1861.<ref name="Warner">{{cite book |last1=Warner |first1=Ezra J. |last2=Yearns |first2=W. Buck|date=1975 |title=Biographical Register of the Confederate Congress |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Biographical_Register_of_the_Confederate/riBfDwAAQBAJ |location= |publisher=Louisiana State University Press |pages=259-260 |isbn= |access-date=10 April 2026}}</ref>
A proponent of secession, following Mississippi's withdrawal from the Union in January 1861 Wilson was selected to represent the state in the [[Provisional Congress of the Confederate States]].<ref name="Warner" /> However, he resigned from Congress shortly after taking office and returned to Mississippi to recruit an infantry company for the war. He was elected as [[Captain (United States)|captain]] of Company F, [[48th Mississippi Infantry Regiment|2nd Mississippi Infantry Battalion]], and was later promoted to [[Major (United States)|major]].<ref name=MDAH>{{cite book |last=Rowland |first=Dunbar. |author-link= |date=1908 |title=The Official and Statistical Register of the State of Mississippi, Volume 2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BCYLAAAAMAAJ |location= |publisher=Mississippi Department of Archives and History |pages=511–518|isbn=}}</ref> Wilson took part in battles in Virginia and Maryland as part of the [[Army of Northern Virginia]]. He was mortally wounded at the [[Battle of Antietam]] on September 17, 1862, and died on November 3.<ref>[http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/wilson9.html#088.27.73 William Sydney Wilson], [[The Political Graveyard]]</ref><ref name="Warner" />
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *{{Find a Grave|7192559}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, William Sydney}} [[Category:1816 births]] [[Category:1862 deaths]]
[[Category:Mississippi lawyers]] [[Category:Deputies and delegates to the Provisional Congress of the Confederate States]] [[Category:Members of the Mississippi Legislature]] [[Category:People from Snow Hill, Maryland]] [[Category:People of Mississippi in the American Civil War]] [[Category:Signatories of the Constitution of the Confederate States]] [[Category:Signatories of the Provisional Constitution of the Confederate States]] [[Category:Politicians killed in the American Civil War]]