Wesley C. Hodges was born on April 20, 1821, in Wilkes County, Georgia, to Samuel K. Hodges and Elizabeth Smith. His father died around 1840, and he lived in his mother’s household in Muscogee County, Georgia, until at least 1860. By 1860, he was working as a merchant, and he owned $2,500 of real estate and $3,000 of personal property.

 

Hodges enlisted in the Confederate army on April 16, 1861, and mustered in as a 1^st lieutenant in Company G of the 2^nd Georgia Infantry. On August 9, 1861, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel and transferred to the 17^th Georgia Infantry. He eventually earned a promotion to colonel. The regiment took part in the Seven Days Battles and the Battles of Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, and Gettysburg. He was wounded on May 6, 1864, in the Battle of the Wilderness and received a furlough to return home and recover. He remained in his mother’s household in Muscogee County for the next few years. By 1870, he was working as a cotton broker, and he owned $3,500 of real estate and $11,000 of personal property. He died in Muscogee County on September 19, 1874.

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