Charles Erskine Scott Wood

Charles Erskine Scott Wood or C.E.S. Wood (February 20, 1852 – January 22, 1944) was an American author, civil liberties advocate, artist, soldier, attorney, and Georgist. He is best known as the author of the 1927 satirical bestseller, Heavenly Discourse.

Born in Erie, Pennsylvania, Wood graduated from West Point in 1874. He served as an infantry officer and fought in the Nez Perce War in 1877. He was present at the surrender of Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce. It was Wood who transcribed, and perhaps embellished, Chief Joseph's famous speech, which ended with: "My heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever." The two men became close friends.

He raised his family in Portland at a house on King's Hill near the northeast corner of today's Vista Bridge. The site is now occupied by the Portland Garden Club in the Goose Hollow neighborhood. John Reed grew up a few blocks away and was greatly influenced by Wood.

Following his service he became a prominent attorney in Portland, Oregon, where he often defended labor unions and "radicals" including birth control activist Margaret Sanger. He began to write, became a frequent contributor to The Pacific Monthly magazine, and was a leader of Portland's literary community.

In 1896, Wood was Oregon's sole representative on the national committee of the National Democratic Party, known as the Gold Democrats. The party, which had the blessing of Grover Cleveland, championed defense of the gold standard and free trade.

Like many Cleveland Democrats, including his long-time friend Mark Twain, Wood joined the American Anti-Imperialist League. The League called for the United States to grant immediate independence to the Philippines and other territories conquered in the Spanish–American War.

As a lawyer during the early twentieth century, Wood represented dissidents such as Emma Goldman. His politics verged upon anarchism. He wrote articles for radical journals such as Liberty, The Masses, and Mother Earth.

Wood was unflagging in his opposition to state power. He advocated such causes as civil liberties for anti-war protesters, birth control, and anti-imperialism. In 1927, he wrote in Heavenly Discourse that the "city of George Washington is blossoming into quite a nice little seat of empire and centralized bureaucracy. The people have a passion to 'let Uncle Sam do it.' The federal courts are police courts. An entire system with an army of officials has risen on the income tax; another on prohibition. The freedom of the common man, more vital to progress than income or alcohol, has vanished.”

Wood not only advocated for the Native Americans, but he painted them. His love of painting generated numerous studies of landscapes and points of interest along the Oregon and California coastline. He also memorialized some of his favorite places in watercolor including Keats' grave and vistas from his home in Los Gatos, California. His primary medium was watercolor/graphite. The Huntington Library has a good sampling of his artwork online.

Entry to "The Cats"

From 1925 until his death in 1944 Wood lived with his second wife, Sara Bard Field, in Los Gatos in a house named "The Cats."

His friends included Chief Joseph, Emma Goldman, Eugene Debs, Ansel Adams, Robinson Jeffers, Clarence Darrow, Childe Hassam, Margaret Sanger and John Steinbeck.

At the time of his death Wood was West Point's oldest living graduate. He was the father of Nan Wood Honeyman, Oregon's first U. S. congresswoman.

Wood was portrayed by Sam Elliott in the TV movie I Will Fight No More Forever. In the film, he is a United States captain who fights in the Nez Perce War.