David Richmond

My great grandfather was named Sylvester Richmond. He was a soldier in the 138th Indiana, and his name (S. Richmond) is on your Three Creeks Civil War monument as being a resident of West Creek Township. He also had two brothers in the war, Joshua Richmond (J. Richmond) and David Richmond (D. Richmond), of the 20th Indiana. They are listed as being from Cedar Creek Township.

At some point, and I don’t know when, the Richmonds left Ashtabula. They apparently headed to Indiana, perhaps to join up with David’s sisters in Lake County, but I can find no trace of them in the 1860 census anywhere. In May 1861, Joshua enlisted in the 12th Indiana Infantry for a one year tour. Two months after Joshua enlisted in the 12th, brother David Richmond enlisted in Company B, 20th Indiana, for a 3 year tour. He enlisted from Lake County, so at this point he at least was a resident.

After Joshua’s one year enlistment with the 12th was finished, he came back to Indiana and immediately reenlisted, this time in the 20th Indiana, B Company, and joined his brother David. Unfortunately he was with the 20th when they were in Gettysburg the following summer, because he was killed. He is one of the “lucky” soldiers to have his own grave and gravestone at the Gettysburg Cemetery, possibly because his brother was there to identify him.

David Richmond soldiered on another year until the Battle of the Wilderness, where he was wounded; he mustered out when his enlistment was up in July 1864. He came home, moved to Kankakee, Illinois, where he married, moved to Kansas, and became a farmer. He died January 19, 1915 in Little Valley Township, McPherson County, Kansas.