Pvt Richard Miller
| Miller, Richard Born: c. 1824, Culpeper County, Virginia Died: August 14, 1864, City Point, Virginia Burial: City Point National Cemetery in Hopewell, Virginia Occupation: Teamster Enlisted: March 19, 1864, Hartford, Connecticut Unit: 30th Connecticut Colored Infantry (later 31st U.S. Colored Troops) Company: D > C > F Rank: Private *Note: Under pressure to meet federal quotas, the State of Connecticut would arbitrarily assigned enlistees from other locations to various Connecticut towns to meet its quota. This appears to be the case with Pvt. Richard Miller. --------------------------- Richard Miller is a soldier about whom little is known. Born around 1824 in Culpeper County, Virginia, Richard enlisted in the Union Army in Hartford, Connecticut, on March 19, 1864. That same day, the 29th Connecticut Colored Regiment departed from New Haven, Connecticut, bound for Annapolis, Maryland. As a result, Richard was assigned to Company D of the 30th Connecticut Colored Infantry Regiment, which remained in New Haven. On May 18, 1864, the 30th Connecticut Colored Regiment was transported to Annapolis and consolidated with the 31st United States Colored Troops. Following this consolidation, Richard was initially placed in Company C, but was ultimately assigned to Company F. Richard’s enlistment papers describe him as an unmarried teamster residing in Windsor, Connecticut, though this residence does not appear in census or local records for Richard. During this period, Connecticut was working to meet its federal enlistment quotas. Listing Miller’s residence as Windsor may have been a means of crediting his service toward the town’s required quota. By June 1864, the regiment was operating within the Petersburg Campaign, during the early phase of the siege of Petersburg. Large concentrations of United States Colored Troops from multiple regiments were present. The combination of troop density, intense summer heat, and sustained operations led to exhaustion and widespread disease. Richard’s muster rolls show him present and in good health through June 1864, but sometime in July or August he fell ill and was sent to the hospital at City Point, Virginia. During the siege of Petersburg, General Ulysses S. Grant maintained his headquarters at City Point, a small port town at the junction of the James and Appomattox Rivers. Its location along major rail and water routes made it a strategic hub, enabling efficient transportation and communication with Fort Monroe and Washington, D.C. City Point became the largest Union supply and medical center of the war, with thousands of soldiers passing through. At least seven hospitals operated there, including the massive Depot Field Hospital, which covered nearly 200 acres and could accommodate up to 10,000 patients. There, at City Point, far from home, Richard Miller died of pneumonia on August 14, 1864. He was initially buried in a temporary burial ground at Point of Rocks, Virginia, before being reinterred at City Point National Cemetery in Hopewell, Virginia. Richard Miller served only a few months, but in that time, he experienced the full weight of war. Like many Black soldiers, his service was marked not only by the dangers of battle, but by the harsh conditions of military life—conditions that claimed his life before the freedom he fought for was fully realized. |