Israel Bush "Fighting Dick" Richardson (26 November 1815 – 3 November 1862) was a US Army Major-General who served as a divisional commander in the Union Army of the Potomac during the American Civil War. He was killed at the Battle of Antietam in 1862.
Biography[]
Israel Bush Richardson was born in Fairfax, Vermont in 1815, a descendant of Israel Putnam. He graduated from West Point in 1841, served as a US Army second lieutenant during the Second Seminole War, and earned the nickname "Fighting Dick" during his service in the Mexican-American War. He resigned in 1855 and began farming near Pontiac, Michigan, but, when the American Civil War broke out, he organized the 2nd Michigan Volunteer Infantry Regiment. He was promoted to Brigadier-General on 17 May 1861 and commanded several brigades of the Army of the Potomac and then the 1st Division of II Corps during the Peninsula Campaign of 1862. He was promoted to Major-General after the Seven Days' Battles, and his division played a key role at the Battle of Antietam in September 1862. He was struck by a shell fragment at Bloody Lane and died of his wounds two months later, one of six generals to die at Antietam.
Gallery[]
