Richard P. Wheeler
Richard P. Wheeler was born on August 19, 1835, in Danvers, Massachusetts, to Asa Wheeler and Louisa Robinson. His father earned a living as a butcher. His mother died on November 3, 1840, and his father married Mehitable Perley on April 30, 1842. He grew up and attended school in Salem, Massachusetts, before beginning work as a merchant. His father died on June 1, 1854, and afterward, he provided financial support for his step-mother and his half-siblings.
He enlisted in the Union army, and he mustered in as a sergeant in the 23rd Massachusetts Infantry on September 28, 1861. The regiment took part in General Ambrose Burnside’s North Carolina expedition and the Overland Campaign. In June 1862, he observed that “doing duty in a loyal state and doing it in a disloyal one is two things, in one every thing is quiet and one can lie down to sleep and feel sure of a good nights sleep, while in the other you neaver know when you are safe or how long you can sleep.”
He was promoted to 2nd lieutenant in July 1862 and then to 1st lieutenant in January 1863. He was wounded in the abdomen in the Battle of Drewry’s Bluff in May 1864, and he died in Fortress Monroe, Virginia, on June 2, 1864.
DATABASE CONTENT
| (3728) | Wheeler, Richard P. | 1835-08-19 | 1864-06-02 |
- Conflict Side: Union
- Role: Soldier
- Rank in: Sergeant
- Rank out: 1st Lieutenant
- Rank highest: 1st Lieutenant
- Gender: Male
- Race: White
Documents - Records: 22
- (10530) [writer] ~ Richard P. Wheeler to Mehitable P. Wheeler, 4 June 1862
- (10531) [writer] ~ Richard P. Wheeler to Louisa R. Wheeler, 3 January 1862
- (10532) [writer] ~ Richard P. Wheeler to Louisa R. Wheeler, 2 May 1862
- (10533) [writer] ~ Richard P. Wheeler to Mehitable P. Wheeler, 17 January 1862
- (10534) [writer] ~ Richard P. Wheeler to Louisa R. Wheeler, 18 February 1862
- (10535) [writer] ~ Richard P. Wheeler to Louisa R. Wheeler, 18 July 1862
- (10537) [associated with] ~ Manuscript Fragment, undated
- (10538) [writer] ~ Richard P. Wheeler to Mehitable P. Wheeler, 22 August 1862
- (10539) [associated with] ~ John G. Chambers Special Order, 7 January 1862
- (10540) [writer] ~ Richard P. Wheeler to Mehitable P. Wheeler, 27 December 1862
- (10542) [writer] ~ Richard P. Wheeler to Louisa R. Wheeler, 16 January 1863
- (10543) [associated with] ~ Charles A. Heckman Special Order, 6 March 1863
- (10544) [associated with] ~ George M. Whipple to Mehitable P. Wheeler, 3 June 1864
- (10545) [writer] ~ Milo T. Hardy and Richard P. Wheeler to Truman A. Hardy, 2 May 1863
- (10546) [associated with] ~ Andrew J. Holbrook to Mehitable P. Wheeler, 6 June 1864
- (10547) [associated with] ~ Charles A. R. Dimon to Mehitable P. Wheeler, 4 June 1864
- (10548) [associated with] ~ George V. Barrett to the Friends and Relatives of Richard P. Wheeler, 29 July 1864
- (10550) [associated with] ~ Charles A. R. Dimon to Mehitable P. Wheeler, 13 August 1864
- (10551) [associated with] ~ 23rd Massachusetts Infantry Resolutions, undated
- (10552) [associated with] ~ Stephen P. Webb to Mehitable P. Wheeler, 6 October 1864
- (10553) [writer] ~ Richard P. Wheeler Diary, 1862
- (15417) [associated with] ~ James Marshall to Mehitable P. Wheeler, 4 June 1864
People - Records: 4
- (3729) Wheeler, Mehitable P. is the [step-parent of] (3728) Wheeler, Richard P.
- (3730) Wheeler, Louisa R. is the [half sibling of] (3728) Wheeler, Richard P.
- (5536) Hardy, Milo T. is the [friend of] (3728) Wheeler, Richard P.
- (5537) Hardy, Truman Alvah is the [sibling-in-law of] (3728) Wheeler, Richard P.
Places - Records: 2
Regiments - Records: 1
- (294) [enlisted] ~ 23rd Massachusetts Infantry
SOURCES
1850 and 1860 United States Federal Censuses, available from Ancestry.com; Military Service Records of Richard P. Wheeler, available from Fold3.com; Massachusetts Death Records, 1841-1915, available from Ancestry.com; Richard P. Wheeler to Mehitable Wheeler, 4 June 1862, DL1637.001, Nau Collection
