~ Civil War Veteran and Pioneer of Jefferson County, Colorado ~

• George Hill Richardson was born on 27 Nov 1836 in Brandon, Vermont. At some point between 1836 and 1860, he, possibly with his family, relocated to East Saginaw, Michigan.

• "At least as early as 1860," George Richardson moved to Jefferson County, Jefferson Territory (which became known as Colorado Territory soon after), where he was listed as the co-owner of the "Illinois Ranch, located on Spring Creek four miles up Golden Gate Canyon from Golden [Colorado]."

• "Richardson was elected to the Jefferson Territorial House of Representatives, where he served as Clerk while Golden was its capital in 1860-1861."

• On 1 Nov 1861, he was appointed by William Gilpin, Governor of the Territory of Colorado, as one of the three original, albeit temporary, Jefferson County Commissioners. Soon after, on 16 Nov 1861, Richardson and the other two commissioners met at the Miners' Hotel in Golden, where they began planning and organizing the first election ever held in Jefferson County, Colorado, which occurred on 2 Dec 1861.

• George H. Richardson was elected as the first Clerk and Recorder of Jefferson County. As published in the 'Rocky Mountain News' shortly after the election: "For Clerk of the county there was also a severe effort made to elect all five of the candidates, but it proved unsuccessful. R.T. Davis, C.C. Carpenter, W.D. Donaldson, C.M. Ferrell, and 'last though not least in the race,' as it was discovered when the votes came to be counted, was Geo. H. Richardson. George proved himself 'bully boy,' and came out ahead with his 'specks upon his eyes.'…There was but little contest for the other offices, except, perhaps that of Constable." Richardson served as a commissioner "until the first elected Commissioners were seated… [on 6 Jan 1862]," after which, he assumed the duties of County Clerk and Recorder.

• On 19 May 1862, as the United States was embroiled by the Civil War, George Richardson enlisted in the Union Army at Golden, Colorado, as a Private in Company H, 2nd Colorado Infantry Regiment. Enlistment records describe him as being 5 feet, 10 ½ inches tall, with black eyes, black hair, and a dark complexion.

• On 20 May 1862, he was promoted to the rank of Sergeant.

• On 14 Jun 1862, he joined other new recruits at Camp Weld in Denver.

• On 17 Jun 1862, Richardson was promoted to the rank of Sergeant Major.

• He was mustered in on 18 Sep 1862 at Camp Weld.

• On 4 Oct 1862, six officers stationed at Fort Lyon, where Richardson and his company were stationed, wrote to Colonel Jesse Leavenworth recommending that he be promoted from Sergeant Major to 2nd Lieutenant. Leavenworth agreed, and appointed Richardson as a 2nd Lieutenant in Co. H, 2nd CO Inf. on 21 Oct 1862.

• For the remainder of Oct 1862, Richardson was at Fort Lyon and was listed as "the Post Adjutant."

• From 18 Nov 1862 to 3 Dec 1862, he was on "recruiting service" in Central City, Colorado, and at Camp Weld in Denver, after which, he "reported for duty" at Fort Lyon on 31 Dec 1862.

• From 3 Jan 1863 to 6 April 1863, Richardson was "on special duty," away from Company H, as the Acting Regimental Adjutant at Fort Lyon.

• In Apr 1863, he was listed as the Acting Battalion Adjutant but appears to have been relieved from this duty by May 1863.

• In Jul 1863, he was "sick in [the] hospital at Fort Blunt," but had recovered enough by Aug 1863, as he rejoined his company but was still listed as sick. Due to his illness, it is not clear if he participated in the First Battle of Cabin Creek on 1-2 Jul 1863 or the Battle of Honey Springs on 17 Jul 1863.

• On 11 Oct 1863, 2nd Lt. Richard and Co. H were placed on detached duty at Van Buren, Arkansas.

• In Nov 1863, the 2nd and 3rd Colorado Infantry Regiments were combined to form the 2nd Colorado Cavalry, at which point, 2nd Lt. Richardson was transferred to Co. F of the 2nd CO Cav.

• From 18 Nov 1863 to 3 Dec 1863, he was on recruiting duty once again.

• From 26 Dec 1863 to Oct 1864, Richardson was on "temporary detached service" as the Assistant Provost Marshal General at the Headquarters of the Department of Missouri in St. Louis, having received this appointment from Major General Schofield; he was to report for duty to Lieutenant Colonel James Overton Broadhead in St. Louis.

• As Richardson's absence from the regiment dragged on, the 2nd Colorado Cavalry was relived from duty under the Dept. of Missouri and was now under the auspices of Major General Samuel R. Curtis of the Dept. of Kansas. As the regiment and its personnel were no longer under the authority of the Dept. of Missouri. In turn, Colonel James H. Ford, and Major Jesse L. Pritchard, both of the 2nd CO Cav., sent "repeated applications" to the Department of Missouri, all of which asked, "for the return of… [Richardson] to his regiment." When his applications went unanswered, Pritchard reached out to the Assistant Adjutant General, asking for his help in resolving the issue. However, their attempts also failed, as did those of Maj. Gen. Curtis. The matter was then brought to the attention of the War Department, but Secretary of War Edwin Stanton simply referred its resolution to Maj. Gen. Grenville M. Dodge, who then forward all applications asking for Richardson's return to the Provost Marshal General of the Dept. of Missouri. After all of this, no resolution was reached and Richardson remained on "detached service," which no longer seemed to be a "temporary" assignment by any means.

• On 2 Nov 1864, at Fort Leavenworth, Richardson was offered a promotion to the rank of 1st Lieutenant a transfer to Co. B, 2nd CO Cav., but he declined both. The offer of a higher rank and a transfer to another company may very well have been attempts by the officers of the 2nd CO Cav. to entice Richardson to rejoin the regiment, but their efforts were clearly unsuccessful.

• On 19 Dec 1864, having not been with his regiment for nearly an entire year, Richardson was honorably discharged from Co. F, 2nd CO Cav., in absentia, at Fort Leavenworth. However, this appears to have been reversed by a higher authority to ensure he remained "on detached service."

• On 23 Feb 1865, Colonel James H. Baker, the Provost Marshal General of the Department of Missouri, finally sent a response to Maj. Gen. Dodge regarding Richardson's "detached service." Baker simply stated that "it would be detrimental to the interests of the service to have him [Richardson] relieved. His knowledge of the business of this office makes him invaluable." Thus, Richardson remained the Assistant Provost Marshall General of the Dept. of Missouri.

• On 7 May 1865, Richardson was relieved of his duties at his post within the Union Army's District of Upper Arkansas.

• On 16 Jun 1865, 2nd Lieutenant Richardson, still with the Dept. of Missouri, was mustered out of the Union Army at St. Louis, Missouri, with the date coinciding with the mustering out of Co. F, 2nd CO Cav. at Fort Larned, Kansas, as its term of service had expired.

• After being honorably discharged, Richardson returned to Jefferson County for a time, but by 1870 he returned to East Saginaw, Michigan, where he became the editor of the 'Saginaw Daily Courier' newspaper.

• Sometime in the afternoon on 8 Aug 1874, Richardson entered his office at the headquarters building of the 'Saginaw Daily Courier' in East Saginaw, but after 20 minutes, a gunshot was heard; he had committed suicide by a revolver shot to the head. A note was found in front of him that simply read "'good-bye,'" and it was theorized that it may have been the result of him quitting drinking alcohol a week prior.

• At the time of his death, Richardson was working as the editor of the 'Saginaw Daily Courier,' the Secretary of the company that owned the newspaper, and as a "special reporter" for the 'Chicago Times.'

• His funeral was held on 10 Aug 1874 and was "one of the largest ever seen in... [Saginaw] there being upwards of eighty carriages in the procession."

**Bio Information from Robert Mayer III [50468536]**