Richardson Leonard Henley

In 1860 he was a 24 year old lawyer in Williamsburg, VA living with his parents, sister (?) Catherine, and 15 slaves on their plantation at Burnt Ordinary (now Toano). He enlisted in Williamsburg on 21 April 1861 and mustered as a Sergeant in Company C, 32nd Virginia Infantry. He was appointed Captain and Acting Commissary on 7 October 1861 and reported as volunteer aide-de-camp (VADC) to General McLaws in May 1862.

He was with his Regiment at Sharpsburg, and was wounded through the arm there on 17 September 1862. In his Report, General Semmes noted:

Calling for a staff officer to bear an order to the regiments on the left, none being at hand, Captain Henley, acting commissary of subsistence, Thirty-second Virginia, who had been shot through the arm but refused to quit the field, offered himself to become the bearer, which was declined, on account of his wound; whereupon, stating that his wound was slight and that he was not disabled, he was allowed to proceed. While doing so, he fell, severely wounded, pierced with two bullets.

He was admitted to a hospital in Richmond, VA on 27 September and returned to duty in October. He was transferred to conscription duty on 16 July 1863 with no later military record.

By 1870 and to at least 1880 he was a judge and farmer in Williamsburg.

His service from Krick1 and his Compiled Service Records,2 online from fold3. Personal details from family genealogists and the US Census of 1860-1880. His gravesite is on Findagrave.

He married Sarah Ida Dudley Spencer (1848-1905) in December 1867 and they had 12 children.

07/27/1836; James City County, VA

05/23/1897; Williamsburg, VA; burial in Cedar Grove Cemetery, Williamsburg, VA