Person Record
Metadata
Name |
Whitehead, Richard O. |
Notes |
Born in Suffolk, Virginia, Col. Whitehead was an accomplished soldier, lawyer, statesman, and engineer. A graduate of Virginia Military Institute and the University of Virginia, Whitehead practiced law before entering service as captain of Co. A, 16th Virginia Infantry. He rose to command of the unit in 1863 and served until wounded in the shoulder in October 1864. He was elected to the Virginia State Senate even while serving in noncombatant military duty in the final months of the war and was paroled at Appomattox in April 1865. The Confederate Congress listed his name on the "Roll of Honor" for his capture of the Federal flag at the battle of the Crater, Petersburg, Virginia, July 20, 1864. |
