Their Story
Ezra Richards was born a slave in 1846 in Adair Co. Kentucky. Eighteen year old Elza Richards[1] enlisted at Lebanon, Kentucky, as a substitute for K. B. Lay, of Adair County, Kentucky, who had been drafted. Many men avoided military service by simply taking advantage of the Enrollment Act of 1863 allowing draftees to pay $300 to a substitute who served for them. This amount, a healthy sum in 1864, would be about $5,174.50 today.
Private Richards enlisted on July 14, 1864, at Lebanon, Kentucky. He was assigned to Company K of the 108th U.S. Colored Infantry Regiment.[2] His service record shows him as both Ezra and Elza. His headstone shows his name as Elza.[3]
The 108th Infantry was one of 23 Regiments of Colored Troops formed in Kentucky. These Regiments were formed mostly from slaves who wanted the promise of freedom if they joined the Army or Navy. They also obtained freedom for the families.
After enlisting Private Richards was sent to Louisville, Kentucky to get his uniform, and equipment and to begin his training. Private Richards was placed in the regimental hospital in Louisville, Kentucky, from August 4th to the 11th,1864, with measles. This was a common ailment among soldiers. Most soldiers came from rural areas and were not exposed to common diseases. When these men were placed together in close quarters diseases spread rapidly.
In September 1864 the Regiment was sent by train to Rock Island Prison Barracks, Illinois to guard Confederate Prisoners of War.
Private Richards service record only show that he was present for pay, and his hospital stays.
Private Richards died on January 14, 1865,[4] at the Rock Island Prison Barracks Post Hospital of an unspecified disease.[5] He is buried at the Rock Island National Cemetery.[6]
[1] U.S., Colored Troops Military Service Records, 1863-1865 – Ancestry.com
[2] U.S., Civil War Soldiers, 1861-1865 – Ancestry.com
[3] Elza Richards’ memorial page – Honor Veterans Legacies at VLM (va.gov)
[4] U.S., Civil War Roll of Honor, 1861-1865 – Ancestry.com
[5] U.S., Burial Registers, Military Posts and National Cemeteries, 1862-1960 – Ancestry.com
[6] U.S., National Cemetery Interment Control Forms, 1928-1962 – Ancestry.com
References
Bibliography
Edwin Reiter, The Road to Freedom: A History of the 108th Infantry Regiment (USCT) Kindle Direct Publishing, 2015.
Fold3, Compiled Military Service Records of Volunteer Union Soldiers Who Served the United States Colored Troops: 56th-138th USCT Infantry, 1864-1866. https://www.fold3.com/image/302544137 (Accessed 03/08/2022)
George Templeton Strong, The Diary of George Templeton Strong, ed. Allen Nevins and Milton Halsey Thomas (1952), p. 479.
U.S., Civil War Soldiers, 1861-1865 – Ancestry.com
U.S., Colored Troops Military Service Records, 1863-1865 – Ancestry.com
U.S., Burial Registers, Military Posts and National Cemeteries, 1862-1960 – Ancestry.com
U.S., National Cemetery Interment Control Forms, 1928-1962 – Ancestry.com
U.S., Civil War Roll of Honor, 1861-1865 – Ancestry.com
Elza Richards’ memorial page – Honor Veterans Legacies at VLM (va.gov)