The daily Green Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1861-1865, 1862-03-21
General Richardson

We copy below, from the Cbcaoo H.
sketch of Colonel, now General p.,L "''
Of Michigan and native of Vernon. p
Chaplain of the 9th w. Regiment a r,i i''
we believe, of Gen. Richardson, vr;t;, ''F
Alexandria under date the 10th inst co.,, o '''a
" Gen. Richardson is to succeed Gen S
in command of division. Has gone ~ Nut
nassas to-day to take command He has "'
thing to do now, and appears like rssl | c
eral': ''p'
Col. |. B. Richardson, of the Second Nh.
gan Infantry, who commanded a BRIGADE IN s
battle of Bull Run and the skirmisbes WI ls
preceded it, and who has distinguished b ""Nn
by the plain, short, and busness-like ,sr '.a
his operations, quite as much as by his lr,r nw
in the field, is native of Vermont. and i.,sT.
be descendant of the revolutionary haro' c''
Putnam. He is man of massive irama u ,,:l
the true iron.like expression of the men n; "Iu l
Green Mountains, of usually quiet manners s m;
unpretentious address. He was eJucatsl 'n III
West Point, and served nearly twenty yra,<;'
the army of the United States, which br ss
with the rank of Major u short time siooe
His experience as u fighter has been verv ,,a,,
During the Mexican war he distinguishes him,
self in nearly every important battle, and, ne,.
haps received more brevets than any other IA
Ger of his rank. He was known IN the a,mr
by the sobriquet " Fighting Dick . and j, w.,
said of him by an officer-himself greatly dis.
tinguished for bravery-under whom be Served
that " Richardson never appeared well outd
battle, but that in one he was magnificent"
In every day life Colonel Richardson is the
slowest and most deliberate Of mortas. H.
has none of the martinez in ms discipline. Pa.
haps he should be styled careless in this regard
Neither does he display the particularly as to
dress which usually characterIzes regular oh
GERS. But he can live as his men do and. f
there IS any fight in them, he will he sure
bring it out. lie probably never knew !sav ID
lis life, and goes under fire with as much non.
cha|aace as ordinary people 90 to breaks
None OF the commanders sent TO Washington BY
the States were greeted with Il hcarticr welcome
by the COnmander-ln-Chief than he was lin
glad, " said the old General upon meeting him.
Z" to have my Fighting Disk with me again and
have plenty of work tor him to 10 ~ and ina
iew days afterwards he placed him ut The bead
Of the brigade with which be covered thereuea
of the army at Bull Run--a TACT which is now
proved by the official account, but which tie
New York papers. most unaccountably haze
kept from the public, probably because be vas
not appointed from New York city Yet every
description which has been gwen oi the engage
ment reveals that he was in the right place at
the right time, and ,ha. whatever he bad TODD
was well done. This, too, without any special
design to give him prominence, but because the
battle without Richardson would be funeral
without the corpse. He will undoubtedly be
one OF the principal figures in the war, andnay
leave to posterity name as famous as that Of
his ancestor, d" Old Put"
Colonel Richardson is about six feet ID
height, broad-chested, compact, powerful
form. lie is bronzed by the constant exposure
of many years OF military life, has loud 90
norous voice, which it would take many canon
to drown, and piercing, fiery eye, which few
men can meet III anger. His intonatlOn al0
pronunciation are that Of New Engande
No one who hears him speak can Coubt wa'Fs
he comes from. He is no holiday soldier ana
has no doubt that war is earnest business ID
Which man must shoot and be shot, and DOL
mere opportunity to wear fine clothes a'1
disport in the bravery of evening parades