Sons of Union Veterans of The Civil War
Department of New York
Admiral John L. Worden Camp 150

Marking the Unmarked Grave of
Pvt. Richard G. Seymour
17th CT Volunteers
Wilton, CT

Pvt. Richard Gray Seymour was born in Wilton, CT on September 10, 1842. In August of 1862 he enlisted as a Private and was soon thereafter mustered into Company A of the 17th Connecticut Volunteer Infantry. The unit was held in reserve at Fredericksburg, and saw its first major action at Chancellorsville in May of 1863 as part of the 11th Corps. At the Battle of Gettysburg, in July of 1863, the 17th CT was engaged with Confederate forces north of the town, on what would later be called Barlow's Knoll. It was likely in this area that Pvt. Seymour was captured and taken prisoner. Held at Belle Isle, VA, he was most fortunate in being paroled less than two months later, and soon returned to his unit. He would later see fighting at Morris Island and Fort Wagner, SC, and later in Florida. He served until after the end of the war, being mustered out at Hilton Head, SC in July of 1865.

Richard Seymour married Linda Harris and was the father of eight children. His main occupation was that of brick mason. He spent the final years of his life at Fitch's Soldiers Home in Noroton, CT, finally succumbing to pneumonia brought on, in part, by a broken hip suffered in a fall from his bed in 1934. He was 91 years old.

The family plot at the Bald Hill Cemetery in Wilton holds the remains of Richard Seymour, his wife Linda, and five other family members. Only the grave of Lillian Maude Bria was marked with a stone.

At the request of Sally Cooper of Peekskill, a direct descendant of Richard Seymour and the wife of Worden Camp member George Cooper, the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War acquired a government-issued, upright, marble gravestone and, with the help of Boy Scouts from Troop 73 of White Plains, NY, installed it on the grave of Pvt. Seymour on September 20, 2003.

Return to Admiral Worden Camp 150 Home Page

Return to Department of New York Home Page

Return to SUVCW Home Page
Return to SUVCW Web Site Index
Return to SUVCW List of  Departments