Richard M. Edwards
| Richard M. Edwards | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Tennessee House of Representatives from Bradley County |
|
|
In office October 7, 1861 – February 1862 |
|
| Preceded by | Richard R. Harris |
| Succeeded by | Jesse Gaut |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
December 31, 1822 Philadelphia, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Died | January 19, 1907 (aged 84) Johnson City, Tennessee |
| Resting place | Fort Hill Cemetery Cleveland, Tennessee |
| Political party |
Democratic Greenback |
| Spouse(s) | Mary Craigmiles (m. 1851) |
| Profession | Attorney |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |
 United States of America
|
| Service/branch |
 United States Army
|
| Years of service | 1862–1865 |
| Rank |
 Colonel
|
| Commands | 4th Reg. Tenn. Volunteer Cavalry (1862–1863) |
| Battles/wars | American Civil War |
Richard Mitchell Edwards (December 31, 1822 – January 19, 1907) was an American attorney, politician and soldier who served one term in the Tennessee House of Representatives (1861–1862). A Southern Unionist, he represented Bradley County at the East Tennessee Convention in 1861, and served as colonel of the 4th Tennessee Cavalry of the Union Army during the Civil War. He ran unsuccessfully for governor on the Greenback Party ticket in 1878 and 1880.
Edwards was born near Philadelphia, Tennessee, in what was then Roane County, but is now part of Loudon County. He may have been orphaned at a young age, and was raised by his uncle, Dr. Pleasant James Riley Edwards. In 1836, he moved with his uncle to Cleveland, Tennessee, where his uncle became a prominent physician, and would eventually be elected mayor. The younger Edwards would later recall spending much of his childhood "fishing, hunting and playing with the Indian boys of the Ocoee district," and remembered the departure of his Cherokee friends on the Trail of Tears as one of the "saddest" days of his life. In the early 1840s, Edwards attended Cleveland's Oak Grove Academy.
In November 1847, during the Mexican-American War, Edwards enlisted in Company I of the 5th Tennessee Volunteer Infantry, and was elected the company's corporal. After traveling downriver via flatboat to New Orleans, he arrived with his company in Veracruz in January 1848. In February, he took part in skirmishes in the Orizaba area, and helped escort General William G. Belknap from Veracruz to the National Bridge (en route to Mexico City). In April 1848, he was appointed hospital steward at Veracruz by Dr. Barclay McGhee, a prominent Monroe County physician who was serving as a military surgeon. He later wrote that he helped alleviate an outbreak of yellow fever by using a water cure that his uncle had taught him. He was discharged in July 1848.
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