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South Dakota's Civil War Veterans: Family Histories - William Riley

book page image
William Riley

The stories of some of the thousands of Civil War veterans who came to Dakota Territory are well documented. Much has been written by and about the lives of prominent politicians such as Arthur C. Mellette, South Dakota's first governor, and Robert Dollard, the State's first Attorney General. But the stories of many Civil War veterans who settled in South Dakota remain largely untold. The story of William Riley, who moved to South Dakota late in his life, is an exception. 

Riley's grandniece, the late Eleanor Rowan Moe, Rapid City, worked with other family members to compile a narrative of Riley's wartime experiences and the troubles he experienced later in life. Twice wounded in battle, Riley struggled for years with painful physical issues caused by his injuries.

William "Billy" Riley was born in 1834 in County Galway, Ireland and came to the U.S. with his family some time between 1850 and 1854. They settled in Pennsylvania where Riley found work as a coal miner. He later moved to Illinois and took a job as a hired hand on a dairy farm. In 1861, he enlisted in the 21st Illinois Volunteer Infantry mustered-in and commanded by then-Captain Ulysses S. Grant.

The following excerpt from Eleanor Moe's book, "William Riley: The Outcast," describes some of Riley's Civil War experiences.  

After the war, Riley moved to Galion, Ohio where he worked as a salesman and middle-manager of a cooperage. He married Sarah Jane Fitzgerald, a woman with children from two previous marriages. Mrs. Riley died in 1888.

Not long after he retired from the cooperage, William Riley found himself in debt and nearly in poverty. The physical problems brought on by his wartime injuries were becoming severe. Riley had filed his first benefit claim in 1884. For 14 years, 1884 - 1898, he re-applied and continued to fight for the veteran's benefits he believed he was entitled to. He was finally awarded $12.00 per month. 

Abbatis fortification at Fort Sedgewick, Petersburg, Virginia. William Riley was wounded after becoming entangled in the wires binding the sharpened logs.

For eight years, 1884 - 1892, he fought for the veteran's benefits he believed he was entitled to. Despite winning the soldier's pension of $12.00 per month, 

In 1901, Riley came to Sanborn County, South Dakota and moved in with Mike Rowan, a nephew. He also lived nephews Pat Rowan and James Rowan.

William Riley died of pneumonia in 1905 and is buried in the "potter's field" section of the cemetery of St. Anthony's Church in Brisbine, South Dakota, six miles north and 1 1/2 miles west of Artesian. The town of Brisbine and the St. Anthony's church building are both long gone but the cemetery remains.

(Thanks to Bill Casper, Rapid City, who contributed to this post.)