Riley, Henry

Henry Riley

NPS Photo

Quick Facts

Significance:

Company A, 1st Kentucky Infantry

Place of Death:

Murfreesboro, Tennessee

Date of Death:

December 31, 1862

Place of Burial:

Murfreesboro, TN

Cemetery Name:

Stones River National Cemetery

Henry Riley lived in Kentucky with his wife, Mary A Riley. They had a child named Caroline Riley while living in Campbell, Kentucky. On April 29, 1861, Riley enlisted to serve in the Union Army at Camp Clay, Ohio. He mustered into Company A of the 1st Kentucky Infantry on June 4, 1861, as a private. 

The 1st Kentucky Infantry Regiment was first organized in Pendleton, Ohio. Their first major battle was the battle of Shiloh. They also participated in the Siege of Corinth and Nelson’s Crossroads before going to Nashville, Tennessee. They remained in Nashville until December 1862. On the 26th of December, they received orders to march south towards Murfreesboro, Tennessee. 

They arrived in Murfreesboro on December 30th and formed a position on Van Cleve Lane. On December 31st, fighting began at the right flank of the Union line. The 1st Kentucky remained in their position, hearing the early stages of the battle rage on. By 10am, Confederate forces had pushed the Union’s right flank north along the Wilkinson Pike and Van Cleve Lane. 

Eventually, the 1st Kentucky formed the left flank of a V-shaped position along Van Cleve Lane and Wilkinson Pike. The Union troops in the area managed to hold off for about two hours before finally giving way to a retreat. The 1st Kentucky retreated north towards the Nashville & Chattanooga railroad line and formed a position on the right of Rosecrans’s line in the area. They remained in this position for the remainder of the day on December 31, 1862. Private Riley died during this fighting on the first day of battle. The U.S. Registers of Death states that he died after being struck by a cannon ball. 

Henry Riley is buried in the Stones River National Cemetery in plot O-6067.