Wilds P. Richardson

Wilds Preston Richardson (20 March 1861 in Hunt County, Texas – 20 May 1929) was an officer of the United States Army notable for being an explorer and geographer of Alaska in the early decades of the 20th century. During World War I, he was promoted to the rank of brigadier general and, because of his cold weather experience, sent to lead the Polar Bear Expedition, part of the Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War. Richardson retired after the war and died in Washington, D.C., in 1929.

Early life and education Richardson was born on 20 March 1861 to Oliver P. and Hester F. (Wingo) Richardson in Hunt County, Texas. After attending schools in that county, the younger Richardson received an appointment to attend the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1880.

Career

After graduation in 1884, Richardson was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the 8th Cavalry Regiment, serving in California and other western posts. Richardson was promoted to first lieutenant in 1889, and joined the faculty at West Point three years later.

In 1897, Richardson was sent to Alaska to begin what would be a twenty-year stay. Initially in charge of scouting locations and supervising construction of military installations, in 1905 Richardson was appointed head of the War Department's Alaska Road Commission, which oversaw federal road construction projects in the territory. Returning to the U.S. in October 1919, he was given command of the 5th Infantry Division until March 1920.

Retirement, death, and legacy Richardson lived the remainder of his years at the Army and Navy Club in Washington, D.C.; he died at Walter Reed Hospital on 20 May 1929 and was buried at West Point. He was posthumously promoted to brigadier general by a June 1930 act of Congress.

The U.S. Army post established near Anchorage, Alaska, in 1940 was named Fort Richardson in his honor. The Valdez-Fairbanks Trail, surveyed under his supervision in 1904, was named the Richardson Trail to honor him. In World War II, the U.S. Navy transport ship was named in his honor.