Richard Dennis “Dick” Wylie

Richard Dennis “Dick” Wylie

25 September 1841

25 October 1861

Union Soldier

Richard Dennis Wylie, who went by “Dick,” was born to Rebecca Dennis and Theophilus Wylie in Bloomington, Indiana, on 25 September 1841. He shared his father's interest in the visual arts and was a talented artist who entered his paintings in various state fairs and exhibitions. He painted at least one portrait of Andrew Wylie that is still owned by Wylie descendants. He also painted the landscape that hangs over the piano forte in the Wylie House parlor. In the summer of 1861, Dick joined the 18th Indiana Infantry of the Union Army. Tragically, he died of disease on 25 October 1861 in Otterville, Missouri, just one moth after his twentieth birthday. He is buried at Rose Hill Cemetery in Bloomington, Indiana. Learn more about Dick’s experience in the Civil War here.