Since his unit reassembled in his home town, I also don't see how he just "missed it." I rely on you guys here to have a better understanding of the people of this period than I do.

Richard didn't go into exile. He lived in Yazoo City until his death in 1919. And he appears to be buried under a CSA marker in the Short Creek Cemetery south of Yazoo City, although under the incorrect military unit. Wouldn't a disgraced deserter be forced to relocate from a small home town like Yazoo City?

In 1870 census, I find his 2 small children living with a family of colored in Yazoo City named Pickett. That continues to mystify.