He served for many terms in the House of Burgesses, was a delegate to the Continental Congress in 1774 and 1775, and is considered a Founding Father of the United States.

Richard Bland was laid down on 29 October 1941, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MCE hull 28, by the Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore, Maryland; and was launched on 28 February 1942.

[4] Richard Bland had set out from Murmansk, on 1 March 1943, for Loch Ewe, with 4,000 LT (4,100 t) of lumber, in Convoy RA 53.

The merchant ship SS Executive was sunk while one of the torpedo struck Richard Bland on the starboard side at hold #1, passing through without exploding.

The forepeak tank flooded and the ship to begin to list to starboard, but she remained in the convoy at only a slightly reduced speed.