Maj. Gen. John Reynolds
Born: September 21, 1820
Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Died: July 1, 1863
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Battle of Gettysburg
1841: West Point Graduate
1841: Brevet 2nd Lieutenant
September 23, 1846: Brevet promotion to Captain
February 23, 1847: Brevet promotion to Major
May 14, 1861: Appointed Lieut. Colonel
August 26, 1861: Brigadier General
November 29, 1862: Major General
Maj. Gen. John Reynolds
1841: West Point Graduate - 26th out of 50
1841: Brevet 2nd Lieutenant in 3rd U.S. Artillery assigned to Fort McHenry
1842-1845: Assigned to St. Augustine, Florida and Fort Moultrie, South Carolina
1845: Joined Zachery Taylor's army at Corpus Christi, Texas for the Mexican/
American War
September 21-23, 1846: Battle of Monterrey - Brevet promotion to Captain
February 222-23, 1847: Battle of Buena Vista - Brevet promotion to Major - his guns prevented the Mexican cavalry from flanking U.S. forces
1855: Fort Orford, Oregon
1856: Rogue River Wars
1857-1858: Utah War with the Mormons
September 1860-June 1861: Commandant of Cadets at West Point - served as instructor of artillery, cavalry and infantry tactics
Declined position as aide-de-camp to Lieut. Gen. Winfield Scott
May 14, 1861: Appointed Lieut. Col of 14th U.S. Infantry
August 20, 1861: Promoted to Brig. Gen. and ordered to report to Washington, D.C.
Before arriving in the capital, order were changed to report to Cape Hatteras Inlet, North Carolina. Maj. Gen. McClellan intervened and got his orders changed to join the Army of the Potomac
Board to examine the qualifications of volunteer officers
Received command of a brigade of Pennsylvania Reserves
Peninsula Campaign
June 27, 1862: Captured in Boatswain's Swamp, Virginia while covering the retreat of Gen. McClellan's men. Taken to Libby Prison in Richmond
August 15, 1862: Exchanged for Gen. Lloyd Tilghman
Upon his return, given command of Pennsylvania Reserves Division which were temporarily attached to Gen. McDowell's III Corps
August 29-30, 1862: Second Battle of Bull Run - In a last ditch stand, led his men on Henry House Hill protecting the Union rear
Given command of Pennsylvania militia at the request of Pennsylvania governor Andrew Curtin for the invasion of Maryland subsequently missing the battle of Antietam
Late 1862: Returned to Army of the Potomac assuming command of the I Corps. One of his divisions under Gen. Meade made the only breakthrough at the Battle of Fredericksburg
November 29, 1862: Promoted to Major General of Volunteers
May 1-4, 1863: Battle of Chancellorsville
June 1863: "Hearing that Lincoln was going to give him command of the army, the able and valorous Corps commander . . . hurried to the White House and told Lincoln he did not want command of the Army of the Potomac and would not take it. (Sandburg, p100)
July 1, 1863: Battle of Gettysburg started. Gen. Reynolds was shot in the neck in the first battle.
Boatner, Mark M. III. The Civil War Dictionary. New York: David McKay, 1967. p 694
John F. Reynolds. 8 April 2020. web. 23 April 2020.
Sandburg, Carl. Abraham Lincoln The War Year Vol II. New York: Harcourt, Brace, 1939. p 100
Warner, Ezra J. Generals in Blue Lives of the Union Commanders. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State, 1964. p 396-397