Meet General Reynolds
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Gen. Reynolds
General John Reynolds
(National Archives)
Born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania on September 20, 1820, John Fulton Reynolds attended numerous schools and academies before entering the US Military Academy at West Point in 1837. He graduated in 1841 and was assigned to various forts on the Atlantic coast as an artillery officer. Eventually, Reynolds went to Texas and fought during the War with Mexico where he received promotions for gallantry including the rank of major. He later returned to teach at West Point and was the Commandant of Cadets in 1860.

At the outbreak of the Civil War, Reynolds was promoted to lt. colonel of the 14th US Infantry and then was appointed brigadier general of volunteers. The general commanded a brigade during the Seven Days Battles where he was captured by Confederate troops. He was exchanged in August 1862 and assigned to command Pennsylvania militia during General Lee's invasion of Maryland that fall. At the Battle of Fredericksburg, Virginia in December, 1862, he commanded the First Corps which included a division under the command of George G. Meade. The two became friends over time and were camped near each other the following summer when the armies were once again moving north through Maryland.

When General Hooker was removed from command of the Army of the Potomac, General Reynolds was the first officer to be offered the job. He declined and his friend George Meade got the job instead. General Reynolds was happy leading his First Corps and set out on June 29 to find Lee's Army, which by this time was already in Pennsylvania. By the evening of June 30, he was camped only a few miles south of Gettysburg where he received word from General John Buford that Confederate forces were west of town. Reynolds replied that he would march his First Corps northward to meet Buford the next day. Then the general took a few moments to write a letter to his family in Lancaster, barely 45 miles away.

Reynolds' death
The death of Reynolds at Gettysburg.
(Library of Congress)
Early the next morning, General Reynolds led his troops up the Emmitsburg Road toward Gettysburg. His soldiers arrived on the battlefield just in time to throw back Confederate troops commanded by General Henry Heth. In the sudden Union counterattack, the Union "Iron Brigade" struck and threw back Confederate General James Archer's brigade, capturing Archer during the charge. General Reynolds never saw the battle unfold. As he turned in his saddle to see what troops were following him, he was instantly killed by a bullet to the head and fell at the edge of the woods next to the Edward McPherson farm. (A granite marker now stands on the spot where General Reynolds died.)

General Meade was deeply shocked when he heard of his friend's death. The terrible news was wired to Lancaster where newspapers reported on Reynolds' last moments, leading troops into battle. In his honor, the city of Lancaster was declared to be in a state of mourning. Reynolds was buried in Lancaster on July 4, 1863 with full military honors.

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