Soldiers Begin Arriving
Hannah Reynolds was an enslaved woman who belonged to Dr. Samuel Coleman. The slave quarters where Hannah lived was one mile west of the village of Appomattox Court House. Federal troops camped in the vicinity of the Coleman home the night of April 8, 1865. The closeness of the soldiers prompted the family to leave for a relative’s home a few miles away. Hannah remained behind at the house and soon found herself surrounded by fighting.
Tragedy Strikes
At one point on April 9th, Hannah was near a door when a solid shot passed through the house. The shot struck Hannah, leaving her wounded in the arm. A surgeon from a nearby Maine regiment saw to her wound and she lingered for three days. On April 12, 1865, Hannah died from her wound. Her death made Hannah the only known civilian killed in the fighting at Appomattox.
