On September 20, 1820, Major General John F. Reynolds—one of the Union Army’s most respected and capable field commanders—was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. As a youth, Reynolds attended John Beck’s Academy in nearby Lititz, where he developed the discipline and sense of duty that would mark his military career. He later received an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point and graduated in 1841, beginning a career in the U.S. artillery.
Reynolds earned a reputation for courage, professionalism, and sound battlefield judgment during the Mexican-American War and in the early campaigns of the Civil War. In 1863, he was reportedly offered command of the Army of the Potomac but declined, concerned about the political constraints that had burdened previous commanders. He recommended fellow Pennsylvanian George G. Meade for the post instead.
By the Gettysburg Campaign, Reynolds commanded the Army of the Potomac’s left wing, including the I, III, and XI Corps. On July 1, 1863, he rode ahead to Gettysburg, conferred with Brigadier General John Buford, and committed the I Corps to resist the Confederate advance west of town. While directing the deployment of troops near McPherson Ridge and Herbst Woods—including elements of the Iron Brigade—Reynolds was struck by a bullet and killed almost instantly.
His death was a severe loss to the Union command. Yet Reynolds’s prompt decision to reinforce Buford’s cavalry and contest the Confederate approach helped give the Army of the Potomac time to concentrate at Gettysburg and establish the positions from which it would win the battle. Reynolds remains one of Pennsylvania’s most revered Civil War soldiers and the highest-ranking officer from either army killed at Gettysburg.
Image: Captain & Brevet Major John F. Reynolds via Wikimedia Commons, public domain
