Page:The Biographical Dictionary of America, vol. 09.djvu/86

 REYNOLDS

REYNOLDS

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the seizure of the treasure and arms in the custom-house and arsenal at St. Louis. Mo. He edited the Daily Eagle, Belleville. 111., for several years, and is the autiior of : The Pioneer History of Illinois (1848); John Kelly; A Glance at the Crystal Palace and Sketches of Travel (1854), and My Own Times (1855). He died in Belleville, 111., May 8. 18G5.

REYNOLDS, John Fulton, soldier, was born in Lancaster. Pa.. Sei)t. 20. 1820 ; son of John and Lydia (Moore) Reynolds; grandson of William and Catharine Ferree (LeFevre) Reynolds and of Samuel and (Fulton) Moore. William Rey- nolds, a Scotch-Irish Protestant, came to America in 1762 : set- tled in Pennsylvania, and served in the Revolutionary war. John Fulton Reynolds was graduated at the U.S. Military acad- emy and brevetted 2d lieutenant in the 3d artillery, July 1.1841; was commissioned 2d lieutenant, Oct. 23, 1841, and served in garrison duty, 1841- 45 ; in the military occupation of Texas, 1845-46, and in the war with Mexico, 1846-47. He engaged in the de- fense of Fort Brown, Tex.; was brevetted cap- tain. Sept. 23. 1846, for gallantry at Monterey, and major, Feb. 23. 1847, for Buena Vista. lie was promoted 1st lieutenant, June 18, 1846 ; served in garrison duty, 1848-52 ; as quartermas- ter of the regiment, 1850-52, and as aide-de-camp to Major-General Twiggs, 1852-53. He served in garrison in New York and on the Pacific coast, 1854-56 ; was promoted captain, March 3, 1855, and took part in the Rogue River expedition in 1856. He ser%-ed in garrison and on frontier duty, 1856-58, in the Utah expedition and in the march to the Columbia river, 1858-59, and was stationed at Fort Vancouver, 1859-60. He was command- ant of cadets, and instructor in artillery, infantry and cavalry tactics, at West Point, N.Y., 1860-61 ; was promoted lieutenant-colonel and transferred to the Utii infantry, May 14, 1861 ; was .stationed at Fort Trumbull, Conn.. July to September, 1861, and was appointed brigadier-general of U.S. volunteers, Aug. 20, 1861. He commanded the 1st brigade of the Pennsylvania reserve corps, on the right of the lines before Washington, D.C., 1861-62, and in the seven days' battles before Richmond, June 2.5-July 1st, commanded the 1st brigade, 3d division. Fitz-John Porter's 5th corps. In the second dav's battle at Beaver Dam Creek

he had charge of the defenses and forces at and above Mechanicsville, and so valiantly did his brigade repulse D. H. Hill's attack, that the road and hillside were strewn with dead and wounded Confederates, and the main body of Hill's army witiidrew. The following day, Porter's corps was ordered back to Gaines's Mill, and Reynolds was assigned to an unimportant post : but as soon as he found that the rest of the fiftli corps was under fire, he hastened to their aid, and arrived just in Ifime to give General Grifiiii mucli needed support. After severe fighting. Porter was dis- lodged and Reynolds was captured, June 28, 1862. The civil authorities at Fredericksburg. Va., where Rej-nolds was very pf)pular. interceded at Richmond for his excliange. and Aug. 8. 1802, he was exchanged for General Barksdale. He joined the army in nortliern Virginia and was given command of the third division of Porter's corps, the division containing his old brigade. On Aug. 22, 1862, he was temporarily assigned to Mc- Dowell's corps, and on Aug. 28, engaged General Taliaferro near Gainesville, tried to assist King at Groveton and hastened to Manassas. He became engaged late in the afternoon of Aug. 29, and fought valiantly on the left of the line. At the request of Governor Curtin. he was assigned to the command of the Pennsylvania volunteer militia in September, 1862, during the first in- vasion of the state, thus missing the battle of Antietam. He returned to the Army of the Potomac, was promoted major-general of vol- unteers, Nov. 29, 1862, and succeeded General Hooker in the command of the first corps. He took part in the Rappahannock campaign, and at Fredericksburg on Dec. 13. 1862. made the prin- cipal attack, ordering Meade's division, supported by Gibbons, to the crest of the heights, a position he was unable to hold because poorly supported. After this battle, the command of the army was offered to Reynolds, but he declined the offer, belitning tiiat any commander would be ham- pered bj' orders from Wasliington. Hooker ac- cepted the command and moved to Chancel- lorsville, leaving Sedg%vick and Reynolds at Fredericksburg. On May 2, 1863, Reynolds was oi'dered to join Hooker at Chancellorsville, but his corps was not engaged in the figiit, and on Maj' 5, 1863, he urged Hooker to advance instead of retreating. After Meade had succeeded to the command of the army, he consulted with Rey- nolds in regard to massing the scattered corps at Pipe Creek and l)ringing on a general engage- ment. On June 27, Reynolds had three corps at Middletown pass and South Mountain pass, and started to move his troops in accordance with Meade's plans. On July 1, while at the head of the first and eleventh corps, he heard that Bu- ford's cavalry was heavily engaged at Gettysburg,