General John F. Reynolds: A Martyr for Pennsylvania

John Fulton Reynolds was born on September 20, 1820 in the German county of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. In 1837, this future general was nominated by future president James Buchanan to attend West Point, where he graduated 26th out of his class of 50. While fighting in the Mexican-American War, Reynolds was brevetted to the rank of major.

At the beginning of the Civil War, Reynolds was an active Northern Democrat, supporting both union and slavery. Despite his pro-slavery beliefs, Reynolds was commissioned as a brigadier general on August 20, 1861 and put in command of a brigade of Pennsylvanian Reserves. His good leadership skills in the Seven Days Campaign was countered by his capture, which resulted from Reynolds attempting to find rest after days of exhausting battle. After his prisoner exchange, Reynolds was promoted to Major General and commanded all of the Pennsylvania Reserve division, using them to great capacity in the Battle of Second Manassas, saving the entire Union Army of the Potomac from potential destruction.

When Hooker was placed in command of the Army of the Potomac, Reynolds was placed in command of the former’s 1st Corps, using his new soldiers well in the Battle of Chancellorsville. As Robert E. Lee was moving his troops towards Pennsylvania, Lincoln offered Reynolds command of the Army, but Reynolds would only accept the command if the government could not dictate the orders of his army. Lincoln chose Reynolds’ friend George Meade for the assignment instead, the latter being more receptive to Lincoln’s wishes. On the first day of Gettysburg, Reynolds was shot while commanding his First Corps on McPherson Ridge, becoming the highest-ranking officer on any side to die in the Battle of Gettysburg. Ironically, Reynolds gave his life as a martyr for his home state of Pennsylvania, which eventually became free of Confederate skirmishes because of Gettysburg.