page_title: John F. Reynolds
section_title: Death controversies
hierarchical_section_title: John F. Reynolds / Civil War / Death controversies
caption_attribution_description: English: Identifier: photographichist01mill (find matches) Title: The photographic history of the Civil War&#160;: thousands of scenes photographed 1861-65, with text by many special authorities Year: 1911 (1910s) Authors: Miller, Francis Trevelyan, 1877-1959 Lanier, Robert S. (Robert Sampson), 1880- Subjects: United States -- History Civil War, 1861-1865 Pictorial works United States -- History Civil War, 1861-1865 Publisher: New York&#160;: Review of Reviews Co. Contributing Library: New York Public Library Digitizing Sponsor: MSN View Book Page: Book Viewer About This Book: Catalog Entry View All Images: All Images From Book Click here to view book online to see this illustration in context in a browseable online version of this book. Text Appearing Before Image: ank of the army retreating along the river road, it wouldhave been necessary to overcome by frontal attacks a series ofbreastworks by which this road was blocked. The energetic Confederate leader, Cieneral Taylor, hadmanaged to cut oft all connections with the ^Mississippi, and,while we were feeding in the town of Alexandria the womenand children whose men folks were fighting us from outside,we had rations sufficient for only aljout three ^\eeks. Theproblem Avas, within the time at our disposal and with the ma-terial available (in a country in which there was no stone), toincrease the depth of water f)n the rapids by about twenty-twoinches. The plan submitted by the clever engineer officer,Lieut.-Colonel Bailey, of the Fourth Wisconsin, was eagerlyaccepted by General Banks. Under Baileys directions, fivewing-dams were constructed, of which the shortest pair, withthe widest aperture for the Avater, was up-stream, while thelongest pair, with the narrowest passage for the water, was (74) Text Appearing After Image: Copyriyht by Review of Reviews Co. WHERE REYNOLDS FELL AT GETTYSBURG. At this spot Major-General Jtilin F. Reynolds met his death. During the first days fighting this peacefulcornfield was trampled by the advancing Confederates. The cupola of the seminary on the ridge heldat niglitfall by Lees forces is visible in the distance. The town of Gettysburg lies one mile beyond. Gen-eral Reynolds troops, advancing early in the day, had encountered the Confederates and had been compelledto fall back. Later, the Federal line by hard fighting had gained considerable advantage on the right. Impa-tient to retrieve the earlier retrograde movement at this point. General Reynolds again advanced his com-mand, shoving back the enemy before it, and his line of skirmishers was thrown out to the cornfield inthe picture. Riding out to it to reconnoiter. General Reynolds fell, pierced by a Confederate bullet, near thetree at the edge of the road. ()t ptntogra^tltir Irrnrli as T^isii^^H * ^ Note About Images Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original work.
context_page_description: John Fulton Reynolds was a career United States Army officer and a general in the American Civil War. One of the Union Army's most respected senior commanders, he played a key role in committing the Army of the Potomac to the Battle of Gettysburg and was killed at the start of the battle.
context_section_description: Historians disagree on the details of Reynolds' death, including the specific time (either 10:15 a.m. or 10:40–10:50 a.m.), the exact location (on East McPherson Ridge, near the 2nd Wisconsin Infantry, or West McPherson Ridge, near the 19th Indiana), and the source of the bullet (a Confederate infantryman, a Confederate sharpshooter, or friendly fire). One primary source was Sergeant Charles Henry Veil, his orderly and unit Color Guard, who described the events in a letter in 1864 and then contradicted some of the details in another letter 45 years later. A letter from Reynolds' sister, Jennie, stated that the wound had a downward trajectory from the neck, implying that he was shot from above, presumably a sharpshooter in a tree or barn. Historians Bruce Catton and Glenn Tucker make firm assertions that a sharpshooter was responsible; Stephen Sears credits volley fire from the 7th Tennessee against the 2nd Wisconsin; Edwin Coddington cites the sister's letter and finds the sharpshooter theory to be partly credible, but leans towards Sears' conclusion; Harry W. Pfanz agrees that the location was behind the 2nd Wisconsin, but makes no judgment about the source of the fire. Steve Sanders, writing in Gettysburg magazine, suggested the possibility of friendly fire based on some accounts, and concludes that it is as equally likely as enemy fire.
caption: "Where Reynolds Fell," (from The Photographic History of the Civil War)
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