Joseph J. Reynolds
Encyclopedia
Joseph Jones Reynolds was an American
engineer
, educator
, and military
officer
who fought in the American Civil War
and the postbellum Indian Wars
.
, Kentucky
. He briefly attended Wabash College
before he received an appointment in 1839 to the United States Military Academy
at West Point
, New York
. After graduating tenth of thirty-nine cadets in the Class of 1843, Reynolds was brevetted
as a second lieutenant and initially assigned to the 4th U.S. Artillery.
He successively served at Fort Monroe
in Virginia
, Carlisle Barracks
in central Pennsylvania
, and then in Zachary Taylor's
occupation army in Texas
in 1845 before returning to the academy as assistant professor in 1846. On December 3 of that same year, he married Mary Elizabeth Bainbridge.
He left West Point in 1857 and subsequently returned to frontier
duty, this time in the Indian Territory
. He resigned his army commission and taught engineering at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri
, for a time.
In 1860, he moved to the state of Indiana
, where he owned a grocery business with one of his brothers.
's commission from Governor
Oliver P. Morton, Reynolds was placed in command of Indiana's
Camp Morton, the wartime state's militia muster encampment at Indianapolis
. Reynolds's 10th Indiana Volunteer regiment was sent to western Virginia, where it played a decisive role repulsing Confederates under Robert E. Lee
at Cheat Mountain
.
Although promoted to brigadier general
, Reynolds resigned in January 1862 and resumed training Indiana regiments at Camp Morton until November 1862 without a commission. Retroactively appointed colonel of the 75th Indiana volunteers, brigadier general with orders to build a depot and field works in Carthage, Tennessee
, and then major general
of U.S. volunteers, Reynolds commanded a division
of XIV Corps, Army of the Cumberland
, at Hoover's Gap
and Chickamauga
.
After serving as the army's chief of staff before Chattanooga
, Reynolds was transferred to the Gulf of Mexico
, where he led a division of XIX Corps that garrisoned New Orleans, Louisiana
. He was later promoted to the command of the XIX Corps, and then commanded VII Corps in Arkansas
.
during Reconstruction, replacing Charles Griffin
in charge of the Department of Texas {5th Military District}. When military rule in Texas ceased in 1870, Reynolds again returned to frontier garrison duty.
In the early and mid-1870s, Reynolds fought hostile Indians on the Great Plains
. During the Black Hills War of 1876, he led an attack on Sioux warriors under the chief He Dog
in the Powder River country
. At the Battle of Powder River
on March 17, 1876, Col. Reynolds attacked a village of mostly Cheyenne Indians, whose principal chief was Old Bear. The Sioux contingent there numbered between 20 and 30, the most notable of whom was He Dog, who was riding a horse belonging to Crazy Horse
. The principal warrior chief was Two Moons
, a Cheyenne.
However, the campaign ended in failure, and Reynolds was subsequently court-martial
ed. He was found guilty of the charges and given a suspended sentence, and he resigned from the army on June 25, 1877.
Reynolds died in Washington, D.C.
, and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
engineer
Engineer
An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
, educator
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
, and military
Military
A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...
officer
Officer (armed forces)
An officer is a member of an armed force or uniformed service who holds a position of authority. Commissioned officers derive authority directly from a sovereign power and, as such, hold a commission charging them with the duties and responsibilities of a specific office or position...
who fought in the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
and the postbellum Indian Wars
Indian Wars
American Indian Wars is the name used in the United States to describe a series of conflicts between American settlers or the federal government and the native peoples of North America before and after the American Revolutionary War. The wars resulted from the arrival of European colonizers who...
.
Early life and career
Reynolds was born in FlemingsburgFlemingsburg, Kentucky
Flemingsburg is a city in Fleming County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 3,010 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Fleming County.-Geography:Flemingsburg is located at ....
, Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
. He briefly attended Wabash College
Wabash College
Wabash College is a small, private, liberal arts college for men, located in Crawfordsville, Indiana. Along with Hampden-Sydney College and Morehouse College, Wabash is one of only three remaining traditional all-men's liberal arts colleges in the United States.-History:Wabash College was founded...
before he received an appointment in 1839 to the United States Military Academy
United States Military Academy
The United States Military Academy at West Point is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located at West Point, New York. The academy sits on scenic high ground overlooking the Hudson River, north of New York City...
at West Point
West Point, New York
West Point is a federal military reservation established by President of the United States Thomas Jefferson in 1802. It is a census-designated place located in Town of Highlands in Orange County, New York, United States. The population was 7,138 at the 2000 census...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. After graduating tenth of thirty-nine cadets in the Class of 1843, Reynolds was brevetted
Brevet (military)
In many of the world's military establishments, brevet referred to a warrant authorizing a commissioned officer to hold a higher rank temporarily, but usually without receiving the pay of that higher rank except when actually serving in that role. An officer so promoted may be referred to as being...
as a second lieutenant and initially assigned to the 4th U.S. Artillery.
He successively served at Fort Monroe
Fort Monroe
Fort Monroe was a military installation in Hampton, Virginia—at Old Point Comfort, the southern tip of the Virginia Peninsula...
in Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, Carlisle Barracks
Carlisle Barracks
Carlisle Barracks is a United States Army facility located in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. It is part of the United States Army Training and Doctrine Command and is the site of the U.S. Army War College...
in central Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, and then in Zachary Taylor's
Zachary Taylor
Zachary Taylor was the 12th President of the United States and an American military leader. Initially uninterested in politics, Taylor nonetheless ran as a Whig in the 1848 presidential election, defeating Lewis Cass...
occupation army in Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
in 1845 before returning to the academy as assistant professor in 1846. On December 3 of that same year, he married Mary Elizabeth Bainbridge.
He left West Point in 1857 and subsequently returned to frontier
Frontier
A frontier is a political and geographical term referring to areas near or beyond a boundary. 'Frontier' was absorbed into English from French in the 15th century, with the meaning "borderland"--the region of a country that fronts on another country .The use of "frontier" to mean "a region at the...
duty, this time in the Indian Territory
Indian Territory
The Indian Territory, also known as the Indian Territories and the Indian Country, was land set aside within the United States for the settlement of American Indians...
. He resigned his army commission and taught engineering at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
, for a time.
In 1860, he moved to the state of Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
, where he owned a grocery business with one of his brothers.
Civil War
After receiving a colonelColonel (United States)
In the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, colonel is a senior field grade military officer rank just above the rank of lieutenant colonel and just below the rank of brigadier general...
's commission from Governor
Governor of Indiana
The Governor of Indiana is the chief executive of the state of Indiana. The governor is elected to a four-year term, and responsible for overseeing the day-to-day management of the functions of many agencies of the Indiana state government. The governor also shares power with other statewide...
Oliver P. Morton, Reynolds was placed in command of Indiana's
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
Camp Morton, the wartime state's militia muster encampment at Indianapolis
Indianapolis, Indiana
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
. Reynolds's 10th Indiana Volunteer regiment was sent to western Virginia, where it played a decisive role repulsing Confederates under Robert E. Lee
Robert E. Lee
Robert Edward Lee was a career military officer who is best known for having commanded the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War....
at Cheat Mountain
Battle of Cheat Mountain
The Battle of Cheat Mountain, also known as the Battle of Cheat Summit Fort, took place from September 12 to 15, 1861, in Pocahontas County and Randolph County, Virginia as part of the Western Virginia Campaign during the American Civil War. It was the first battle of the Civil War in which Robert...
.
Although promoted to brigadier general
Brigadier general (United States)
A brigadier general in the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, is a one-star general officer, with the pay grade of O-7. Brigadier general ranks above a colonel and below major general. Brigadier general is equivalent to the rank of rear admiral in the other uniformed...
, Reynolds resigned in January 1862 and resumed training Indiana regiments at Camp Morton until November 1862 without a commission. Retroactively appointed colonel of the 75th Indiana volunteers, brigadier general with orders to build a depot and field works in Carthage, Tennessee
Carthage, Tennessee
Carthage is a town in Smith County, Tennessee, United States, and is part of the Nashville Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 2,251 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Smith County, and perhaps best known as the hometown of former Vice President Al Gore, and his father,...
, and then major general
Major general (United States)
In the United States Army, United States Marine Corps, and United States Air Force, major general is a two-star general-officer rank, with the pay grade of O-8. Major general ranks above brigadier general and below lieutenant general...
of U.S. volunteers, Reynolds commanded a division
Division (military)
A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of between 10,000 and 20,000 soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, and in turn several divisions typically make up a corps...
of XIV Corps, Army of the Cumberland
Army of the Cumberland
The Army of the Cumberland was one of the principal Union armies in the Western Theater during the American Civil War. It was originally known as the Army of the Ohio.-History:...
, at Hoover's Gap
Battle of Hoover's Gap
The Battle of Hoover's Gap was the principal battle fought in the Tullahoma Campaign of the American Civil War.-Background:...
and Chickamauga
Battle of Chickamauga
The Battle of Chickamauga, fought September 19–20, 1863, marked the end of a Union offensive in southeastern Tennessee and northwestern Georgia called the Chickamauga Campaign...
.
After serving as the army's chief of staff before Chattanooga
Chattanooga, Tennessee
Chattanooga is the fourth-largest city in the US state of Tennessee , with a population of 169,887. It is the seat of Hamilton County...
, Reynolds was transferred to the Gulf of Mexico
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...
, where he led a division of XIX Corps that garrisoned New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
. He was later promoted to the command of the XIX Corps, and then commanded VII Corps in Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
.
Postbellum career
After the war, Reynolds remained in the regular army as colonel of the 26th U.S. Infantry and was assigned command of the Department of Arkansas. He later was transferred to duty in TexasTexas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
during Reconstruction, replacing Charles Griffin
Charles Griffin (general)
Charles Griffin was a career officer in the United States Army and a Union general in the American Civil War. He rose to command a corps in the Army of the Potomac and fought in many of the key campaigns in the Eastern Theater.After the war, he commanded the Department of Texas during Reconstruction...
in charge of the Department of Texas {5th Military District}. When military rule in Texas ceased in 1870, Reynolds again returned to frontier garrison duty.
In the early and mid-1870s, Reynolds fought hostile Indians on the Great Plains
Great Plains
The Great Plains are a broad expanse of flat land, much of it covered in prairie, steppe and grassland, which lies west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada. This area covers parts of the U.S...
. During the Black Hills War of 1876, he led an attack on Sioux warriors under the chief He Dog
He Dog
He Dog . A member of the Oglala Lakota, He Dog was closely associated with Crazy Horse during the Great Sioux War of 1876-77.-Biography:...
in the Powder River country
Powder River (Montana)
Powder River is a tributary of the Yellowstone River, approximately long in the southeastern Montana and northeastern Wyoming in the United States. It drains an area historically known as the Powder River Country on the high plains east of the Bighorn Mountains.It rises in three forks in eastern...
. At the Battle of Powder River
Battle of Powder River
The Battle of Powder River occurred March 17, 1876, in the Montana Territory between the United States Army and a force of Cheyenne Native Americans during Crook's Big Horn Expedition in the Great Sioux War of 1876.-Overview:...
on March 17, 1876, Col. Reynolds attacked a village of mostly Cheyenne Indians, whose principal chief was Old Bear. The Sioux contingent there numbered between 20 and 30, the most notable of whom was He Dog, who was riding a horse belonging to Crazy Horse
Crazy Horse
Crazy Horse was a Native American war leader of the Oglala Lakota. He took up arms against the U.S...
. The principal warrior chief was Two Moons
Two Moons
Two Moons , pronounced ‘Ishaynishus’ was the son of Carries the Otter, an Arikara captive who married into the Cheyenne tribe...
, a Cheyenne.
However, the campaign ended in failure, and Reynolds was subsequently court-martial
Court-martial
A court-martial is a military court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the armed forces subject to military law, and, if the defendant is found guilty, to decide upon punishment.Most militaries maintain a court-martial system to try cases in which a breach of...
ed. He was found guilty of the charges and given a suspended sentence, and he resigned from the army on June 25, 1877.
Reynolds died in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, is a military cemetery in the United States of America, established during the American Civil War on the grounds of Arlington House, formerly the estate of the family of Confederate general Robert E. Lee's wife Mary Anna Lee, a great...
.
See also
- List of American Civil War generals