Gerald Gillis | Tag Archive | army of northern virginia

General John Reynolds, one of the Union Army’s most respected commanders during the Civil War, might have played an even larger role in American history if not for his death during the opening hours of the Battle of Gettysburg in July 1863.

John Reynolds was a native of Lancaster, PA and an 1841 graduate of West Point. During the Mexican War, Reynolds became friends with Winfield Scott Hancock and Lewis Armistead, two career U.S. Army officers who would eventually oppose one another during Pickett’s Charge on July 3, 1863 at Gettysburg. Armistead would die leading a Confederate brigade opposed by the Union soldiers commanded by his friend Hancock. The fate of the three close friends was sealed during the three-day battle: Reynolds and Armistead would be killed in action, and Hancock would be seriously wounded.

Earlier in the war, an embarrassed Reynolds had been captured by Confederate forces and taken to Libby Prison, where he was quickly exchanged. He later served at the battles of Second Bull Run, Fredericksburg, and Chancellorsville. To the surprise of many senior Union officers, Abraham Lincoln selected George Meade to replace Joseph Hooker as commander of the Army of the Potomac on June 28, 1863. John Reynolds, thought by many at the time to be the finest commander in the U.S. Army, would have been the more logical (and popular) choice.

On July 1, 1863, Union cavalry commander General John Buford established defensive lines to the north and west of Gettysburg. Elements of Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia were concentrating at Gettysburg at a faster rate than those of the Union, and Buford’s modest forces quickly became outnumbered. The lead division of John Reynolds’ I Corps began arriving in time enough to reinforce Buford’s cavalrymen, to Buford’s immense relief. In ratifying Buford’s defensive plan and then deploying his I Corps units against the Confederates, Reynolds essentially committed the Army of the Potomac to what would become a massive pitched battle at Gettysburg. While personally directing the men of the Second Wisconsin, Reynolds called, “Forward, men! For God’s sake forward!” He was then shot in the back of the head and died immediately. He was the highest-ranking officer of either army to die on the field at Gettysburg.

Acclaimed author Jeff Shaara brings up an interesting supposition. Had John Reynolds lived and been given overall command of the Army of the Potomac, and had Reynolds pursued Lee after Gettysburg and destroyed his army before it could reach Virginia, what historical implications might have resulted? Lincoln may not have needed the services of Ulysses S. Grant after all. A victorious Union, under the able command of John Reynolds, might have altered the course of American history. Given America’s penchant for elevating its military heroes to high office, might Reynolds, and not Grant, then been elected president?

A unique and compelling character, John Brown Gordon was one of Georgia’s most consequential political and military leaders of the nineteenth century. He studied at the University of Georgia, though he dropped out shortly before graduation to read law. He possessed no formal military training, yet he rapidly ascended through the officer ranks of the Confederate army to where, by the end of the war, he commanded a corps in Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia.

Apart from the protagonist in my Civil War historical novel That Deadly Space, John B. Gordon’s role is one of unequalled importance. His fictionalized involvement in the novel is that of a mentor to, and the commander of, the central character Conor Rafferty. Conor serves with John Gordon in the battles at Antietam, Gettysburg, The Wilderness, Petersburg, and at the close of the war near Appomattox Court House.

What made John Gordon so unique? For starters, he was a gifted military commander with astonishing bravery.

At Antietam, the audacious Gordon led his regiment in the desperate struggle at an old eroded farming road that would thereafter be referred to as Bloody Lane. He was shot twice in the same leg, once in the arm, then the shoulder, and finally in the face. He was eventually nursed back to health due in large measure to the efforts of his wife, who travelled with him throughout the war.

During the Confederate invasion of Pennsylvania, Gordon’s brigade occupied Wrightsville, on the Susquehanna River. When Union militia burned the long covered bridge spanning the river to thwart Gordon’s crossing, embers from the fire quickly spread to Wrightsville. Gordon formed his Confederate troops into a bucket brigade and managed to prevent the fire from destroying much of the town.

At the war’s end, as the defeated Confederate soldiers were turning in their muskets and other associated military equipment, Union General Joshua Chamberlain, who earned the Medal of Honor at Gettysburg, called for his men to salute their conquered foe. Seeing Chamberlain’s salute, Gordon sat upon his horse, drew his sabre, and returned Chamberlain’s salute. It was an impressive display of mutual respect that would never be forgotten by either general, nor by those who close enough to witness it.

After the war, John B. Gordon served as a United States Senator and later as Governor of Georgia. Gordon opposed Reconstruction, and was thought to be the titular head of the Ku Klux Klan though his role there was never conclusively determined. However, as a politician he shaped a vision of national unification, an economic vitality of a South free of slavery, and care for veterans. He died in 1904 at the age of 71 and was buried in Atlanta’s Oakland Cemetery. A crowd estimated at 75,000 attended the service.

A man of many talents, John B. Gordon was indeed a unique and consequential figure of his time.

Archives For army of northern virginia

President John Reynolds?

John B. Gordon – A Unique and Consequential Character

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