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Reynolds' Battery 1861 to 1865
After the
disaster at Bull Run, President Lincoln put out
a call for 300,000 more men for service. The
Rochester Union Grays, a New York Militia
regiment at the time, answered the call.
Recruiting was done by John A. Reynolds, Edwin
Loder and Charles Anderson, and men from Monroe,
Ontario and Wayne counties flocked to the
recruiting offices to join the artillery
regiment.
Major
John Reynolds
On October
8, 1861, 81 men and officers swore an oath to
the Union and were mustered into federal service
while stationed in Elmira, NY. Under the
direction of the State of New York, twelve
artillery companies were formed with Reynolds’
Battery given the designation of Company L. They
transferred to Albany on November 14, the
training ground for all NY State Artillery,
having reached full strength of 115 men. On
November 23, 1861 Company L reported for duty at
Camp Barry, Washington, D.C. under the command
of Captain John A. Reynolds. John Reynolds used
his own personal funds as a guarantee to secured
the first six Model 1861 3” Ordnance Rifles from
the Phoenix Iron Works. These guns would not
arrive until May 1862, but would bring a great
deal of fame for Reynolds’ Battery as being the
only battery in US Service to have the first six
consecutive guns in any series of any cannon in
their battery. On February 23, 1862, Reynolds’
Battery was assigned to Baltimore, Maryland to
guard the Capital. After six months of waiting,
they were called into action at Harper’s Ferry.
Other action
that the Battery would see during the War
included:
Cedar Mountain
(Aug. 9, 1862)
Gainesville (Aug.
17, 1862) August 14-16,
1862
Rappahannock River (McDowell’s Corps III)
August 26 White
Sulphur Springs, Virginia
Second Bull Run
(Aug. 28-30, 1862)(Manassas)
Chantilly (Sept.
1, 1862)
September 14
Battle of South Mountain (Hooker’s Corps I)
present but did not engage
September 17
Battle at Antietam where the unit was positioned
near the Cornfield. After the battle Reynolds’
Battery was reduced to a four-gun battery until
the winter of 1863.
December 13–15
Battle at Fredericksburg, following the battle
the Battery went into winter quarters at Waugh
Point, Virginia
May 1- 4, 1863 Battle
at Chancellorsville
July 1-3 Battle
at Gettysburg, the battery held their position
on McPhersen’s Ridge on the first day and on the
East side of Cemetery Ridge on the second and
third day. The battery would return to
Rappahannock Station, Virginia by August where
they would stay through mid-September.
Mine Run (Nov
27-Dec 2, 1863)November 28 After
a brief encounter with the enemy just outside of
Culpepper, Virginia, Reynolds Battery along with
the 1st Corp bedded down for the winter.
The Wilderness
(May 5-6, 1864)
Spotsylvania (May
8-21, 1864)
North Anna (May
23-26, 1864)
Tolopotomoy (May
28-29, 1864)
Bethesda Church
(May 30, 1864
Weldon Railroad
(August 18-21, 1864)
Pebbles Farm
(Sept. 30-Oct. 2, 1864)
Petersburg (Oct.
5, 1864-April 1865)
John A.
Reynolds, the original Captain of the Battery,
was promoted in 1863 to Major and eventually he
became Colonel, Chief of Artillery of the XX
Corps under Major-General William Sherman. He
was followed by Gilbert Reynolds and George Breck. The Battery mustered out of service June
17, 1865. Of the 115 men who had originally
joined the battery, twenty-five remained at the
time they were mustered out of service.
A total
of 320 men entered the service as members of
Reynolds’ Battery L. Of these 320, 9 were killed
or died from wounds received in actions, while
14 died from sickness contracted during their
service. The last member of the battery to die
was Joseph Smith, a Canadian, in 1933.
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Mount
Hope Cemetery, Rochester
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Pictures on this page
Cemetery Hill
Gettysburg
Devil's Den
Gettysburg
The Angle
Gettysburg
McPherson's Ridge
Gettysburg
Reynolds’
Battery L,
1st New York Light Artillery
Men Killed in Action
Private Edward
Costello was killed
July 1, 1863 at Gettysburg,
Pa.
Private Alfred
Wood was killed
August 21, 1864 at Weldon
Railroad, Va.
Men Receiving
Mortal Wounds
Private Myron
Annis,
wounded in action, September 17, 1862 at
Sharpsburg, Md, died September 24, 1862 at
Sharpsburg.
Private
Charles E. Carpenter, wounded in action, date
and location unlisted, died May 2, 1863 in an
unlisited field hospital.
Corporal John
P. Conn,
wounded in action, July 1, 1863 at
Gettysburg, Pa., died July 7, 1863 at Gettysburg,
Pa.
Private Myron
H. Matthews,
wounded in action May 3, 1864 at
Spotsylvania, Va, died May 15, 1864 at
Fredericksburg, Va.
Private James
D. Morrison,
wounded in action, date and
location unlisted, died January 4, 1863 at
Washington, D.C.
Private John
A. Smith,
wounded in action, August 28, 1862 at
Second Bull Run, Va., died August 28, 1862, at Bull Run, Va.
Private John
VanZandt,
wounded in action, August 28, 1862 at
Second Bull Run, Va., died August 28, 1862, at Bull Run, Va.
Corporate Headqueaters
John Beatty,
President
21 Lindhurst Dr.,
Lockport, NY 14094
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