General John Reynolds and Gettysburg

I have always yearned to see this famous battlefield in Pennsylvania. In 7th grade, Mr. Kryznarich had us memorize the Gettysburg Address and I remember it to this day. When I think of Lincoln the words just start coming to my lips.




As we drove to the visitors center I was immediately drawn in by the countryside. A former infantryman is first always looking for defensive positions when he looks at landscapes. After he has these put away in the back of his mind, he can go on enjoy the sites. The grounds surrounding the visitor center were a good example of the rolling topography of the area and one could see the highground highlights even though high ground in this area is rarely over a couple hundred feet.



The visitors center had a great film on the civil war and the battle of Gettysburg and then you went upstairs to what they called the Cyclorama, which is a recreation of the famous portrait by a French Artist of the battle. It is done in a 360 degree room and the foreground is actually models of the battlefield which blend into the painting as you look out. Amazingly real looking, even hard to tell where the painting ends and the models begin. They narrate the opening days battle using sound and light and it is realistic to whatever degree a real battle can be duplicated without the carnage.



As we went through the museum we found many references to Major General John Reynolds, commander of 1 Corps. A Corps being composed of three divisions which are composed of three or more brigades composed of three or more battalions composed of 4 companies, each made of 4 platoons, each made of 4 squads, you get the idea, it’s a whole lot of men he commanded. And he led his Corps into the battle on the first day July 1, 1863 near McPherson Barn. What is unusual about this? Many things, first of all, to me, a Corps commander on the ground with the troops is amazing. Most of these general guys were in the rear, safe and away from harm. (This is also true of generals in my experience in Viet Nam) Also amazing is that he decided to initiate the battle of Gettysburg at this point. This point allowed him to room to engage, size up the enemy and then slowly move back to the high ground on seminary ridge and then cemetery hill. This plan insured control of roads leading into the battle, buy time to allow the rest of the Union Army to arrive, and more importantly gain the high ground which the Union Army would successfully defend in the next three days.



General Reynolds was shot through the head as he led his troops into battle and we visited the approximate spot on the battlefield where this courageous general fell. The spot is marked by a monument. He was the first general shot in the battle of Gettysburg. He was also a distant relative on my mothers’ side of the family, the LaFavers. Gen. Reynold’s grandmother was the granddaughter of Catherine LeFevre. Catherine was married to Isacc LeFevre who was our ancient ancestor that escaped persecution in France (around Strasbourg) when his parents and 6 brothers and sisters were martyred as Hugeunots. Young Isaac came to Pennsylvania in the late 1600s. (more on Isaac and the rest of the LeFevres in another post)



I can’t tell you how this distant relationship with a brave Union general, brought the battle alive for me. It seemed to breathe air into the history and bring it closer to home. This battle was the deciding battle of the Civil War. Had Lee won the battle the union would most likely have been split and we would be living in a divided country.



It is hard for us to imagine the country at this time, but with the help of good history and many artifacts, the National Park at Gettysburg allows us to go back and dwell on one of the most important moments of our country’s life.