Daniel Harris Reynolds
By Lawrence L. Hewitt
Taken from The Confederate General, Volume 5 Edited by William C. Davis, published by the National Historical Society
Daniel Harris Reynolds was born at Centerburg, Ohio, on December 14, 1832. He attended Ohio Wesleyan University at Delaware. In 1856, Reynolds moved to Somerville, Tennessee, where he entered a law school. He graduated in early 1858 and gained admittance to the bar; in May he relocated and established his law practice in Lake Village, Arkansas.
His sectional allegiance was with the South. In 1861 he recruited a company that became part of Colonel Thomas J. Churchill’s 1st Arkansas Mounted Rifles. His election as captain of his company on May 25 was confirmed on June 14. Churchill reported that at Wilson’s Creek on August 10, “Captain Reynolds was thrown from his horse early in the action, and was cut off from his company.” Following that engagement Reynolds led his company in numerous skirmishes in Missouri and Arkansas until March of 1862, when his regiment was ordered to move east of the Mississippi River. While en route to Corinth, Reynolds was promoted to major on April 14 and to lieutenant colonel on May 1. The regiment was dismounted before its arrival in early May in Corinth, where it formed part of Brigadier Churchill’s brigade.
In June the brigade was transferred to the Department of East Tennessee. Reynolds’ regiment participated in the invasion of Kentucky and fought at Richmond. Upon its return to Tennessee Churchill was transferred to the Trans-Mississippi, and Brigadier General Evander McNair took over the brigade. Apparently Reynolds missed the Battle of Murfreesboro (December 31, 1862-January 2, 1863), because when his colonel, Robert W. Harper, succeeded the wounded McNair, control of the 1st Arkansas Mounted Rifles (dismounted) devolved upon Reynolds’ subordinate, Major L.M. Ramseur. During McNair’s absense from late February until about May 1 Reynolds commanded his own regiment and, at least occasionally, the 2nd Arkansas Mounted Rifles (dismounted) as well.
In mid-May McNair’s brigade joined General Joseph E. Johnston’s army in Mississippi for the purpose of relieving Vicksburg. After learning of Vicksburg’s surrender Johnston’s troops entered the trenches around Jackson on July 9. Two days later Reynolds led his regiment against the Federal works on the Raymond Road. One regimental commander reported that Reynolds’ men, “after a spirited charge, drove them from the ground and gained some 300 yards.”
After the evacuation of Jackson the brigade moved to Meridian and then to northwestern Georgia. On the morning of September 20 while fighting as part of Brigadier General Bushrod R. Johnson’s division at Chickamauga, Harper was mortally wounded and Reynolds took charge of the regiment. Johnson ranked Reynolds’ behavior as being foremost among his subordinates: “I especially noticed the faithful tool and heroic conduct of …-Reynolds…who was conspicuous in his efforts to preserve our lines and encourage and press on our men. For hours he…faithfully and incessantly labored in this duty.”
Another office reported that Reynolds “was rendering good service in driving the men out from behind the trees.” Such commendation became common for Reynolds; consequently he attained an enviable prestige as a regimental commander. Almost immediately Reynolds was promoted to colonel, to rank from September 20, 1863.
A few days after Chickamauga, McNair’s brigade returned to Mississippi, where it remained until early February of 1864, when it moved to Mobile. On March 12, 1864, President Jefferson Davis nominated Reynolds to the rank of brigadier general under the Congressional Act of August 13, 1862, which authorized twenty “special” appointments. The Senate confirmed the appointment on May 16, with his date of rank being March 5. On April 1 Reynolds was assigned to command McNair’s brigade, McNair having been transferred to the Trans-Mississippi. Ordered to Georgia in early May, General Johnston selected Reynolds to protect his trains at Resaca on May 8. Johnston reported that Reynolds, in command of two of his own regiments and another brigade, “bravely held” Dug Gap against an entire Federal division. After fighting at Kennesaw Mountain, Reynolds was criticized by Brigadier John Adams for his actions on July 17 at Moore’s Mill on Peach Tree Creek. However, Reynolds’ division commander, Major General Edward C. Walthall, reported that Reynolds’ brigade attacked the Federals, “captured 2 stands of colors and about 100 prisoners, and the enemy, though opposed by an inferior force at great disadvantage, was checked and suffered heavy loss…,” and General John Bell Hood reported that Reynolds’ brigade “charged them handsomely, [and] drove them back…”
Walthall reported that Reynolds’ brigade “firmly endured with order undisturbed” a heavy enfilading fire at Peach Tree Creek on July 20. After fighting at Ezra Church on July 28 Reynolds received orders on August 18 to move by rail to assist in repelling a Federal cavalry raid. The following day Confederate cavalry and Reynolds’ infantry routed the marauding troopers at Lovejoy’s Station. His superiors praised Reynolds for his performance on October 3 at Moon’s Station, between Big Shanty and Acworth, where his brigade captured the stockade and its garrison with the loss of only six Confederates. After fighting at Franklin and Nashville, Reynolds was given command of Brigadier General Matthew D. Ector’s brigade as well as his own on December 20 and ordered to assist General Nathan B. Forrest in covering Hood’s retreat. Forrest praised Reynolds’ command for its performance on December 26, when it charged, routed, and pursued a Federal force for two miles.
On March 19, 1865, at the outset of the Battle of Bentonville, an exploding artillery shell resulted in Reynolds’ having to have on of his legs amputated. Walthall reported that the wound cost the Confederacy “the services of a valuable office, who, during four years of faithful service, has been distinguished for his intelligence and skill no less than for his gallantry on every field where he has been before the enemy.” Reynolds received his parole at Charlottesville, Virginia, on May 29, 1865.
After the war, Reynolds returned to Arkansas and resumed his law practice. Except for a term in the Arkansas state senate from 1866 to 1867, Reynolds resided in Lake Village until he died there on March 14, 1902. He was buried in Lake Village Cemetery.
Daniel Harris Reynolds
Excerpted from Medical Histories of Confederate Generals, written by Jack D. Welsh, M.D., published by Kent State University Press, 1995
Born December 14, 1832, at Centerburg, Ohio. Reynolds left his law practice in Arkansas and raised a company that made him captain in 1861. He was promoted to major in April 1862 and to lieutenant colonel in May. His assignment as colonel ranked from September 1863 and as brigadier from March 1864. Reynolds was slightly wounded at Franklin on November 30, 1864, but remained on the field. In December he was placed in brigade command. Near Bentonville on March 19, 1865, a Federal cannonball that passed through his horse’s chest shattered Reynolds’s left leg. The condition of the leg necessitated amputation above the knee. He was transported by ambulance and finally arrived in Charlottesville, Virginia, where he signed a parole on May 29, 1865. After the war he returned to his law practice and served on term in the Arkansas state senate. He died March 14, 1902, at Lake Village, Arkansas, and was buried there in Lake Village Cemetery.
Welsh lists one source as Seven Ohio Confederate Generals by Cummings. You might find additional information there.
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