Fairfield Dead - William R. Reynolds

William R. Reynolds was born in Laporte, Indiana in 1838. He spent his teenage years working on the farm of James Greenwood in Springfield township, Laporte County, according to census records. He was probably still working here at the outbreak of the Civil War, though he does not appear in the 1860 census.

On June 19, 1861, William enlisted as a private in Company D, 8th Ohio Volunteer Infantry. The company was organized in nearby Norwalk, Ohio. He served with this unit for over a year, including the Peninsula campaign.

During the battle of Antietam in September 1862, William was wounded. His regiment saw some of the heaviest fighting in the battle, suffering nearly 50% casualties. This was apparently enough of infantry life for William and many others. The following month, recovered from his wound, he transferred to the cavalry.

Reynolds enlisted as a private in Company C, 6th U.S. Cavalry on October 23, 1862. He was sworn in by Lieutenant Albert Coats at Knoxville, Maryland, while his regiment was stationed at nearby Harpers Ferry. His enlistment documents describe him as 5'7" tall, with light hair, gray eyes, and a light complexion.

Private Reynolds survived the battle of Brandy Station unscathed, but was not so lucky the following month. He was part of Lieutenant Joseph Bould's squadron at the battle of Fairfield, which served as the regimental reserve. Seeing the regiment being overrun by a charge of the 6th Virginia Cavalry, Bould charged with his squadron in an attempt to stem the tide. Unsuccessful, the squadron was routed and pursued. Reynolds was most likely killed in the charge or the ensuing pursuit.

William Reynolds is buried in Gettysburg National Cemetery.

"New" Blog - Today at Brandy Station

While I was sleeping, another new blog started up, this one focused on Brandy Station and Culpeper County, VA. The link for Today at Brandy Station can be found here. I met Mike Block several years ago when doing some research on Kelly's Ford, and found him to be very personable and extremely knowledgeable about the Brandy Station area, particularly the winter encampment of 1864. I'll be adding this one to my blogroll shortly. A belated welcome to the blogosphere, Mike!

Fairfield dead - John Pattinson

I've decided to do a brief series on the soldiers of the 6th U.S. Cavalry who were killed at the battle of Fairfield, PA on July 3, 1863. The first of these is Sergeant John Pattinson of Company M.

John Pattinson was born in Westmoreland County, England. He immigrated to the United States with his family, settling on a farm in Pennsylvania. He was working on the family farm in Carbon creek, Erie County, Pennsylvania according to the 1860 census.

He was enlisted into Company M by Captain Hays in Pittsburgh, PA on September 23, 1861. His enlistment documents describe him as 22 years old, 5’ 7 ½ “ tall, with brown hair, grey eyes, and a florid complexion. Pattinson earned promotion to Sergeant prior to the fight at Fairfield. He was wounded during the battle and later died of his wounds.

Sergeant Pattinson is buried in the National Cemetery at Gettysburg.