On July 1st, approximately around Noon, there are was a slight break in the action on McPherson’s Ridge west of Gettysburg. All hell had broken loose on the ridge as Confederates kept driving at the Union forces near Herbst Woods and the unfinished railroad cut. Union soldiers were swarming in from the south and high-tailing it to support the lines of battle facing westward. More Union soldiers were arriving and moving north of the railroad cut towards Oak Hill and where the Peace Light is located. However, even though the Confederates were making things difficult upon the soldiers, there was another reason why actions, directions, and orders were all confusing to whose in charge.
Their general, Major General John F. Reynolds, the commander of the Left Wing of the Union Army who was in command of the 1st, 3rd, and 11th Corps, was dead. This regiment was one of five regiments which called themselves the “Iron Brigade”. The Iron Brigade consisted of the 2nd, 6th, and 7th Wisconsin, 19th Indiana, and the 24th Michigan. As the Iron Brigade rushed forward into the Herbst Woods and near Willoughby Run, General Reynolds were shouting to the soldiers ” Forward men, forward, for God’s sake, and drive those fellows out of the woods. He was shot in the neck by an un-named Confederate soldier as he charged through the woods with the 2nd Wisconsin.
His body was then carried to the George Jorge House on the western side of Gettysburg along Steinwehr Avenue. They gathered his processions and laid him into a coffin and placed him into a wagon. His staff and the wagon would travel south along the Taneytown road to Taneytown, and then east towards Union Bridge. The picture below is the train station that was built in 1902. However, there was a building similar to this in 1863. Reynolds was placed in a proper casket and iced over for storage for his next leg of his death travels.
The staff members will not leave their general side until he’s buried. Due to the lack of the location of Jeb Stuart’s Cavalry, the train that has Reynolds body and staff on the train must avoid capture. Thus the train left Union Bridge and proceeded to Westminster, and then to Baltimore. His staff includes the following officers:
- Major Biddle
- Captain Weld
- Captain Mitchell
- Lt. Rosengarten
After arriving into Baltimore, he was properly embalmed and placed back into a proper casket. From Baltimore, his staff and casket were then placed on a steamer within the inner harbor and sailed to Philadelphia on July 3rd. He laid in state for a few hours before being transported to Lancaster. In these few hours, unexpected situations occurred.