Inventory of the Joseph S. Reynolds Papers, 1860-1865

Collection Number 5060-z

unc seal
Manuscripts Department, Library of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Collection Information
block Descriptive Summary
block Administrative Information
block Online Catalog Headings
block Biographical Note
block Collection Overview
plus Detailed Description of the Collection
block Items Separated
Contact Information:
Manuscripts Department
CB#3926, Wilson Library
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC 27514-8890
Phone: 919/962-1345
Fax: 919/962-3594
Email: mss@email.unc.edu
URL: http://www.lib.unc.edu/mss/
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Descriptive Summary

Repository
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.
Creator
Reynolds, Joseph S. (Joseph Smith), 1839-1911.
Title
Joseph S. Reynolds Papers, 1860-1865
Call Number
5060-z
Language of Materials
Materials in English
Extent
Items: About 50
Abstract
Joseph S. Reynolds was a Chicago high school graduate who enlisted in the Union Army at age 23 in October 1861. He was an officer of the 64th Illinois Infantry Regiment and the Yates Sharpshooters, taking part in 17 battles, including Sherman's March to the Sea. He was mustered out on 16 July 1865.
The collection consists chiefly of letters written by Joseph S. Reynolds to his family in Illinois during his Civil War service. Most letters are addressed to his siblings. They chronicle the movements of the 64th Illinois Infantry Regiment and the Yates Sharpshooters from the battle of New Madrid, Mo., to camps and battles in Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina. They provide details about troop movements, military life, Reynolds's health, and the countryside. On occasion, Reynolds mentioned African Americans in stereotypical ways. In an 1862 letter, he explained why the accounts of troop actions in Chicago newspapers were often wrong. On 10 November 1864, Reynolds wrote about Sherman's March to the Sea, and, on 26 April 1865, he discussed the meeting of generals William T. Sherman and Joseph E. Johnson and his belief that Confederate leaders should be punished and not pardoned. Also included are three letters to Reynolds, 1860-1861, two of which are about the difficulty of raising a military company; an ambrotype of Reynolds and photographic copy; and an unused gutta-percha case.

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Administrative Information

Restrictions to Access
No restrictions.
Alternate Form of Material
Microfilm copy (filmed May 2005) available.
Reel 1: Entire collection
Alternate Form of Material
Typed transcriptions, as received from donor, are provided.
Acquisitions Information
Received from Marie Weiden of Chapel Hill, N.C., in 2001 (Acc. 98974).
Processing Information
Processed by: Kristin Soya, October 2001
Encoded by: Kristin Soya, October 2001
Revisions: Finding aid updated in May 2005 by Nancy Kaiser.
Funding from the Watson-Brown Foundation, Inc., supported the microfilming of this collection.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], in the Joseph S. Reynolds Papers #5060-z, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Copyright Notice
Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.
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Online Catalog Headings

These and related materials may be found under the following headings in online catalogs.

African Americans--History--19th century.
Confederate States of America--Social conditions.
Family--Illinois--Social life and customs.
Gutta-percha.
Illinois--History--Civil War, 1861-1865.
Reynolds, Joseph S. (Joseph Smith), 1839-1911.
Sherman's March to the Sea--Personal narratives.
United States. Army. Illinois Infantry Regiment, 64th (1861-1865)
United States. Army. Yates Sharpshooters.
United States. Army--History--Civil War, 1861-1865.
United States. Army--Military life--History.
United States. Army--Officers--Correspondence.
United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Military life.
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Biographical Note

Joseph Smith Reynolds was born in New Lenox, Ill., on 3 December 1839. He enlisted in the Union Army on 19 October 1861 and was commissioned second lieutenant on 31 December 1861. He was promoted to first lieutenant on 9 April 1862, captain on 24 November 1863, major on 9 April 1865, and lieutenant colonel on 21 May 1865. Reynolds was in active service for nearly four years. With the 64th Illinois Infantry Regiment and the Yates Sharpshooters, he fought in 17 Civil War battles, was wounded three times, and took part in Sherman's March to the Sea. On 16 July 1865, he was mustered out.

After the war, Reynolds took a law degree from the University of Chicago and was admitted to the bar in 1866. He served in the Illinois state House of Representatives, 1867-1869, and in the state Senate, 1872-1874. In 1874, he served on a commission to establish a state school for mentally retarded children. On 31 January 1877, he married Mattie A. Gray, who died in 1890. When Reynolds died in 1911, he was living in Pasadena, Calif.

(Note derived from appraisal letters of John Sharpe, CPRM, Inc. See also Who was Who in America I, 1899-1900; Appletons' Cyclopaedia of American Biography, v. 277; Mark Mayo Boatner III, The Civil War Dictionary, p. 695.)

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Collection Overview

The collection is chiefly letters written by Joseph S. Reynolds to his family in Illinois during his service in the Civil War as a Union officer. Most letters are addressed to his sisters, Lottie, Hattie, and Sarah, or his brothers Charles, John, Willie, and Isaac. These letters cover four years, 1861-1865, and chronicle the movement of the 64th Illinois Infantry Regiment and Yates Sharpshooters from the battle of New Madrid, Mo.; to Camp Yates, Camp Big Springs, and Camp Clear Creek in Mississippi; to Pulaski, Tenn.; to Decatur, Ala.; to Dallas, Ga., and Marietta, Ga.; through Atlanta, Ga., to Savannah, Ga.; to Pocotaligo, S.C.; and finally to Raleigh, N.C. They provide details about troop movements, military life, Reynolds's health, and the countryside. On occasion, Reynolds mentioned African Americans in stereotypical ways. In an 1862 letter, he explained why the accounts of troop actions in Chicago, Ill., newspapers were often wrong. On 10 November 1864, Reynolds wrote about Sherman's March to the Sea, and, on 26 April 1865, he discussed the meeting of generals William T. Sherman and Joseph E. Johnson and his belief that Confederate leaders should be punished and not pardoned.

Also included are three letters to Reynolds, 1860-1861, two of which are about the difficulty of raising a military company; an ambrotype of Reynolds and photographic copy; and an unused gutta-percha case.

Typed transcriptions, as received from donor, are provided.

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Items Separated

Ambrotype (SF-P-5060/1)
Photograph (P-5060/1)
Gutta-percha case (MU-5060/1)
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Detailed Description of the Collection

Papers, 1860-1865.
About 50 items.
Arrangement: chronological.
Folder 1
1860-1861
Folder 2-3
1862
Folder 4
1863
Folder 5
1864-1865
Folder 6
Transcriptions
Special Format Image SF-P-5060/1
Ambrotype of Joseph Reynolds
Image P-5060/1
Photographic copy of ambrotype of Joseph Reynolds
Museum Item MU-5060/1
Gutta-percha case

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