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Civil War Interactive Discussion Board > The Participants of the War - Mikitary & Civilian > John Reynolds > General John Reynolds |
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Civil War Interactive Discussion Board > The Participants of the War - Mikitary & Civilian > John Reynolds > General John Reynolds |
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| General John Reynolds | Rate Topic |
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| Posted: Sun Jun 24th, 2007 04:23 am |
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1st Post |
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JoanieReb Member
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Friends: I am trying to branch out from my admitted obsession with The Army of Northern Virginia. I have favorite books on The ANV that are held together by rubber bands, and that I know so well that that I can just pull the individual leaves out of by memory when I wish to cite them. I have researched, bought, and checked out from the Local University Library books on The Army of Tennessee and the Army of the Potomac. Only to have them languish next to those books on the ANV that I have so determinedly put on the shelf, then continue to pull off again, or add to. Or, I move to reading about prison camps, my second favorite subject and one that I can read about endlessly. It is time to move on, dammit! So, being a bit mindless & sleepless tonight, and wishing to read something that isn't Too Challenging or Too Familar, I started thinking, "Well, I wish I could read about John Reynolds". He has all the romanticism and "life's irony" of a Southern General, but he was determinedly Northern. In all of TWBTS, he is the one Northern General whom my heart breaks for. I have often asked Northerners to deal with my unrequited love for The Southern Generals here at CWi. Now, I wish to listen about The Northern men a bit. Please tell me a bit about John Reynolds, whom I consider a hugely tragic figure. Or, recommend biographies. I think I would really enjoy learning about this man. For those Northerners whom have been so gracious and kind to me when I endlessly cite The South: I WILL tell you this: no one has to sell me on William T. Sherman, he is more than a "pet favorite" of mine; I like and respect him as a man and a general, and that admission has pro'bly caused me to lose, and will continue to make me lose, a lot respect among the people that I ususally see eye-to-eye with. But, I am also surprised that in the CWi thread about The History Channel's Show on Sherman ("Sherman's March: Review Discuss the Show) while some person(s) pointed out that Sherman had lived in and supposedly Loved the South, no one mentioned that he had given Joe Johnston such lenient terms of surrender (after Lee's surrender at Appomattox) that he was accused of treason in the major New York Newspapers (as well as throughout Yankee-dom), and his buddy, General Grant, had to come to his rescue, and negate then re-negotiate the tems of surrender with Joe. Anyway, I never did post much to that thread because there was one incident that I thought so misrepresented Sherman's experience that I spent about a month researching it, and by that time, the thread was dead (hey that rhymes!) - but he is the only Northern general that I have some real, deep-seated respect for so far, so don't think I am going soft! OK? Thanks! JR Last edited on Sun Jun 24th, 2007 06:32 am by JoanieReb |
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| Posted: Sun Jun 24th, 2007 07:47 pm |
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2nd Post |
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Johan Steele Life NRA,SUVCW # 48,Legion 352 
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Nichols Edward, Toward Gettysburg: A biography of General John F Reynolds Michael Riley For Gods Sake Forward I believe there are a couple of other bios out there but these two are the ones I've read. Should give you a good start on studying the man.
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| Posted: Mon Jun 25th, 2007 04:16 am |
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3rd Post |
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ole Member 
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I look at Reynolds in parallel with A.S. Johnston. Although Johnston dies a year earlier and had not yet proven himself, Reynolds was on the way up and had not yet proven himself. Both are enigmas. Both will forever be major "what ifs." Ole
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| Posted: Mon Jun 25th, 2007 10:50 pm |
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4th Post |
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CleburneFan Member 
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JoanieReb, when you are "done" with Reynolds--even if it takes twenty years--check out another tragic Northern general, John Buford.
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| Posted: Tue Jun 26th, 2007 01:57 am |
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5th Post |
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JoanieReb Member
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Thank you all. I will be trying to get to the library tomorrow. CleborneFan: Like Cleborne himself, Buford has always struck me as an incredably tragic figure - but, also, he got "live his own life", short though it was. I think Reynold's life was always constricted by society and upbringing; whereas Buford's was not? Buford, at least, went "all out" and died young. Reynolds stayed consticted by the combination of honor and rebellion, unable to sort it out, and died young????? I'm sure it is much more complex than that, and wouldn't be surprised if I am eating these words one day: I just don't know! I don't know much about these men, but the little I've read, I think Buford was the less tragic, for having less confusion and "being his own man" more? I honestly don't know. This is why I have started looking at the most interesting Northern generals..... Again, My Thanks, Joanie Last edited on Tue Jun 26th, 2007 06:50 am by JoanieReb |
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| Posted: Mon Jul 2nd, 2007 06:23 pm |
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6th Post |
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PvtClewell Member 
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Joanie, A decent book on Buford — maybe the only book on him of any substance that I'm aware of — is Edward Longacre's 'General John Buford — A Military Biography,' written in 1995. I met Longacre once. He's a huge man, about 6-foot-5, and rather personable. He's a prolific writer on the Civil War, and particularly on the cavalry, I think. I bet he's got about 10-15 titles out there over the years, at least. I found his work on Buford easy to read and only 248 pages of text, if you don't include the notes or bibliography. It's probably as informative as it gets when you consider that Buford didn't leave much of a paper trail behind him. More Union generals? I'd like to read more on George Thomas and George Meade by current historians.
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