Jesse Lee Reno (1823 - 1862)

Born 20 Apr 1823 in Wheeling, Ohio, Virginia, United States

Ancestors

Died 14 Sep 1862 in Fox's Gap, Boonsboro, Washington, Maryland, United States

Jesse Reno is Notable.

Biography

Maj. Gen. Jesse Reno was Killed in Action in Fox's Gap during the Battle of South Mountain shot in the chest by a rookie Union Soldier from the 35th Massachusetts who mistook him for Rebel Cavalry at dusk during the United States Civil War.

Maj. Gen. Jesse Reno served with the United States Army during the Mexican-American War
Service Started: 1846
Unit(s):
Service Ended: 14 Sep 1862

Maj. Gen. Jesse Reno served in the United States Civil War.
Enlisted: 1846
Mustered out: Sep 14, 1862 (KIA)
Side: USA
Regiment(s): IX Corps, Union Army

Jesse Reno was born in 1823 in Wheeling, Virginia (present day West Virginia), the third-oldest of eight children of Lewis Thomas and Rebecca (Quinby) Reno. His ancestors changed the spelling of their surname "Renault" to the more Anglicized "Reno" when they arrived in the United States from France in 1770.

Marriage

On November 1, 1853 he wed Mary Cross at St John's Episcopal Church in Washington D.C. ^[1] The couple had five children, including Conrad Reno and Jesse W. Reno (the man who invented the first working escalator ^[2]

Death

He passed away in 1862. Killed in Fox's Gap during the Battle of South Mountain.

Reno's body was first taken to Boston, the home of his wife, and placed in a vault in Trinity Church. On April 9, 1867, his remains were reinterred in Oak Hill Cemetery in Georgetown, Washington, D.C.

General Ambrose Burnside eulogized General Reno when he issued General Order No. 17, announcing the loss of their leader to the IX Corps. "The commanding general announces to the corps the loss of their late leader, Maj. Gen. Jesse L. Reno. By the death of this distinguished officer the country loses one of its most devoted patriots, the army one of its most thorough soldiers. In the long list of battles in which General Reno has fought in his country's service, his name always appears with the brightest luster, and he has now bravely met a soldier's death while gallantly leading his men at the battle of South Mountain. For his high character and the kindly qualities of his heart in private life, as well as for the military genius and personal daring which marked him as a soldier, his loss will be deplored by all who knew him, and the commanding general desires to add the tribute of a friend to the public mourning for the death of one of the country's best defenders."

Legacy

• The cities of Reno, Nevada, El Reno, Oklahoma, and Reno, Pennsylvania, are all named for the general
• The United States Army named three outposts after Reno: Fort Pennsylvania in present-day Washington, D.C., was renamed Fort Reno in 1862, Fort Reno was constructed near present-day El Reno, Oklahoma in 1874, the third Fort Reno was built in present-day Wyoming on the Bozeman Trail in 1865.

Sources

1. ↑ http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/chron/civilwarnotes/reno.html
2. ↑ Wikipedia: Jesse L Reno

See also:

• Find A Grave: Memorial #5886901 accessed on 17 Aug 2018
• Wikidata: Item Q4393264, en:Wikipedia
• Photo: Library of Congress.

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