Dept. of Texas Commander, Gen. J.J. Reynolds

Carte de visite photograph. Signed in ink “JJ Reynolds, Maj. Gen.” Photographer’s imprint: Pine Bluff, Arkansas.

Signed CDV portrait of Brigadier General Joseph J. (“J.J.”) Reynolds. Reynolds signed this carte in ink on the mount just below where his photograph was affixed. The verso, which contains a Pine Bluff, Arkansas photographer’s studio, also bears an ink inscription “Comdg. 7th Corps 1865.”

Reynolds commanded Union forces in Arkansas during his final assignment of the Civil War, taking the reins of the VII Corps in Arkansas. Reynolds had a long and eventful military career which started at West Point in the 1840s and culminated during the Black Hills War of 1876-1877. After the Civil War, he was in charge of the Department of Texas.

In 1876, Reynolds led US troops on a winter campaign against “hostile” Sioux that ended in disgrace after a defeat along the Powder River in which many of his men became frostbitten. Reynolds was subsequently court-martialed and eventually resigned from the service.

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