FRAMED COMMISSION PROMOTING WILLIAM REYNOLDS (BROTHER OF GEN’L JOHN REYNOLDS) TO RANK OF REAR ADMIRAL

$1,950.00 SOLD
Originally $2,300.00

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Item Code: L15570

Framed and matted commission dated December 12, 1873. This document promotes William Reynolds to the rank of Rear Admiral in the United States Navy.  Measures 24” wide x 27 ½” tall overall. The commission is signed in ink by President Ulysses S. Grant, though it has faded a good deal with time.

William Reynolds (December 10, 1815 – November 5, 1879) was a rear admiral in the United States Navy who served during the American Civil War. His younger brother (by five years) was United States Army general John F. Reynolds who was killed at Gettysburg.

Reynolds joined the Navy in 1831. His first assignment was to the Boxer, in which he toured Africa, Brazil and the Malay archipelago. In 1837, he was promoted to passed midshipman and to lieutenant in 1841. In 1862, he was promoted to commander and given his first ship, the Vermont, a receiving ship at Port Royal, South Carolina. He was subsequently given command of the depot there.

In 1865, Reynolds was promoted to captain and given command of the screw sloop Lackawanna after the American Civil War, assigned to the Pacific. In 1867, he was the officer to formally claim the Midway Atoll for the United States, after its discovery by a sealing ship in 1859. In 1870, he was made a commodore and was made the Chief of the Bureau of Equipment. In 1873, he was promoted to rear admiral and given command of the Asiatic Squadron from his flagship, the steam frigate Tennessee. Reynolds served as the acting Secretary of the United States Navy in 1874.

His last foreign tour included an official visit to China. Reynolds' wife, Rebecca Krug Reynolds, became the first American woman to walk on the Great Wall of China.  In 1877, due to failing health, he retired from active service.  Reynolds died in Washington, D.C., on November 5, 1879, and is buried next to his famous younger brother in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  [jet]

Extra shipping required. Framed with UV Protective Glass - Click here for our policy on shipping framed items containing glass.

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