Reynolds Restoration Project to repair Civil War general's family plot in Lancaster Cemetery

Editor's note: This story has been updated with the website for donations to the restoration project.

The 16-foot-tall marble obelisk towers above the scatter of gravestones surrounding it. The base is a work of art for its time, the stone carver depicting battles fought, Army insignia, emblems of military rank and patriotic symbolism. The tower honors a Lancaster native and one of the most admired Union leaders of all time: Maj. Gen. John Fulton Reynolds.

Today, this iconic monument is in desperate need of repair.

The Lancaster Cemetery, with grave markers dating back to the American Revolution, has partnered with the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War to raise $15,000 for the Reynolds Restoration Project. The funds will be used to repair, rehabilitate, and stabilize the gravestones, markers and decorative elements of the Reynolds family plot.

“We would like to uphold the image of the cemetery,” says Scott Fasnacht, former camp commander of Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War. He says the team is proud to partner with the cemetery to help keep it in “tip-top shape and honor Union soldiers.”

THE SCRIBBLER: Why Gen. John Reynolds was grumpy after the Battle at Antietam

Fasnacht says the Reynolds plot requires repair of the cracks in the marble obelisk and stabilization of the base, as well as repairs to surrounding headstones. Because the 70-by-20-foot plot is above ground, tombstones shift from seasonal freezes and thaws, he explains.

The marble obelisk is surrounded by over 20 tombstones of Reynolds’ family members. Many tombstones have suffered the ravages of time and weather, including acid rain, according to Justin Herbert, a Lancaster Cemetery board member.

The restoration project aims to bring the family plot to a sustainable position and prevent deterioration, Fasnacht says.

The Lancaster Cemetery, a 22-acre Victorian-era burial ground established in 1846, is still popular with visitors and locals alike. As one of the largest green spaces in downtown, it is the final resting place for approximately 17,000 Lancastrians, including 1,400 veterans.

Herbert, who is also director of management and research at Franklin & Marshall College, mows the grass at the cemetery during the summer and helps with other maintenance projects throughout the year.

“In my time there, someone always stops to see the Reynolds monument,” he says. “It’s the most visited in the cemetery.”

He says sometimes people visit the Reynolds plot on their way to Gettysburg, as that is where the major general was killed.

Herbert says there are also plenty of “taphophiles” — people interested in genealogy, reading grave markers and the art history of a cemetery — and historians who visit the grounds. The cemetery’s recent designation as Kaneko Arboretum — with 150 mature trees, diverse species and year-round visual interest — gives people another reason to visit.

“For someone who gave so much to his country, it seems the least we can do is to preserve his memory in this way,” Herbert says.

THE SCRIBBLER: The rest of the story about John Fulton Reynolds’ fiancee

Who was Major Gen. John F. Reynolds?

Reynolds, one of nine surviving children, was born in Lancaster on Sept. 20, 1820. A historical marker at 42 W. King St. honors where his family home once stood.

Reynolds was nominated to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point by future President James Buchanan, a family friend, according to the American Battlefield Trust. While he graduated middle of the pack, he went on to demonstrate extraordinary leadership and bravery through 10 battles, which are carved by name into the base of the now-cracked obelisk. Reynolds was engaged to Catherine Mary Hewitt, but because she was a Catholic and he a Protestant, they kept their engagement secret.

On a hot summer morning, July 1, 1863, Reynolds was leading his forces toward Gettysburg. Confederate soldiers were almost there, as well. He led his First Corps to the strategically advantageous McPherson Ridge. Reynolds was killed instantly after a bullet pierced his neck. He was the highest-ranking soldier on either side killed at Gettysburg.

His somber funeral on July 4, 1863, in Lancaster was well-attended, according to sexton George Lutz, as reported in the Lancaster Intelligencer on May 4, 1881.

For historians, including Herbert, Reynolds is an important piece of American history.

“Reynolds basically chose the location of that battle on that hill,” Herbert says. “His actions that day changed the outcome of that war — he chose to engage. The Union won because they had that hill.”