William Reynolds was a rear admiral in the United States Navy.
Background
William Reynolds, the son of John and Lydia (Moore) Reynolds, and brother of John Fulton Reynolds, was born on December 10, 1815 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. His father was a publisher of the Lancaster Journal and a member of the state legislature.
Education
His father sent William and his brothers to the Lancaster County Academy and to other private schools.
After five years at sea, was sent in 1836 to the naval school at Norfolk, Virginia.
Career
On November 17, 1831, he was appointed an acting midshipman in the navy.
He was promoted to passed midshipman, and on the 120-gun Pennsylvania made the first and only cruise the ship was destined to make, from Philadelphia to Norfolk. He was sent with the Wilkes exploring expedition to the South Seas in 1838, and was credited by Wilkes with the first discovery of a mountain peak in the antarctic which was named in his honor.
On this expedition he was promoted to the grade of lieutenant and during the next decade saw active and varied duty. In 1850 impaired health forced him to apply for a furlough and five years later he was retired. In 1857 he was sent to Honolulu as naval storekeeper and while there became strongly impressed with the strategic importance of the Hawaiian Islands to the United States. At the outbreak of the Civil War he returned home, hoping to be restored to active service.
He was obliged, however, to undergo surgical treatment and was not able to undertake active duty until 1862. He was then commissioned as commander on the reserved list and given command of the naval depot at Port Royal, South Carolina, with the sailing-ship Vermont as his headquarters, which served as well as a hospital- store- and receiving-ship for the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron. He retained this command throughout the war, an arduous duty filled with monotonous routine, but vital to the success of the fleet. In 1864 his personnel and stores were transferred to the New Hampshire. In 1866 he was restored to the active list and rose successively through the grades of captain and commodore to the rank of rear admiral in 1873. From 1870 to 1875 he was chief of the bureau of equipment and recruiting, and in the latter year was given command of the Asiatic Station.
On this duty he did much to promote friendly relations between the United States and the Far East, notably with the Kingdom of Siam. Failing health forced him to relinquish this command in 1877, and he was permanently retired in December of that year. He died in Washington, D. C. , and was buried in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Achievements
Personality
He was a capable, intelligent officer, zealous for his country's interests and the honor of his service, but his uncertain health prevented him from rising to a position of greater distinction in the navy.
Connections
His wife was Rebecca Krug, daughter of G. H. Krug of Lancaster.