Rare 1920s photographs of Fox's Gap, Jesse Reno monument

Union veteran Uberto Burnham in Daniel Wise's field. Jesse Reno monument appears in background.
(Fred Wilder Cross | William Christen collection)

 Like this blog on Facebook. As these rare, early 1920s images show, Fox's Gap on the South Mountain battlefield once was much more open landscape than it is today. In the view above, taken by Fred Wilder Cross during a 1924 visit to the battlefield, Union veteran Uberto Burnham stands in what once was farmer Daniel Wise's field. As a private in the 76th New York, Burnham fought at the Battle of South Mountain on Sept. 14, 1862, a prelude to much bloodier fighting at Sharpsburg, Md., three days later. (Here is Burnham's account of the battle published in The National Tribune in 1928.)

Of course, the most notable Union casualty at Fox's Gap was Union General Jesse Reno, mortally wounded on the Wise farm. In the background of the photo above, we see the Reno monument, dedicated in the general's memory in 1889. A photograph taken from this vantage point today would be obscured by trees. Below, view early 1920s black-and-white images of the tall oak under which Reno purportedly died.

Cross, a Civil War expert from Massachusetts, often traveled to the Boonsboro/Sharpsburg, Md., area to shoot images of the South Mountain and Antietam battlefields and to gather stories about the fighting. Black-and-white photos in this post courtesy of William Christen IV. (Click on all images to enlarge.)

Early 1920s image of "Reno Oak" at Fox Gap on the South Mountain battlefield.
According to accounts, a mortally wounded Union General Jesse Reno died under this tree.

Another early 1920s image of the "Reno Oak," which no longer stands.

A portion of Reno Oak in the collection of the excellent Boonsborough (Md.) Museum of History.
READ MORE ABOUT THE MUSEUM HERE ON MY BLOG.

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Fox Gap panorama: Where Jesse Reno was mortally wounded

                                Click on upper right of image for interactive panorama.

Jesse Reno

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On Sept. 14, 1862, 39-year-old Union Major General Jesse Reno, a native Virginian who stayed loyal to his country, suffered a mortal wound in the chest at Fox Gap during the Battle of South Mountain (Md.).

At least one Rebel did not mourn his passing.

"The Yankees on their side lost General Reno," General D.H. Hill sarcastically noted in his official report, "a renegade Virginian, who was killed by a happy shot from the Twenty-third North Carolina."

Twenty-seven years later, 100 Civil War veterans were among the 1,000 people who gathered for the dedication of a monument near the spot where Reno suffered the wound. After members of Reno's wartime staff unveiled the 8-foot granite marker and patriotic music was played, former Union General Orlando B. Wilcox delivered a speech that highlighted the general's distinguished service in the army.

But the best event of the day may have been saved for last.

"The farmers and others in the vicinity had an ample dinner spread on the grounds," reported the Herald And Torch Light, a Hagerstown, Md., newspaper, on Sept. 19, 1889, "and all of the visitors were made guests of the citizens."

The monument at Fox Gap to Jesse Reno was dedicated on Sept. 14, 1889.

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