Robert Reily (c. 1820 – May 2, 1863) was a

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

of the 75th Ohio Infantry

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation. In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...

in the Union Army during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. He was killed in action at the

Battle of Chancellorsville The Battle of Chancellorsville, April 30 – May 6, 1863, was a major battle of the American Civil War (1861–1865), and the principal engagement of the Chancellorsville campaign. Confederate General Robert E. Lee's risky decision to divide h ...

Biography

The son of Revolutionary War veteran and Ohio civil servant John Reily and his wife Nancy (née Hunter), Robert was born in Hamilton County,

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

. Reily was the founder of the village of

Wyoming, Ohio Wyoming is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio. It is a suburb of the neighboring city of Cincinnati. The population was 8,756 at the 2020 census. History Among the earliest European-American settlers in what is now Wyoming was the Pendery family, ...

. When civil war broke out in 1861, Reily joined the 75th Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He was mustered in as a

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

, but was promoted to lieutenant colonel and then to colonel. During the

, the 75th Ohio was part of the 2nd Brigade, 1st Division of the

XI Corps 11 Corps, 11th Corps, Eleventh Corps, or XI Corps may refer to: * 11th Army Corps (France) * XI Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * XI Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German Army * ...

in the

Army of the Potomac The Army of the Potomac was the primary field army of the Union army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was created in July 1861 shortly after the First Battle of Bull Run and was disbanded in June 1865 following the Battle of ...

. On May 2, 1863,

Confederate A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

Robert E. Lee Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a general officers in the Confederate States Army, Confederate general during the American Civil War, who was appointed the General in Chief of the Armies of the Confederate ...

sent

Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson (January 21, 1824 – May 10, 1863) was a Confederate general and military officer who served during the American Civil War. He played a prominent role in nearly all military engagements in the eastern the ...

and his

corps Corps (; plural ''corps'' ; from French , from the Latin "body") is a term used for several different kinds of organization. A military innovation by Napoleon I, the formation was formally introduced March 1, 1800, when Napoleon ordered Gener ...

on a 12-mile march around the Union lines with the hope of catching XI Corps by surprise. At 4:30 in the afternoon, Colonel Reily had heard reports of a Confederate movement in his direction. Unlike many top commanders, such as the XI Corps commander Major General

Oliver O. Howard Oliver Otis Howard (November 8, 1830 – October 26, 1909) was a career United States Army officer and a Union Army, Union General officer, general in the American Civil War, Civil War. As a brigade commander in the Army of the Potomac, Howard ...

, Reily did not dismiss them. He prepared the 75th Ohio for an attack he knew was coming. He had his men lie down, rest by their weapons and wait for the attack. Within a half hour, Jackson's 12,000 Confederate soldiers rushed out of the thick underbrush. Most of the XI Corp was taken by surprise and broke for the rear without firing a shot. As other men of the XI Corp ran by in a panic, the 75th Ohio stood and fired back at the Confederates. They kept up the fire for ten minutes until the Confederates had overwhelmed their lines, forcing them to retreat. In those ten minutes, Colonel Reily was killed and 150 other men of the 75th Ohio were killed or wounded. Reily was buried in

Spring Grove Cemetery Spring Grove Cemetery and Arboretum is a nonprofit rural cemetery and arboretum located at 4521 Spring Grove Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio. At a size of 733 acres (2.97 km2), it is the third largest cemetery in the United States, after the Calverto ...

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

, in Section 46, Lot 39.

References

Sources

External links

Ohio Historical Marker
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Reily, Robert 1820s births 1863 deaths People of Ohio in the American Civil War Union army colonels Union military personnel killed in the American Civil War People from Wyoming, Ohio Burials at Spring Grove Cemetery