Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Captain James E. Reynolds

(Located this touching monument at Oak Cemetery in Ft. Smith, AR.)
This monument marks the final resting place for:

Felicity L Reynolds
Nov 17, 1847
Oct 24, 1920

James E Reynolds
July 17, 1837
June 26, 1920

The monument, carved in Italy, is that of a wounded soldier being helped by two young women. The statue is a tribute to the two teenage girls who rescued the wounded Captain Reynolds from the battlefield in New Hope, Georgia.
Captain James E. Reynolds was a Confederate soldier from Mississippi.  He became well known for building the famed "Captain's Castle" in Cameron, OK.

Brief History of Capt. Reynolds
James Reynolds was born on July 17, 1837 and died on June 26, 1920 at the age of 83. He joined the the Civil War at the age of 25. He was raised in a southern family, so naturally he quickly joined sides with the Confederates. He rose through the ranks of Company K, the company was known as the "Dixie Boys" of Carroll County. Through hard work he became its captain just before the war ended.

He suffered many injuries during the Battle of New Hope in the Atlanta Campaign. One injury being so serious that he would have died had it not been for the kindness and care that the two daughters of his commanding officer provided him.  These are the two teenage girls depicted in his monument. He made sure their kindness was remebered by commissioning an this monument before his death.
After the war he finally settled in Indian Territory with his wife Felicity, settling with his family just outside of Fort Smith in the area that is now known as Arkhoma. He prospered in this area and became a successful merchant and rancher. Also becoming heavily involved in the development of coalmines in the area.

In 1890, his wife purchased the title to a parcel of land in Cameron, OK. He began the construction of what is now know as the "Captains Castle".  In a few years this great medieval castle was completed.  The Captain's Castle is a private residence but it can be viewed from Castle Street in Cameron, OK. It remains as one of the few castles ever built in the South. It is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Found this information in A history of the state of Oklahoma, Volume 1 By Luther B. Hill.



More information

3 comments:

  1. I feel a road trip to Cameron, OK coming on. Thank you for sharing.

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  2. Hi...i have a box an in the box is full of captain reynolds personal papers letters an documents..such as deeds to propertys such as the castle land in braden bottoms an coal mines...also his ledger from the cotton gin ..i also posses letters from him an to him aswell as stock certificates from the cameron coal an mercantile company....also letters from the governor to him an deeds to property ( indian land ) he had purchased back from the goverment an all receipts deeds an detailed maps depicting exactly where the land is located...its all in readable an excellant condition...if interested please contact me at akharrison7673@gmail or call 479-629-6035..thank you

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  3. My grandparents lived in the castle from 1967 to app 1980 I would love to see the inside of it .I loved staying the nite there and sunbathing on the top and playing out back

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