Renault, Jesse

Renault was born in Wheeling, Virginia (now West Virginia), the third child of eight children of Lewis Thomas and Rebecca Renault. His ancestors came from France in 1770 and changed their surname “Renault” to a more English-like “Reno”. In 1830, his family moved to Pennsylvania, Franklin, where Renault spent his childhood.

In 1842, Renault entered the West Point Military Academy and graduated in 1846, the 8th most out of 59 1846 class cadets, including Thomas Jackson , George Pickett , Darius Couch , George Stoneman and George McClellan . A particularly close friend at the academy at Renault was Thomas Jackson. After the academy, Renault was assigned to the artillery corps in the temporary rank of second lieutenant . For some time, he served as an artillery officer at Waterlith's New York Arsenal.

When the war with Mexico began, Renault served in a battery of howitzers during the siege of Veracruz . March 3, 1847 he received the permanent rank of second lieutenant. In April, he participated in the battle of Sierro Gordo , and in August, in the battle of Contreras . On April 18, 1847, he received the provisional rank of First Lieutenant for his courage at Cerro Gordo. He also fought at Churubusko and at Chapultepek, where he was wounded. September 13, 1847 he received the temporary rank of captain for Chapultepec.

In 1849, Renault returned to West Point, where he taught mathematics (January 9 - July 16, 1849).

Renault returned from Utah in 1859 and immediately received the captain's title for long service. In the same year, he took command of the Mont Vernon Arsenal in Alabama. On the evening of January 4, 1861, Renault was forced to surrender the arsenal of the Alabama army on the orders of the Governor of Alabama, Andrew Moore. A week later, Alabama withdrew from the Union.

After returning from Alabama, Renault was temporarily appointed commander of Fort Leavenworth's arsenal, and at the end of 1861 he was awarded the rank of brigadier general, transferred to Virginia and assigned to command the 2nd brigade in General Burnside's expeditionary army. From February to July 1862 he participated in the Burnside North Carolina expedition, fought at Roanoke Island and New Bern. The expeditionary army was then turned into the IX Corps and incorporated into the Potomac Army , and Renault became the division commander. During the North Virginia campaign, Renault had to fight against its classmate and friend at West Point, Thomas Jackson . The IX Corps was transferred to Virginia and took part in the second battle of Bull Run and Chantilly . On August 20, 1862, Renault became a major general, although this increase was officially registered after his death. At the beginning of the Maryland campaign, Burnside exercised general command of the two corps, transferring the IX corps to Reno on September 3.

On September 12, 1862, the Renault corps stood in Frederick, and two days later he personally reconnoitered the enemy’s positions in the Fox Gorges during the battle of South Mountain . A sniper bullet hit him in the chest. He was taken on a stretcher to General Samuel Sturgis, to whom he said: “Hi Sam, I'm dead!” Sturgis decided by his voice that he was joking, and replied that he hoped that everything was not so bad. Renault replied: “Yes, yes, I'm dead, bye!” (“Yes, yes, I'm dead — good-by!”) And died a few minutes later. Southerly General Daniel Hill wrote in a report: “The Yankees lost General Reno, a Virginia renegade who was killed by a successful shot of a soldier of the 23rd North Carolina ^[1] .” George McClellan later wrote in his memoirs: “In the person of General Renault, the nation lost one of its best generals. He was a capable soldier, a brave and honest man ” ^[2] .

Renault was the only West Point class in 1846 to die in the civil war on the North side.

• William F. McConnell, Remember Reno: A Biography of Major General Jesse Lee Reno

• History of the Renault clan
• Register of Officers and Graduates of the United States Military Academy Class of 1846