Henry A. Reed

Henry A. Reed (23 June 1844 – 30 November 1930) was a career officer in the United States Army. A Union Army veteran of the American Civil War, he went on to serve in the American Indian Wars and Spanish–American War. Reed served from 1862 to 1865 and 1870 to 1906, and attained the rank of brigadier general.

Reed was born in Plattsburgh, New York and raised and educated in Milwaukee. In 1862, he joined the Union Army for the American Civil War. Enlisting as a private in Company I, 24th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment, he took part in several battles in Kentucky and Tennessee, including: the Battle of Perryville and Battle of Stones River; the Chattanooga campaign including the Battle of Chickamauga, defense of Chattanooga, and Battle of Missionary Ridge; the Knoxville campaign including the pursuit from Knoxville; and the Battle of Nashville. He was wounded at Stones River and Chickamauga, and advanced through the ranks to first sergeant before receiving his commission in February 1865 as a first lieutenant of Infantry in Company I. He later commanded the company, and he remained in the army until he received his discharge in June 1865.

After the war, Reed attended the United States Military Academy at West Point, from which he graduated in 1870. Commissioned in the Field Artillery. Reed served briefly on frontier duty in Nevada during the American Indian Wars, then became a specialist in the emerging field of coast artillery, and served at harbor posts including Fort McHenry and Fort Foote in Maryland, Fort Schuyler in New York, and Fort Trumbull, Connecticut. From 1876 to 1880 and 1883 to 1888, he served on the West Point faculty.

During the Spanish–American War, Reed commanded a heavy battery in Puerto Rico, and he later commanded San Juan's Fort San Cristóbal. He later commanded the Artillery District of San Juan and the Artillery District of the Columbia in Oregon. In 1906, he was eligible for advancement to brigadier general and retirement based on laws permitting Civil War veterans to be promoted if they held a rank lower than brigadier general and retire before the mandatory age of 64 if they had served for over 40 years. In retirement, Reed lived in San Juan. He died there on 30 November 1930. Reed was buried at Santa María Magdalena de Pazzis Cemetery in San Juan.