Thomas Caute Reynolds was born in South Carolina in 1821. In 1850 Reynolds was practicing law in Virginia when he decided to move to St. Louis to start a law practice. Reynolds soon became involved in politics and closely alinged with the Democratic Party. In 1855, Reynolds got into a heated argument with the editor of the Republican-leaning Missouri Democrat, B. Gratz Brown. Their disagreement escalted to the point where the two squared off on Bloody Island offshore from St. Louis in the Mississippi River. During the pistol duel, Brown was injured in the leg and Reynolds was not hit.
In 1860 Reynolds ran for and was elected lieutenant governor of Missouri. Reynolds was in favor of Missouri’s secession from the Union. When Brig. Gen. Nathaniel Lyon marched on Jefferson City in June 1861, Reynolds accompanied Governor Claiborne Fox Jackson into exile. In July 1861, the Missouri State Convention vacated the offices of governor and lieutenant governor. In November 1861, Missouri was accepted as a state in the Confederate States of America. After Jackson’s death in December 1862, Reynolds ascended to the position of governor in the Confederate State of Missouri. In 1864, Reynolds lobbied hard for an invasion of Missouri. He got his wish when Sterling Price was ordered to move into that state with 12,000 cavalry. Reynolds wanted to be reinstated as governor in Jefferson City. When the invasion turned out to be a failure, Reynolds placed all of the blame on Sterling Price. At the conclusion of the war, Reynolds went into exile in Mexico. After spending a few years in Mexico City, Reynolds returned to St. Louis in 1869 and resumed his law practice. In 1887, Reynolds committed suicide by jumping down an elevator shaft at the Customs House in St. Louis.
Castel, General Sterling Price, 8—9, 133, 273—274, 278—279.
Rolle, Andrew F. The Lost Cause: The Confederate Exodus to Mexico. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 1992.
Wikipedia. “Thomas Caute Reynolds,” August 28, 2021. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Caute_Reynolds.