Lonus Reed
Lonus Reed (Jan. 9, 1889 – Dec. 8, 1918) was a New River man who died from wounds he received in battle during World War I in France.
See Also: Scott Countians killed in war
Biography
Born Jan. 9, 1889, Lonus Reed was the son of Wiley Reed (1836-1916) and Savarie Jane Ellis (1858-1910). He had nine siblings: Amon Reed (1884-1959), Manus Reed (1886-1959), Lozella Cruss (1888-1982), Rolman Reed (1892-1972), Wiley Reed (1894-1954), Barzena Jane Phillips (1895-1976), McKinley Reed (1896-1969), Allie Parson (1898-1949) and Millard Dewey Reed (1900-1977).
Lonus’s brother, Rolman Reed, also served in the U.S. Army during World War I.
Wiley Reed, Lonus’s father, was the son of a War of 1812 veteran, Allen Reed. His grandfather, John Reed, was a brother to Isaac Reed, who most of the Reed family in New River are descended from. John Reed was a veteran of the Revolutionary War who settled in the Bakers Forge area of Campbell County after the war.
Savarie Ellis Reed, Lonus’s mother, was from the Ellis family that was prominent in the Black Creek Crossroads community near Robbins. Her great-grandfather, James Ellis, was a War of 1812 veteran.
World War I
Lt. Reed enlisted in the U.S. Army on Dec. 13, 1913 at Ft. Snelling in Minnesota. He was assigned to Co. C, 360th Infantry. He was honorably discharged as sergeant first class on July 8, 1918 to accept commission as second lieutenant on July 9, 1918 in France. In World War I, he was involved in the battles of St. Mihiel and Meuse-Argonne.
Lt. Reed was badly wounded on Nov. 2, 1918, during the Meuse-Argonne offensive. He died from his wounds in a hospital in France a month later, on Dec. 8, 1918. The Argonne Forest offensive was the largest battle in U.S. military history, and also the deadliest battle in the history of the U.S. Army. Several other Scott Countians were killed at Argonne Forest. William Blevins, of Helenwood, was killed on Oct. 15. Prior to that, William Brown, of Smokey Creek, was killed on Oct. 5, Hugh Lewallen, of Glenmary, was killed on Oct. 6, and Clovis Jeffers, of Winona, was killed on Oct. 9. It was likely at the same battle that Sherman Stanley, of Oneida, was killed on Oct. 1.
Aftermath
Lt. Reed was initially buried at the AEF France Cemetery. His brother, Manus Reed, was informed of his death. His body was later returned home to Scott County, and he was buried at Black Creek Crossroads Cemetery, where his parents are also buried.