He had been appointed as Jackson’s Lieutenant Governor, both of them running as Union Democrats (anti-secession) in order to get elected, but privately supporting Southern Rights. When the Confederacy began to take shape, early in 1861, Jefferson Davis viewed the leaders of neutral Missouri with suspicion and initially refused to send military aid, so enabling the Union to dominate the state. Jackson fled to Arkansas, and Reynolds became demoralised and went to work in Richmond.