Union General Jesse Lee Reno was born in Wheeling and graduated from West Point in 1846 alongside other famous soldiers like "Stonewall" Jackson and George McClellan. He fought bravely in the Mexican War and was promoted twice. During the Civil War, he led Union troops in North Carolina and later at Second Manassas. He was killed in battle at South Mountain, Maryland, in September 1862, becoming the highest-ranking Union officer from West Virginia to be killed in action during the entire war. The city of Reno, Nevada, was named in his honor.