Reynolds died in 1811 during a great storm in late December, which scattered his convoy and wrecked three ships of the line including his own flagship HMS St George.

Due to the restrictions in the size of the peacetime navy, Reynolds was not actually promoted to lieutenant until 1777, following the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War.

[2] He was still under Pellew in the action of 13 January 1797 when Amazon, in company with HMS Indefatigable, engaged and drove ashore the much larger French ship of the line Droits de l'Homme.

In the heavy storm in which the battle was fought, Amazon became unmanageable and was also wrecked, although the frigate was beached and all but six of her men survived, unlike her larger opponent which was run on a sandbar and destroyed with hundreds of lives lost.

[3] Reynolds and his crew were made prisoners on reaching the shore, but less than a year later he was exchanged and returned to Britain, being honourably acquitted at a court-martial into the loss of his ship.

Reynolds was given command of the large prize frigate HMS Pomone and in her operated in the Bay of Biscay during which time he captured several enemy privateers, including the Cheri in 1798.

As they sheltered close to Jutland, storms drove dozens of the convoy ashore, and one loose merchant ship collided with St George, tearing away anchors and beaching the flagship, which was badly damaged.

[8] St George, Defence and numerous other ships were flung onto the reefs on Jutland's western coast, where they were broken up by the heavy seas.

Hours later another large British convoy was driven onto the Haak Sands off the Texel, bringing the death toll in the Royal Navy alone to over 2,000.