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Biographical Note
Thomas Thomson Taylor (b. September 28, 1837), enlisted in Company I of the 12th Ohio Infantry Regiment at Georgetown, Ohio in April of 1861. In May, he was elected 1st Lieutenant of the Company. By August, he had raised a company which was mustered into the 47th as Company F and he was elected Captain. In recognition of his fidelity in reporting the plot and plan of the Knights of the Golden Circle to resist the draft, he was promoted to Major by the Governor of Ohio, eventually reaching the rank of Colonel.
His first campaigns were in West Virginia. He was in the Battle of Carnifex Ferry; was at Big Sewell Mountain, Gauley Bridge; Lewisburg; and in the fall of 1862 saw duty at Point Pleasant and in the Kanawha Valley. Early in 1863 he went to the lower Mississippi Valley and arrived in Vicksburg the day before its surrender. He participated in the siege and capture of Jackson, Mississippi, fought at Mission Ridge, Tennessee, and Larkin's Landing, Alabama.
After a veteran's furlough he participated in the Atlanta Campaign, serving on the staff of Brig. General M. L. Smith as Chief of Outposts and Skirmishes of the Second Division. During 120 days, he participated in battles of Snakes Creek Gap, Resaca, Dallas, New Hope Church, Jonesboro and the Fall of Atlanta. From July 22 until September 30, 1864, he was in charge of the Regiment. He started out on "Sherman's March to the Sea" and was in the advance and assault at the capture of Fort McAllister, Georgia. When he was severely wounded in his right hand, he was ordered to Grant's Officer's Hospital at Cincinnati and later served as a member of the Military Court at Washington, D. C. An order for staff duty in charge of the Judiciary Department with the 15th Army Corps in Texas and Mexico was never implemented. He was mustered out at Camp Dennison, Ohio, late in August, 1865. Taylor spent the last 25 years of his life in Lake Charles, Louisiana. He was a lawyer, politician, and newspaper editor. He was the father of two sons and a daughter before the end of the Civil War and may have had other children. Biographical information was taken from Tom Taylor’s Civil War by Albert Castel (Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2000).
Scope and Content Note
The collection consists of a microfilm copy and some typescript copies of the papers of Thomas Thomson Taylor from 1861-1865. The microfilmed materials include correspondence, printed materials and photographs, five small diaries, and several miscellaneous items such as copies of General Orders and Circulars. The correspondence consists of letters between Taylor and his wife and were written during the Civil War from 1861-1865. The letters are well written, with vivid descriptions of the scenery, the people, food, the whereabouts of Union and Confederate forces, scouting expeditions, the capture of prisoners. He grows very despondent at times and expresses disappointment with the conduct of the war, calls himself an American slave with Lincoln as his master and Logan as his overseer. He describes Lincoln's second inauguration and the crowds celebrating the capture of Richmond. He makes suggestions as to the treatment of freedmen. The diaries begin in October 1863 while Taylor was near Iuka, Mississippi and end December 13, 1864 with the attack on Ft. McAllister during which Taylor's hand was injured.
The collection also includes typescripts of a portion of the Taylor diaries from June 1 - December 13, 1864 and 22 of the letters from Netta Taylor to Thomas Taylor.
http://findingaids.library.emory.edu/documents/taylor354/
Thomas Thomson Taylor (b. September 28, 1837), enlisted in Company I of the 12th Ohio Infantry Regiment at Georgetown, Ohio in April of 1861. In May, he was elected 1st Lieutenant of the Company. By August, he had raised a company which was mustered into the 47th as Company F and he was elected Captain. In recognition of his fidelity in reporting the plot and plan of the Knights of the Golden Circle to resist the draft, he was promoted to Major by the Governor of Ohio, eventually reaching the rank of Colonel.
His first campaigns were in West Virginia. He was in the Battle of Carnifex Ferry; was at Big Sewell Mountain, Gauley Bridge; Lewisburg; and in the fall of 1862 saw duty at Point Pleasant and in the Kanawha Valley. Early in 1863 he went to the lower Mississippi Valley and arrived in Vicksburg the day before its surrender. He participated in the siege and capture of Jackson, Mississippi, fought at Mission Ridge, Tennessee, and Larkin's Landing, Alabama.
After a veteran's furlough he participated in the Atlanta Campaign, serving on the staff of Brig. General M. L. Smith as Chief of Outposts and Skirmishes of the Second Division. During 120 days, he participated in battles of Snakes Creek Gap, Resaca, Dallas, New Hope Church, Jonesboro and the Fall of Atlanta. From July 22 until September 30, 1864, he was in charge of the Regiment. He started out on "Sherman's March to the Sea" and was in the advance and assault at the capture of Fort McAllister, Georgia. When he was severely wounded in his right hand, he was ordered to Grant's Officer's Hospital at Cincinnati and later served as a member of the Military Court at Washington, D. C. An order for staff duty in charge of the Judiciary Department with the 15th Army Corps in Texas and Mexico was never implemented. He was mustered out at Camp Dennison, Ohio, late in August, 1865. Taylor spent the last 25 years of his life in Lake Charles, Louisiana. He was a lawyer, politician, and newspaper editor. He was the father of two sons and a daughter before the end of the Civil War and may have had other children. Biographical information was taken from Tom Taylor’s Civil War by Albert Castel (Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2000).
Scope and Content Note
The collection consists of a microfilm copy and some typescript copies of the papers of Thomas Thomson Taylor from 1861-1865. The microfilmed materials include correspondence, printed materials and photographs, five small diaries, and several miscellaneous items such as copies of General Orders and Circulars. The correspondence consists of letters between Taylor and his wife and were written during the Civil War from 1861-1865. The letters are well written, with vivid descriptions of the scenery, the people, food, the whereabouts of Union and Confederate forces, scouting expeditions, the capture of prisoners. He grows very despondent at times and expresses disappointment with the conduct of the war, calls himself an American slave with Lincoln as his master and Logan as his overseer. He describes Lincoln's second inauguration and the crowds celebrating the capture of Richmond. He makes suggestions as to the treatment of freedmen. The diaries begin in October 1863 while Taylor was near Iuka, Mississippi and end December 13, 1864 with the attack on Ft. McAllister during which Taylor's hand was injured.
The collection also includes typescripts of a portion of the Taylor diaries from June 1 - December 13, 1864 and 22 of the letters from Netta Taylor to Thomas Taylor.
http://findingaids.library.emory.edu/documents/taylor354/