Taylor, Nicholas

submitted by Patricia L. Taylor

I believe there were four men named Nicholas Taylor from southern Indiana who served in the Civil War whose military records are housed at the National Archives in Washington DC where my great grandfather's records are.

These men are as follows:

Nicholas Taylor - 25th Ind Reg, Co B, Private. Tsp and county unknown to me.

Nicholas Taylor - 65th Ind Reg. Co E, Private. died in battle Mar 21 1863. Greer Tsp.

Nicholas Taylor - 120th Reg Co D, Private. Boone Tsp.

Nicholas Taylor - Ind vol Reg 53 Co I, Private, Warrick Co, Tsp unknown to me, (b.1820, Daviess Co Kentucky, d. 1864), m. Martha Jane Youngblood Aug 21 1851. He served as sheriff of Warrick Co during their first 4 years of marriage, then got a homestead and began farming. He was also a carpenter and furniture builder.

• Elected county sheriff 1850, served one term 1851-1855
• 5 children (4 girls, 1 boy), no other marriages or children
• Enlisted in Civil War for Union at Indianapolis January 1864 at age 44. Wounded in battle of Atlanta July 22, 1864, captured by Confederates and taken to Andersonville, Ft Sumter, Georgia POW camp
• August 5, died August 12 according to death cert signed by Confederate attending surgeon J. H. White at Nick's point of death, and as recorded on the list of all dead Union POWs compiled at Andersonville by ex-pow Dorence Atwater.
• Buried at National Cemetery Andersonville, Georgia, photo of headstone is on FindAGrave. Nick's Civil War data is etched in headstone of widow Martha at her gravesite in Evansville where she was buried after her death on Feb 14, 1922.

In the book by Haas "To The Mountain of Fire and Beyond" which chronicles the 53d Reg Co I Civil War actions, the dedication page lists a few of the deceased including my great grandfather Nick Taylor. But, he got the death date wrong by using the Aug 31 date, very disappointing.

I did learn why Nick was captured and held as a prisoner. On pg 160, he quotes the 53d brigade cdr Col. Potts in reference to the regimental surgeon Dr J S Horner: "...couldn't be found when wounded and sick required attention, and in positive violation of the law and general orders, used the ambulance to transport his baggage, excluding the sick and wounded of my command who were left by the wayside to the mercy of the enemy." Casualties not picked up, left to the enemy or to die! That was murder and called for a court martial!

Interesting note: When Norman Taylor (no relation), a young lieutenant who served with Nick in Ind 53d Co I, recovered from battle wounds and returned to Warrick Co, he married Martha Jane's sister Mary. Norman and Mary Taylor named one of their sons after her brother in law, my great grandfather, Nick Taylor. This nephew, Nicholas Taylor, was erroneously listed as if he and his deceased war hero uncle Nicholas Taylor are one and the same man in Kay Lant's book (1968) on index page and narrative pages.

Further, Kay listed the parents, birth and death dates of yet another unrelated Nicholas Taylor from southern Indiana who served in the Civil War and survived, assigning his data, including the wrong parents, to my great grandfather Nick, Martha Jane's husband.