Taylor, I. L. ( -1863), Diary, 1862-1863 (C1199)

1 volume

INTRODUCTION

A diary of a Civil War soldier, I. L. Taylor, in the 1st Minnesota Infantry, 2nd Corps, Army of the Potomac, killed at Gettysburg.

DONOR INFORMATION

The I. L. Taylor Diary was donated to the State Historical Society of Missouri by Frank E. Dubach on June 12, 1986 (SHS Accession No. 2605).

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE

I. L. Taylor kept a record of his military service in the 1st Minnesota Infantry from January 1, 1862, until his death on the second day of fighting at Gettysburg on July 2, 1863, where he was killed by a shell.

Taylor provided information about the daily concerns and military incidents of a Civil War soldier. He told of picket duty, skirmishes with the enemy, fatigue duty, unit reviews, battles, etc., but often only mentioned what happened without describing the events. He participated in the Peninsula campaign, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, and Gettysburg. On June 30, 1862, Stonewall Jackson's troops captured Taylor and his brother, P. H. Taylor, near Savage Station. Taylor and other union prisoners were taken to Belle Isle near Richmond where he remained until September 14. Taylor did not give many details about prison life.

Taylor recorded some of the daily incidents of camp life in the Army of the Potomac. He mentioned playing poker, ball, chess, the holding of a regimental foot race, and snowball fights. He also noted when he got paid, the food he ate, and the soldiers of different regiments with whom he socialized. Like many enlisted men he was critical of officers' misbehavior, mentioning drunkenness and cowardice as two of their common failings. The final notation in the diary, dated July 4, stated that Taylor had been killed by an enemy shell at sunset, July 2.

INDEX TERMS

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