She traveled with the troop, serving as its nurse, laundress, and teaching the soldiers reading and writing during their off time. Like many other Civil War nurses, Taylor was untrained. After the birth of she and King’s first child, her husband died. She continued to teach but was forced to close her school after a free school was established in the region.
The former nurse and educator was working as a domestic servant to a wealthy Boston family when she met her second husband, Russell Taylor of Georgia. She remained in Boston for the rest of her life, only returning South for occasional visits.
She wrote her memoir, Reminiscences of My Life in Camp with the 33d United States Colored Troops, Late 1st S.C. Volunteers, after visiting her dying son in the 1890’s in Louisiana. The book was published privately in 1902, and featured many of the details of Taylor’s life that historians and scholars refer to.
Taylor passed in October 1912 at the age of 64 in Massachusetts.
Like BlackAmericaWeb.com on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter.
