Contents of discharge papers for the Civil War for William M. Taylor
Submitted by Larry & Mary Ann Corder
United States Army William M. Taylor
“Certificate of Discharge”
“To all whom it may concern.”
Know Ye that William M. Taylor, a Private of Captain Hamilton Willis Co. E, 5th Regiment of West Virginia Infantry Volunteers. He was invited on the ninth day of August, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, to serve three years during the war and is hereby discharged from the service of the United States, this fourth day of October 1864 at Wheeling W. Va. by reason of expiration of term of service.
(No objection to his being re-enlisted is known to exist.) Said William M. Taylor was born in Rockbridge County in the State of West Virginia, is thirty years of age, six feet high, light complexion, grey eyes, light hair and by occupation when enrolled, a school teacher.
Given at Wheeling, West Virginia, this fourth day of October 1864.
(A.G.O. No. 99) Co. “E” 5th Va. Vol. Inf’ty
It stated that he was paid in full the $100.00 bounty
Civil War Medal claimed.
An honorable discharge medal was issued to William M. Taylor, who may have died never knowing that he had received the recognition, therefore never claiming the medal. The compiler of this family history (Mary Ann Corder) contacted the West Virginia Department of Archives and History, thereby securing the medal for her husband, Larry Corder, who is the great-great-grandson of the recipient. Documentation was submitted to prove ancestry.
It was by chance that I found the Civil War Discharge records for Wm. Taylor while doing research on the Lawrence Co. Ohio site on the Internet. Knowing that he was a teacher and that he was born in Rockbridge Co. Virginia, provided further clues that coincided with the military records.
Although he was a resident of Lawrence Co. Ohio, he and many other men, served in a regiment from West Virginia. Over 26,000 medals were made to honor the ancestors years ago. Over 4,000 original medals authorized by the 1866 West Virginia Legislature remain unclaimed.
The unclaimed medals are stored in the original small cardboard boxes in which they arrived from the maker, A.Demarest of New York, in 1867. Each soldier’s name and unit of service are written on the outside of the box in longhand. Each medal is bronze-covered copper and bears the name and regiment of the honored veteran on the milled edge. The medal is suspended by a piece of red, white, and blue ribbon, its artistic features equal to the Crimean medal, and its cost was not to exceed one dollar each, according to the records.
Pension File for Wm. M. Taylor from The National Archives
Department of the Interior— Soldiers’ Certificate No. 919919
General Affidavits were testifying to the good character of Wm. M. Taylor was given by the following, who all lived in Montebello, Nelson county, Virginia.
John C. Painter, 23
T. P. Harvie, 70, PostMaster
John T. Fauber, no age or occupation given
Physical disabilities listed by these men regarding Wm. M. Taylor:
Rheumatism and numbness in left side; pain in the left ankle (formerly dislocated); nearly totally deaf in the left ear and nearly totally blind in the left eye. Catarrh in the head [this is inflammation of any mucous membrane, e.g., catarrh of the throat. Years ago, it was thought that this liquid ran down from the brain]; Bronchitis in the lungs. They all testified that this kept William from doing all manual labor.
When asked about his marital status, William said he was a widower. His first wife was Martha Willis, who died at home in June 1874. He married a second time [no mention of his wife’s name] on March 1876 at the bride’s home, and there is a marriage record at Fincastle, Va.
When asked about his living children, he said the following: Wm. M. Taylor, J. W. [Joshua Ward] Taylor, and Mattie A. Taylor.
William was granted a pension of $12 per month to be paid quarterly beginning on 27th March 1901.
Even though William lived in Virginia, the pension must have been handled through the state of Ohio, where he entered military service. The pension was dropped because of William’s death on 6 March 1905. The notification was given by the Governor of Ohio of his death and that he should not receive any more payments. It did not say where he died, but it was probably at his home in Virginia.
William M. Taylor wrote the following letter to his attorney, George E. Lemon. This was to tell him about his life since his discharge from the Civil War and to obtain a pension for his military service. He hired Mr. Lemon to pursue this pension on his behalf. The punctuation and spelling are the same as what he wrote.
Buena Vista, Va.
Feb. 21st 1894
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