Taylor, Walter Herron (1838-1916) | Sargeant Memorial Collection
Name: Taylor, Walter Herron (1838-1916)
Historical Note: Colonel Walter H. Taylor was born in Norfolk, Virginia in 1838. He enrolled at the Virginia Military Institute in 1853 and graduated in 1857. In 1859 he joined the Norfolk militia and by the beginning of the Civil War he was promoted to the headquarters of the Army of Virginia, becoming the adjunct or aide-de-camp to Confederate General Robert E. Lee for the duration of the war. In 1865 Taylor married his longtime love, Elizabeth "Bettie" Saunders. Upon returning to Norfolk after the war, he became involved in politics by representing Norfolk in the Virginia legislature from 1873-1876. In 1877, Walter H. Taylor became the president of Marine Bank, where he served for nearly 40 years. He was also on the board of the Virginia Military Institute and Norfolk and Western Railroad. He remained a great defender of the Civil War and General Lee. Taylor published two books, Four Years with General Lee in 1877 and General Lee, His Campaigns in Virginia, 1861-1865 in 1906. He died from cancer on March 1, 1916 in Norfolk, Virginia.