Colonel Walter H. Taylor Papers | Sargeant Memorial Collection

By Nichole Delasalas

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Collection Overview

Title: Colonel Walter H. Taylor Papers

Predominant Dates:1810, 1837-1916

ID: 001/01/MSS 0000-233

Primary Creator: Taylor, Walter Herron (1838-1916)

Extent: 9.0 Boxes

Arrangement: Arranged by series in chronological order.

Date Acquired: 01/18/1964

Forms of Material: Agreements, Booklets, Checks (bank checks), Clippings (information artifacts), Contracts, Correspondence, Deeds, Diplomas, Drivers' licenses, Envelopes, Excerpts, Financial records, Fliers (printed matter), Insurance policies, Invitations, Invoices, Journals (periodicals), Lists (document genres), Maps (documents), Minutes (administrative records), Notes, Orderly books, Pamphlets, Photographs, Receipts, Resolutions (administrative records), Rosters, Speeches (documents), Stock certificates, Telegrams, Wills

Languages: English

Scope and Contents of the Materials

Personal and business correspondence, notes, financial records, wills and deeds from his clients, booklets and pamphlets, newspaper clippings about the Civil War, and photographs. Also included in the collection are the personal papers of the Saunders family.

Biographical 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.

Administrative Information

Repository: Sargeant Memorial Collection

Access Restrictions: This collection is open to all researchers.

Use Restrictions: The status of copyright for these materials is governed by Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U. S. C.). Copyright restrictions may apply.

Acquisition Source: Janet Taylor by donation

Preferred Citation: Colonel Walter H. Taylor Papers, MSS 0000-233, Sargeant Memorial Collection, Norfolk Public Library, Norfolk, Virginia.

Processing Information: Processed June to November 2015.

Box and Folder Listing

Browse by Box:

[Box 1],
[Box 2],
[Box 3],
[Box 4],
[Box 5],
[Box 6],
[Box 7],
[Box 8],
[Box 9],
[All]

Box 4

Folder 1: Col. Walter H. Taylor - Booklet, 1862

Item 1: Orderly book, 1862

Folder 2: Col. Walter H. Taylor - Booklet, 1872 January 19

Item 1: Booklet, The Campaigns of Gen. Robert E. Lee: An Address by Jubal A. Early, 1872 January 19

Folder 3: Col. Walter H. Taylor - Booklet, 1888 October

Item 1: Booklet, Pickett or Pettigrew?: An Historical Essay by Capt. W. R. Bond, 1888 October

Folder 4: Col. Walter H. Taylor - Booklet, 1894 January 19

Item 1: Booklet, Appomattox: An Address by Colonel Charles Marshall, 1894 January 19

Folder 5: Col. Walter H. Taylor - Journals, 1894

Item 1: Journal, Confederate War Journal, 1894 July
Item 2: Journal, Confederate War Journal, 1894 September
Item 3: Journal, Confederate War Journal, 1894 October

Folder 6: Col. Walter H. Taylor - Booklet, 1905 January 20

Item 1: Booklet, The Battle near Spotsylvania Courthouse: An Address by Col. W. E. Cutshaw, 1905 January 20

Folder 7: Col. Walter H. Taylor - Booklet, 1907

Item 1: Booklet, Virginia (Merrimac) Monitor engagement and a complete story of operations of these two historic vessels in Hampton Roads and adjacent waters by Joseph G. Fiveash, 1907

Folder 8: Col. Walter H. Taylor - Booklet, 1907 January 20

Item 1: Booklet, Lee the Christian Hero by Rev. Randolph H. McKim, 1907 January 20

Folder 9: Col. Walter H. Taylor - Magazine, 1907 May

Item 1: Magazine, The Pennsylvania-German, 1907 May

Folder 10: Col. Walter H. Taylor - Booklet, 1907 September 17

Item 1: Booklet, The Greatest Confederate Commander, 1907 September 17

Folder 11: Col. Walter H. Taylor - Booklet, 1909

Item 1: Booklet, Gen. J. E. B. Stuart in the Gettysburg Campaign by Randolph Harrison McKim, 1909

Folder 12: Col. Walter H. Taylor - Booklet, 1909 January 11

Item 1: Booklet, Robert E. Lee as a citizen, soldier, and statesman by W. U. Hensel, 1909 January 11

Folder 13: Col. Walter H. Taylor - Booklet, 1910

Item 1: Booklet, Cruises of the Confederate States Steamers "Shenandoah" and "Nashville" by Captain William C. Whittle, 1910

Folder 14: Col. Walter H. Taylor - Booklet, 1911

Item 1: Booklet, Stuart's Cavalry in the Gettysburg Campaign by T. M. R. Talcott, 1911

Folder 15: Col. Walter H. Taylor - Booklet, 1914-1915 August

Item 1: Booklet, The Forged Letter of General Robert E. Lee read by Charles A. Graves, 1914 August 4-6
Item 2: Booklet, The Forged Letter of Gen. Robert E. Lee supplementary papers read by Charles A. Graves, 1915 August 4-6

Folder 16: Col. Walter H. Taylor - Book, 1926

Item 1: Book, The Military Education of Robert E. Lee by Brig. General Eben Swift, 1926

Folder 17: Col. Walter H. Taylor - Maps, 1891-1894

Item 1: Map, Battlefields of Virginia, 1891
Item 2: Map, Confederate War Map of the "Vicinity of Richmond and part of the Peninsula", 1892
Item 3: Map, Battle of Chaffin's Farm, 1894

Folder 18: Excerpt, undated

Item 1: Excerpt, Lee at Appomattox: Personal recollections of the break-up of the Confederacy by E. P. Alexander, undated

Folder 19: Col. Walter H. Taylor - Confederate memorabilia, 1867-1906

Item 1: Memoir, The Last year of the War for Independence in the Confederate States of America by Lieutenant-General Jubal A. Early, 1867
Item 2: Pamphlet, Gettysburg Battle-field Memorial Association, 1869 July 20
Item 3: Invitation, From "Mayo" to Walter H. Taylor, 1889 May 1
Item 4: Booklet, Review of General James Longstreet's Book by Colonel Henderson, 1896
Item 5: Booklet, Speech of Capt. W. Gordon McCabe, 1899 December 22
Item 6: Booklet, The Confederate Veteran by Gen. E. P. Alexander, 1902 June 9
Item 7: Booklet, The Confederate Soldier: His motives and aims by Randolph H. McKim, 1904 June 14
Item 8: Booklet, Sixteenth annual Banquet of the Confederate Veteran Camp, 1906 January 24
Item 9: Booklet, Confederate Memorial Verses by Beverley D. Tucker, undated
Item 10: Brochure, The Last Meeting of Generals Robert E. Lee and "Stonewall" Jackson, undated
Item 11: Pamphlet, Memorial Service for Hon. Jefferson Davis, undated
Item 12: Excerpt, To the Surviving Officers and Soldiers of the Confederate Army, undated

Browse by Box:

[Box 1],
[Box 2],
[Box 3],
[Box 4],
[Box 5],
[Box 6],
[Box 7],
[Box 8],
[Box 9],
[All]