William Booth Taliaferro ( ; December 28, 1822 – February 27, 1898), was a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

officer, a lawyer, legislator, Confederate

general A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...

in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

, and Grand Master of Masons in Virginia.

Early and family life and education

William Booth Taliaferro was born in

Gloucester County, Virginia Gloucester County () is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 38,711. Its county seat is Gloucester Courthouse. The county was founded in 1651 in the Virginia Colony and is named for Henry Stuart, ...

, to an Anglo-Italian family, the Taliaferros, who had settled in Virginia in the early 17th century from London. He was the son of Frances Amanda Todd (Booth) and Warner Throckmorton Taliaferro, and the nephew of

James A. Seddon James Alexander Seddon (July 13, 1815 – August 19, 1880) was an American lawyer and politician who served two terms as a Representative in the U.S. Congress, as a member of the Democratic Party. He was appointed Confederate States Secre ...

, who would become

Secretary of War The secretary of war was a member of the U.S. president's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War", had been appointed to serve the Congress of the ...

for the

Confederate States of America The Confederate States of America (CSA), commonly referred to as the Confederate States or the Confederacy was an unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United States that existed from February 8, 1861, to May 9, 1865. The Confeder ...

under Jefferson Davis. Taliaferro attended

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

and

The College of William and Mary ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

, graduating from the latter in 1841.

Soldier, planter and politician

Taliaferro joined the U.S. Army during the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the 1 ...

, fighting in both the 11th and 9th U.S. Infantry regiments. After the war, Taliaferro operated plantations using enslaved labor. He also entered public life, winning election as a member of the

Virginia House of Delegates The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two parts of the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-number ...

. He also became a prominent backer of James Buchanan's presidential campaign in 1856. Taliaferro also continued his military service as commander of a division of the

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

state militia; he commanded at

Harpers Ferry Harpers Ferry is a historic town in Jefferson County, West Virginia. It is located in the lower Shenandoah Valley. The population was 285 at the 2020 census. Situated at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers, where the U.S. stat ...

following the raid of that town's arsenal by John Brown. He, with the sheriff, was in charge of Brown's execution.

Civil War

Taliaferro became commander of Virginia's state militia following Virginia's secession action on April 17, 1861; indeed, in what might be Virginia's 1st act of aggression of the war, on April 18, 1861, Virginia State Militia Major General Taliaferro was sent to take command at Norfolk, Virginia. Later he took command of the

23rd Virginia Infantry The 23rd Virginia Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment raised in Virginia for service in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. It fought mostly with the Army of Northern Virginia. The 23rd Virginia completed its organ ...

as a colonel. He fought several engagements in 1861 and by the end of the year had ascended to brigade command, where he led Confederate forces at the

Battle of Greenbrier River The Battle of Greenbrier River, also known as the Battle of Camp Bartow, took place on October 3, 1861 in Pocahontas County, Virginia (now West Virginia) as part of the Operations in Western Virginia Campaign during the American Civil War. B ...

, in what is now

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the B ...

. He served with Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson through the Valley Campaign and the

Seven Days Battles The Seven Days Battles were a series of seven battles over seven days from June 25 to July 1, 1862, near Richmond, Virginia, during the American Civil War. Confederate General Robert E. Lee drove the invading Union Army of the Potomac, comman ...

. After Brig. Gen. Charles Winder was killed at Cedar Mountain, Taliaferro took over command of the Stonewall Division. He led it for the next three weeks, but at Brawner's Farm on August 28, 1862, he was badly wounded. Taliaferro spent the next few months recuperating and resumed division command just before the Battle of Fredericksburg in December, where he did not see any significant action. Taliaferro was a strict and aloof commander who alienated many of his troops. There is at least one known circumstance when one of his troops actually assaulted him, though Taliaferro was unscathed. Taliaferro chafed under the command of General Jackson, complaining to his political colleagues in Virginia about Jackson's tactics and treatment of the men. Jackson later protested Taliaferro's promotion to brigadier general, while Taliaferro was still under Jackson's command; however, Jackson respected Taliaferro's leadership and military ability and did not continue to stand in his way. Jackson later would select Taliaferro for temporary divisional command in specific engagements. After Fredericksburg, Taliaferro was given command of the District of Savannah. In this capacity he led troops at the Battle of Fort Wagner on Morris Island, a battle which is depicted in the movie ''Glory''. Taliaferro was commended for his service in that battle. In 1864, Taliaferro was given command of all forces in the Eastern District of

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, which made him the overall commander at the

Battle of Olustee The Battle of Olustee or Battle of Ocean Pond was fought in Baker County, Florida on February 20, 1864, during the American Civil War. It was the largest battle fought in Florida during the war. Union General Truman Seymour had landed troops ...

that February. He subsequently returned to South Carolina, where he was made commander of all forces in that state. Taliaferro was still in command when Maj. Gen.

William T. Sherman William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

entered the state from Savannah. In early 1865, Taliaferro's men came across an abandoned plantation in western Virginia while retreating from Antebellum, Maryland. The African workers had been shackled and abandoned. Taliaferro ordered his men to release the enslaved and escort them to the Ohio border.

Postbellum career

After the war, Taliaferro lived in Gloucester County. He served again in the state legislature and as a judge and sat on the board of the

College of William and Mary The College of William & Mary (officially The College of William and Mary in Virginia, abbreviated as William & Mary, W&M) is a public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia. Founded in 1693 by letters patent issued by King William III ...

and the

Virginia Military Institute la, Consilio et Animis (on seal) , mottoeng = "In peace a glorious asset, In war a tower of strength""By courage and wisdom" (on seal) , established = , type = Public senior military college , accreditation = SACS , endowment = $696.8 mill ...

. He was elected Grand Master of Masons in Virginia in 1874. He died at his home, "Dunham Massie", aged 75, and is buried in Ware Church Cemetery, Gloucester County, Virginia. His collected papers are located at the Special Collections Research Center at the

. Taliaferro was also the namesake of a residence hall at William and Mary. William and Mary has renamed it after Hulon L. Willis Sr. M.Ed. ’56, a World War II veteran and the first African American student enrolled at the institution.

Family tree

Bartholomew Taliaferro (1530 Venice, Italy – September 1601, London, England; bur. 22 September 1601) married Joane Lane (1562 – 1612) on 1 January 1583 at St. Michael's Cornhill in London, England. Their son Francis Taliaferro (born c.1589, London, England) was the father of Robert "the Immigrant" Talliaferro (1626-1671), a common ancestor of cousins Brig. Gen. William Booth Taliaferro (1822-1898) and

Maj. Gen. Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Dabney Herndon Maury (1822-1900). Alexander Galt Taliaferro of Culpeper, Virginia, a brother of Gen. William B. Taliaferro, was the colonel of the 13th and then 23rd Virginia Infantry.CONFEDERATE COLONEL ALEXANDER G TALIAFERRO CIVIL WAR VETERAN CROSS OF HONOR
/ref>

Notes

References

* Eicher, John H., and

David J. Eicher David John Eicher (born August 7, 1961) is an American editor, writer, and popularizer of astronomy and space. He has been editor-in-chief of ''Astronomy'' magazine since 2002. He is author, coauthor, or editor of 23 books on science and American ...

, ''Civil War High Commands''. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001. . * Sifakis, Stewart. ''Who Was Who in the Civil War''. New York: Facts On File, 1988. . * Warner, Ezra J. ''Generals in Gray: Lives of the Confederate Commanders''. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1959. .

External links

*
William Booth Taliaferro Papers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Taliaferro, William B. 1822 births 1898 deaths Harvard University alumni College of William & Mary alumni Confederate militia generals Confederate States Army brigadier generals American people of English descent American politicians of Italian descent American military personnel of the Mexican–American War People from Gloucester County, Virginia People of Virginia in the American Civil War Virginia lawyers Virginia state court judges Members of the Virginia House of Delegates William B. 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century American politicians Witnesses to John Brown's execution