The Battery Then

    Taylor's Battery was organized in April 1861 and in June of that year went to Cairo, Illinois.  There it stayed for three weeks and then moved to Bird's Point Missouri.  The Battery went with General Ulysses S. Grant to Belmont on the 7th of November.  At Belmont they went into action with a 6 gun battery and came out of the battle with 8 guns completely demolishing one of the Confederate batteries they came up against.  Then at Fort Donelson, in W.H.L.Wallace's Brigade, the Battery occupied the extreme right and fought with scarcely any intermission for three days. The day before the Battle of Shiloh the Battery was transferred to General William T. Sherman's Division and was in the thick of the battle engaging guns of  the famed Washington Artillery of New Orleans.  The Battery continued it service under Sherman seeing action at Corinth, La Grange, Holly Springs and Memphis.  They also went on to serve at Chickasaw Bayou, Arkansas Post, the siege of Vicksburg, Champion Hills, Mechanicsburg and Richmond, Louisiana.  The Battery served with distinction in all these battles.  The Battery then moved on to Memphis, Chattanooga and Knoxville to relieve General Ambrose E. Burnside.  The Battery then wintered in Larkinville, Alabama.  On May 1, 1864 the Battery moved with General Sherman on his Atlanta Campaign.  The Battery  was complimented for it's gallantry by General Logan at the battles of Resaca and Dallas.  The Battery also participated at the battle at Kennesaw Mountain.  On July 12, 1864 the Battery was ordered to return to Springfield, Illinois so the men could muster out of service.  The Battery had 207 men altogether on it's muster roll and only lost 6 to death and 27 to wounds.   Seventy One  men reenlisted and  were merged into the 1st Illinois Light Artillery Battery A.  As Battery A they returned to action in the Atlanta campaign.  They also participated in the chasing of General John Bell Hood's troops towards Nashville. When General Sherman left Atlanta the Battery remained with General George H. Thomas. Under his command they took part in the battle at Nashville against General Hood.  The Battery served out the duration of the war and was mustered out of service in Chicago on July 2, 1865.

    Also in this section, you will be able to view  the different types of cannons that were used by the Battery while in service. There is a link to an explanation of the parts of a cannon and some drawings of  typical limbers and wagons used by the a Civil War Battery.

  The Taylor's Battery Collection :    

	Original  Taylor's Battery Reunion Invitation
	Original Members Photo Gallery  New pictures added
	Pictures of a pipe once owned by Francis Pond who served in Taylor's battery until 10/62  new!!
	This does take you from the Taylor's Battery web page
	A letter from Private Otho Klemm a friend living in Toledo, Ohio describing action at Belmont, Missouri   new!!
	Otho Klemm served in Battery B from April '61 through '65
	Obituary and accompanying description of Ezra Taylor's Funeral   new!!
	Combo knife, fork and spoon carried by Artilleryman Henry Dudley during his service with the Battery
	Picture first appeared in the Chicago Daily News in 1915
	A collection of letters by 1st Lt. Timothy Blaisdell written between January 31,1862 and July 3, 1862
	Lt. Timothy Blaisdell served with Battery B from 1861-1864
	Charles Affeld Diary transcription from April 15th through July 4th 1863
	Charles and his brother Otto served in Battery B from April '61 through July '64.  This is a long download but worth the wait.
	The Death Notice Of Captain Levi W. Hart on January 6, 1877 from the Oconto County Reporter
	Levi Hart served with Battery B first as a 2nd Lt then a 1st Lt before receiving his own command in 1863.
	The Death Notice Of Captain Israel Rumsey and his Wife on April 29,1921in The Lake Forester newspaper
	Israel Rumsey served with Battery B as a 2nd Lt, 1st Lt, then as it's Captain
	Militia Units of Chicago Before the War and the formation of Battery "B"
	A summary background of existing units in Chicago at the beginning of the war.
	Early Uniform Study of the Chicago Light Artillery
	This article is based on the information provided with Plate # 785 by the Company of Military Historians.  Written by James J. Hennessey
	Cartes De Visite Study
	A detailed analysis of  29 Cartes de Visite shows us some interesting variations on a few items. The CDVs were taken in the early fall of 1862 in Memphis Tn.
	A Tribute to The Boys of Battery B  by Mrs. Mary J. Peckham
	This poem was recited at the 1880 Reunion Dinner for Taylor's Battery
	The Lewis Lake Papers, "My Experiences in a Rebel Prison"
	Lewis Lake served in Battery B from Dec. '63 through the end of the war.
	Pvt. Charles E. Affeld Describes The Mechanicsburg Expedition in 1863
	Charles Affeld served in Battery B from April '61 through July '64. This first appeared in the Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society.
	Pvt. Charles E. Affeld Describes the action west of the Mississippi in 1863
	Charles Affeld served in Battery B from April '61 through July '64 This first appeared in the Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society.
	Original 10 day pass for Charles Affeld and Rail road pass
	Scan of a 10 day furlough and rail pass of Charles Affeld dated July1861.
	A letter from Private Schuyler Coe to Mr. and Mrs. Henry Hicker of New York  describing action around Vicksburg
	Schuyler Coe served in Battery B from April '61 through '65.  The original of this letter is in the Pearce Civil War Collect, Navarro College, Corsicanna Texas
	The Autobiography and Civil War Letters of Israel Parson Rumsey Coming Soon
	Captain Rumsey's letters come courtesy of the Lake Forest  Lake Bluff Historical Society.
	Daily Report Summary from Adjutant General's Office given at the Mustering out of the Battery in July1864
	Dyer's Regimental History of Battery "B"
	Taken from Dyers, " A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion" by Frederick H. Dyer
	Battery Forge Project by members of Taylor's Battery

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