(William B Taliaferro’s ‘A Few Things About Our County’, p...)
William B Taliaferro’s ‘A Few Things About Our County’, published here as ‘Miscellany on Gloucester County’ was first published by The William and Mary Quarterly in 1894.
William Booth Taliaferro, was a United States Army officer.
Background
William Booth Taliaferro was born at "Belleville, " his mother's family estate, in Gloucester County in 1822. He was the only child of Warner and Frances (Booth) Taliaferro. His father he was descended from Robert Taliaferro, gentleman, an immigrant to Virginia as early as 1647.
Education
He graduated in 1841 at the College of William and Mary and studied law at Harvard.
Career
As a captain in the 11th United States Infantry, he distinguished himself in Mexico, being discharged in August 1848 with the rank of major.
He represented Gloucester County in the House of Delegates, 1850-53, was a Buchanan presidential elector in 1856, and took command of the militia at Harpers Ferry in November 1859 after the capture of John Brown.
Early in the Civil War, as colonel, Confederate States Army, he served brilliantly under Jackson in western Virginia, but in January 1862, with the commanders of other regiments stationed in a bleak encampment at Romney, he signed a petition which ultimately reached the Secretary of War, asking that the troops be moved to a more favorable locality. This action greatly incensed Jackson, but thanks to proved capacity, Taliaferro retained his chief's confidence. Appointed brigadier-general on March 4, 1862, he led a brigade throughout the Valley campaign, contributing notably to the victories of McDowell, Winchester, and Port Republic.
At Cedar Mountain, August 9, after the death of General Winder, he was called to command Jackson's old division when it had been almost routed. Under "Stonewall's" eye he extricated his troops skilfully, earning the permanent command of this redoubtable division. Three weeks later, at Groveton, he was severely wounded and incapacitated, but at Fredericksburg again directed his troops in repulsing Meade's attack on Jackson's corps. In February 1863 he was ordered to Savannah, but General Beauregard soon called him to Charleston, and he defended Battery Wagner, on Morris Island, during the memorable assault of July 18, when with fewer than twelve hundred men he repulsed 5, 000 assailants. Later, commanding on James Island for over a year, he baffled all efforts of the Federals to reach Charleston.
Because he was a near relative, the Secretary of War, James A. Seddon, hesitated to urge his promotion, and he was not commissioned major-general until January 1, 1865. In the meantime he commanded briefly in eastern Florida, and in December 1864 safeguarded the garrison of Savannah in escaping from Sherman. After evacuating James Island in February 1865, with Rhett's and Elliott's brigades he fought stubbornly at Bentonville, but surrendered with Johnston's army in April.
Following the war, he served again in the legislature, 1874-79, distinguishing himself in opposition to repudiation of the state debt. He was a judge of the Gloucester County court, 1891-97.
In peace time a farmer-lawyer, he could not be tempted to abandon the rural life. The foremost men of the Old Dominion frequented his hospitable manor house, "Dunham Massie, " where in the hallway hung a Confederate flag beneath which every visitor passed. Here he ended his days, and his body was buried in the cemetery of Ware Church, built by his ancestors in the seventeenth century.
(William B Taliaferro’s ‘A Few Things About Our County’, p...)
Membership
He was Grand Master of Masons in Virginia, 1876-77, and long a member of the boards of visitors of the Virginia Military Institute, the College of William and Mary, and other institutions of the state.
Personality
Six feet tall and full-bearded, Taliaferro was by tradition and character a Virginia gentleman and a leader, temperamentally akin to Washington and Lee. Like them, he fulfilled his obligations punctiliously. As a soldier, though denied opportunities for independent command, he frequently displayed high tactical abilities.
Connections
On February 17, 1853, he married Sally N. Lyons, of Richmond, by whom he had eight children.