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Post by magpie on Oct 14, 2015 16:02:22 GMT -6
I really like Taylor's book and I am asking this question for historical reasons. In the book, as collected by Martin and published by Viking, there is a picture of his discharge papers (I have one from another soldier of that time and the paper is stout and tough, could even be sheep's skin). The bottom part of Taylor's has been torn off. That bottom half is where they comment on your character and say if discharge in honorable. Anyway it's torn away. Does anyone know if Taylor was honorabley discharged?
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Post by benteen on Oct 14, 2015 17:14:01 GMT -6
I really like Taylor's book and I am asking this question for historical reasons. In the book, as collected by Martin and published by Viking, there is a picture of his discharge papers (I have one from another soldier of that time and the paper is stout and tough, could even be sheep's skin). The bottom part of Taylor's has been torn off. That bottom half is where they comment on your character and say if discharge in honorable. Anyway it's torn away. Does anyone know if Taylor was honorabley discharged? Magpie, In Capt Wagners book "Participants in the battle of LBH" he cites among other things about each soldier when they enlisted and in most cases when they were discharged. Looking at a few it seems that if someone was a deserter or dishonorably discharged, he mentions it. So if there is no mention of Taylor being other than honorably discharged, it is a pretty good bet that he was honorably discharged. Add to that I would doubt that any soldier that was dishonorably discharged would have the nerve to write a book about the battle. Who would read it. I know this is not the proof you were looking for, but its the best I can do. Be Well Dan |
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Post by montrose on Oct 14, 2015 18:22:15 GMT -6
I really like Taylor's book and I am asking this question for historical reasons. In the book, as collected by Martin and published by Viking, there is a picture of his discharge papers (I have one from another soldier of that time and the paper is stout and tough, could even be sheep's skin). The bottom part of Taylor's has been torn off. That bottom half is where they comment on your character and say if discharge in honorable. Anyway it's torn away. Does anyone know if Taylor was honorabley discharged? Magpie, In Capt Wagners book "Participants in the battle of LBH" he cites among other things about each soldier when they enlisted and in most cases when they were discharged. Looking at a few it seems that if someone was a deserter or dishonorably discharged, he mentions it. So if there is no mention of Taylor being other than honorably discharged, it is a pretty good bet that he was honorably discharged. Add to that I would doubt that any soldier that was dishonorably discharged would have the nerve to write a book about the battle. Who would read it. I know this is not the proof you were looking for, but its the best I can do. Be Well Dan Dan, You lose. Goldin was dishonorably discharged. Had no influence on his later whopping lies. |
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Post by magpie on Oct 14, 2015 18:46:49 GMT -6
no disrespect Dan, it's just funny.
Taylors book wasn't published.
His manuscript ended up in a local Mass. Library where it was discovered and published recently. I just wonder if Reno wrote something nasty on it and that might explain something of Taylors opinion of Reno.
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Post by benteen on Oct 14, 2015 19:35:15 GMT -6
Dan, You lose. Goldin was dishonorably discharged. Had no influence on his later whopping lies. Col Montrose, LOL..OK I stand corrected. Magpie same to you. I think I will retire now to my bat cave with my Carlo Rossi and keep my mouth shut  Be Well Dan |
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Post by fred on Oct 15, 2015 7:56:32 GMT -6
William Taylor was discharged in January 1877 and it was honorable, though it had some sort of rider attached claiming he was a "poor soldier." He also received a pension, though if I am not mistaken, only a few years or so before his death. If he had received a dishonorable discharge he would have never received a pension. "Poor soldier" kind of describes him in a nutshell. One wonders how much Reno had to do with all that....
Best wishes,
Fred.
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Post by magpie on Oct 15, 2015 16:50:15 GMT -6
William Taylor was discharged in January 1877 and it was honorable, though it had some sort of rider attached claiming he was a "poor soldier." He also received a pension, though if I am not mistaken, only a few years or so before his death. If he had received a dishonorable discharge he would have never received a pension. "Poor soldier" kind of describes him in a nutshell. One wonders how much Reno had to do with all that.... Best wishes, Fred. Thanks for such a great answer and great research. So he tore it away to hide the included rider when it would have been smarter to spill some ink on that bit. We can only speculate if it was Reno making friends and influencing people. |
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Post by AZ Ranger on Oct 15, 2015 17:59:10 GMT -6
I guess time is relative. A review of it was with the papers in 1923. It was discovered in 1952. The publishing date is 1996.
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Post by magpie on Oct 16, 2015 6:25:59 GMT -6
I guess I'm getting old, 19 years ago is recent to me and I wish I could say it was before I was born.
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Post by smawson44 on Oct 16, 2015 19:30:15 GMT -6
Magpie, In Capt Wagners book "Participants in the battle of LBH" he cites among other things about each soldier when they enlisted and in most cases when they were discharged. Looking at a few it seems that if someone was a deserter or dishonorably discharged, he mentions it. So if there is no mention of Taylor being other than honorably discharged, it is a pretty good bet that he was honorably discharged. Add to that I would doubt that any soldier that was dishonorably discharged would have the nerve to write a book about the battle. Who would read it. I know this is not the proof you were looking for, but its the best I can do. Be Well Dan Dan, You lose. Goldin was dishonorably discharged. Had no influence on his later whopping lies. Goldin's discharge was "not honorable" which was changed through his influence to honorable in order to obtain a pension. It also listed his character as "good" so as you can see his discharge papers are not to be trusted. |
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Post by benteen on Oct 16, 2015 20:03:47 GMT -6
Goldin's discharge was "not honorable" which was changed through his influence to honorable in order to obtain a pension. It also listed his character as "good" so as you can see his discharge papers are not to be trusted. smawson44, You bring up a good point. I believe he was also awarded the MOH at a later date which some say was again to political influence. But here is my question. I see soldiers getting pensions that only served a couple of years. Today if you were wounded you get a pension, but that is from the VA. If you spend 20 years in the military and retire, you get a pension. back then did they give you a pension for just serving in the Army? What were their guidelines. I would be very interested to know. Be Well Dan |
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Post by herosrest on Oct 30, 2015 20:39:36 GMT -6
Ducemus184.168.105.185/archivegrid/collection/data/77692406184.168.105.185/archivegrid/?q=contributor:330&label=Autry+National+Center+-+Museum+of+the+American+WestQuote ' This small collection of papers is organized into two series: Personal papers and Photographs. The Personal Papers contain Taylor's discharge papers from the Army, as well as correspondence, personal recollections, and newspaper clippings concerning the Battle of Little Bighorn. Taylor's original, hand-written draft of his manuscript "With Custer on the Little Bighorn" as well as a Japanese translation of the 1996 Viking Press edition of the book are also located in the collection. The Photographs contain tintypes, lithographs, and cartes de visites of various military.
Personnel, monuments, and camp life. There are numerous photographs of Taylor himself, at the time of his service in the Army. A number of the photographs and other material in the collection are reproduced in Taylor's book. The collection also contains a black lacquered tin box (in which all the papers were originally stored), a paper wrapper, service ribbon and beaded pouch containing a rosary carved in bone.
William O. Taylor served in the 7th Cavalry under General Custer at the Battle of Little Big Horn. He was born in Canandaigua, New York, and enlisted in the Army at Troy, New York on January 17, 1872. Between 1872 and 1876, Taylor served under Custer in both his Yellowstone and Black Hills expeditions. During the Battle of Little Big Horn in June of 1876, his company was split from the main body of the regiment and put under the command of Major Marcus Reno; Reno's regiment then took one path, while Custer's took another. Custer's regiment was slaughtered, while Reno's, upon encountering the Sioux, retreated across the Little Big Horn River. It was for this reason that Taylor did not die alongside Custer in the battle. Taylor was discharged from the Army in January of 1877 at Fort Rice, Dakota Territory. After his discharge, he moved to Orange, Massachusetts. He spent the next thirty years working as a metal polisher at the New Home Sewing Machine Company. He collected voluminous materials on the battle, and eventually wrote a manuscript about his experiences that he entitled.
"With Custer on the Little Big Horn." The manuscript was completed in 1917, but was only recently published in 1996 by Viking Press. Taylor died in 1923. He was 68 years old.Further interesting snippet on Taylor - thelbha.proboards.com/post/67508Enjoy! Added - It is unlikely that two W. Taylor's existed in the territory during 1977. It certainly could be but IS highly unlikely. There is a bit more in the old records when I can dig it out. Junction City - Train Station and Post Office on the NPR 53 miles northeast of Billings and located on the north bank of the Yellowstone River, under a high bluff that protects the town from northern winds in the winter. It is across from the Big Horn River outflow. In the summer of 1877 General Sherman established a supply depot there for the army on the south side of the river. He named it Cantonment Terry, in honor of General Terry. In June 1877, William Taylor opened a small trading store at the site of future Junction. His patrons were Crow Indians and soldiers. It was named Terry’s Landing. When the stage line was created, it became one of the stops. Until 1880, it was of little importance. At that time, there were 41 residents resided in the surrounding countryside called Sage Brush. When NPR passed through, things did not change very much. It was considered to be a “typical” western town. People there traded with Fort Maginnis, Fort Custer, and the local mines. Junction City was platted and approved by the Custer County commissioners on March 8, 1883. Property ownerships for most of the town are located in the Yellowstone County Courthouse. On April 5, 1883, a large portion of the business section of the new town was destroyed by fire, entailing a loss of $10,000. In 1888 the population was 200. Pctures of some of the town can be found in Paul McCormick’s bio and related entries. www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~mtyellow/history//towns.htm
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Post by herosrest on Nov 25, 2015 21:53:29 GMT -6
DucemusThis historic ID tag descended through the Taylor family from William O. Taylor. Taylor was with Major Marcus Reno’s force at the Little Big Horn, so this tag is one of the rare artifacts that were present at that historic battle. This tag was purchased as part of a large lot directly from the Taylor family around 1985 by Alexander Acevedo. The lot in question was a black tin box with various items used and collected by Taylor. It contained photographs, Indian artifacts, and a hand-written memoir by W. O. Taylor, which has since been published. The ID tag was among these historic items and acquired by the consignor from Acevedo prior to the remainder of the items being sold at Butterfield’s auction in California in 1995. Taylor enlisted in 1872 at the age of 17 and was assigned to Company M of the 7th Cavalry. In 1876 he was transferred to Company A, and this is when he bought his ID tag. His company was assigned to the command of Maj. Reno, and he managed to survive the heavy Sioux onslaught of the Little Big Horn battle. Taylor spent the next thirty-odd years writing about the events of those few days. www.icollector.com/HISTORIC-AND-IMPORTANT-BATTLE-OFLITTLE-BIG-HORN-RELATED-SOLDIERS-IDENTITY-TAG-FROM-WILLIAM-O-TAYLOR_i1358427
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