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Honoring American TroopsMedal of Honor Archive

Sergeant & Second Lieutenant · U.S. Army

William Taylor

Sergeant & Second Lieutenant William Taylor, Army, received the Medal of Honor for actions on August 19, 1864 in Front Royal & Weldon Railroad, Virginia during the Civil War.

U.S. Civil War August 19, 1864

Sergeant & Second Lieutenant William Taylor was a soldier in the U.S. Army who received the Medal of Honor for his actions on August 19, 1864 in Front Royal & Weldon Railroad, Virginia during the Civil War. At the time he was serving with Company H & Company M, 1st Maryland Infantry. Taylor was about 28 years old.

4 other service members also received the Medal of Honor for actions on the same day. The medal was presented on August 2, 1897, 32 years after the action. He later rose to the rank of Captain.

Taylor was born in 1836 in Washington. His Medal of Honor is credited to Frederick, Frederick County, Maryland. Taylor died on April 6, 1902 in Baltimore, Maryland, at the age of about 66. He is buried at Louden Park National Cemetery in Baltimore, Maryland.

Taylor is one of 1,525 Medal of Honor recipients from the Civil War and one of 85 credited to Maryland.

Official Medal of Honor citation

When a sergeant at Front Royal, Va., he was painfully wounded while obeying an order to burn a bridge, but, persevering in the attempt, he burned the bridge and prevented its use by the enemy. Later, at Weldon Railroad, Va., then a lieutenant, he voluntarily took the place of a disabled officer and undertook a hazardous reconnaissance beyond the lines of the army; was taken prisoner in the attempt.

Citation text: U.S. Government, public domain.

Wounds and injuries

What the citation records about his wounds:

When a sergeant at Front Royal, Va., he was painfully wounded while obeying an order to burn a bridge, but, persevering in the attempt, he burned the bridge and prevented its use by the enemy.

Battles and campaigns

Also served in: American Civil War.

Places

  • Born: Washington, D.C. — map
  • Died: Baltimore — map
  • Buried: Loudon Park National Cemetery — map

Veteran resources, cemeteries and meeting places in Maryland →

Timeline

  1. 1836
    Born in Washington
  2. August 19, 1864
    Act of valor — Front Royal & Weldon Railroad, Virginia
    Age about 28. Company H & Company M, 1st Maryland Infantry
  3. August 2, 1897
    Medal of Honor presented
  4. April 6, 1902
    Died in Baltimore, Maryland
    Age about 66.
  5. Resting place
    Louden Park National Cemetery
    Baltimore, Maryland

Biography

William Taylor (1836 – April 6, 1902) was a Union Army soldier and officer during the American Civil War. He received the Medal of Honor for gallantry during two separate Virginia engagements. The Battle of Front Royal in 1862 and the Battle of Globe Tavern in 1864.

From the Wikipedia article “William Taylor (Medal of Honor)”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the full article →

Also honored for actions on August 19, 1864

CB Charles E. Brown Sergeant · Army Civil War · 1864 Ovila Cayer Sergeant · Army Civil War · 1864 Solomon J. Hottenstine Private · Army Civil War · 1864 Sylvester Hopkins Martin Lieutenant · Army Civil War · 1864

More Civil War recipients from Maryland

TJ Thomas Jones Coxswain · Navy Civil War · 1865 CV Charles Veal Private · Army Civil War · 1864 AM Andrew Jackson McGonnigle Captain & Assistant Quartermaster · Army Civil War · 1864 JC Joseph Franklin Carter Captain · Army Civil War · 1865 AC Abel G. Cadwallader Corporal · Army Civil War · 1865 AH Alfred B. Hilton Sergeant · Army Civil War · 1864 ✦
Sources. Service and award details compiled from the recipient record of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, Wikidata and Wikipedia. The narrative summary is generated from these records. Spotted an error? Send a correction.