[CIVIL WAR]. Knapsack with contents carried by Private Charles L. Taylor, Company K, 16th Connecticut Volunteer Infantry.

Painted canvas knapsack with leather straps identified on exterior flap in stenciled letters "16th Regt. / C. T." and with attached tag, 3 x 1 3/8 in., on which appears period handwritten inked identification "Charles L. Taylor / Bristol / Conn." Contents, no longer housed in knapsack, include the following: a red oval-shaped, two-pieced tin, approx. 3 1/4 x 1 3/4 in., containing a rolled bandage and a matching tin containing a Civil War tourniquet accompanied by original paper directions on use of the device; a small paper box, approx. 2 5/8 x 2 3/8 in., with identification on lid "[C.] L. Taylor," containing an assortment of more than 20 buttons including general service buttons and a coat-size infantry "I" button along with regimental insignias "1," "6," and "K"; a small housewife with patches, needles, and thread; a spoon; a tarred, waterproof folding packet identified to "C.L. Taylor" housing period toilet tissue; a metal folding pocket/shaving mirror; a money belt; a leather glove; a forage cap with company "K" and infantry horn insignia; a small wrench; and a "G. Youle / N. York" patent shot bag. The knapsack offered here is a very rare example of personal items carried in a backpack that have not been assembled after the fact. (Knapsack brittle with wear and some losses; forage cap heavily damaged due to rodent or insect exposure and in fragile condition; tourniquet beginning to disintegrate and was not removed from tin for closer inspection; other contents with wear but in generally good condition given age and use.)

Significantly, the knapsack is accompanied by red and white fabric remnants, one with a "C.L. Taylor" ink identification on it, and a blue tassel, all of which are likely portions of the 16th C.V. regimental flag which was ordered shredded by a commanding officer just before the entire regiment was captured at the Battle of Plymouth, North Carolina, 20 April 1864. According to a history of the 16th CT's colors as published in History of Battle Flag Day, Sept. 17, 1879, "The colors of the Sixteenth regiment were torn from their standards at the fall of Plymouth, N.C. April 20, 1864, and in part distributed among the officers and men, while the remaining portions were burned to prevent them from falling into the hands of the rebels. The pieces that were saved were carried through the military prisons at the South, and finally, ... were brought home. The few shreds of the old colors ... have been kept as sacred souvenirs by their possessors." Though Taylor was not present at the capture of the garrison during the Battle of Plymouth, he remained in Connecticut after the war and participated in regimental reunion activities, where he likely acquired the regimental flag remnants accompanying his knapsack.

[With:] An assortment of war-date documents and ephemera including: Special Order No. 82 (Extract) issued 16 April 1864 relieving Taylor from duty as a clerk at Headquarters US Forces "Near Portsmouth, VA" and returning him to his regiment stationed at Plymouth, N.C.; approx. 25 printed General Orders spanning November 1863 - June 1865; countersigns for US forces "Near Portsmouth, VA" for the weeks of 21 Feb. 1864 and 28 Feb. 1864; military passes issued to Taylor; correspondence regarding a furlough request; a small group of clipped signatures from army and navy commanders including Naval Officer Henry K. Davenport, Brig. Genl. George W. Getty, Major General John Peck, and Brigadier General Charles A. Heckman; the Old Dominion newspaper of Portsmouth, VA, 23 October 1863; a small envelope containing "Roses from Kingston N.C. / April 1st 1865"; and "The Soldier's Hymn Book" published by the Boston Young Men's Christian Association, Fifth Edition [ca 1864]. -- Post-war items include: a group of 3 cabinet cards of unidentified individuals, with one possibly being a later image of Taylor; small pamphlet "Souvenir of Excursion to Antietam and Dedication of Monuments, of the 8th, 11th, 14th, and 16th Regiments of Connecticut Volunteers," October 1894; and 16th Connecticut Volunteers Secretary's Roster for 1892 listing Taylor.

Provenance: Don Troiani collection (Illustrated on p. 222-223 of Don Troiani's Civil War Soldiers). 

Charles Lyman Taylor (1837-1909) of Bristol, CT, enlisted on 7/29/1862 as a sergeant. HDS indicates he mustered into Co. K, CT 16th Infantry on 8/24/1862, was reduced to ranks becoming a private on 4/2/1863, and mustered out on 6/24/1865. Initially, Taylor served in the field. He was present at the Battle of Antietam during which the 16th CT, which had only been in the field for three weeks, suffered heavy losses. Months later Taylor and the rest of his regiment fought at Fredericksburg before participating in the "Mud March" and the Siege of Suffolk. In August 1863 Taylor was detached to serve as a clerk in division headquarters under General George W. Getty, while the 16th CT remained in the field and was eventually assigned to garrison at Plymouth, NC. On April 17, 1864, the day after Taylor received special orders to rejoin his regiment at Plymouth, the Federal garrison there was engaged by the Confederates in an operation deemed one of the most effective Confederate combined-arms operations of the Civil War. From April 17-20 the Battle of Plymouth was waged resulting in a surrender of the 16th CT and all Federal troops at the garrison, many of whom were transported to the infamous Andersonville Prison. Taylor had arrived on April 20th and in time to see his regiment captured, but escaped the fate of his regiment. He spent the remainder of the war as a clerk in the 18th Army Corps Headquarters at New Bern, NC.  

Given the unusually intact nature of the contents of the knapsack, many of which would not have been utilized by a soldier serving in a clerk's role, it is believed that Taylor intentionally preserved the knapsack and its contents. Presuming he packaged the knapsack to be sent home after the war, the Adams Express Company freight bill accompanying the knapsack and issued at "Newbern, N.C" for "1 Box Value 10.00"  may have been the one issued to Taylor at that time. The receipt is addressed to Taylor's wife "Mrs. H.W.T. Taylor" (Harriet Winslow Tuttle Taylor), and dated 11 April 1865, just two days after Lee's surrender at Appomattox.


The Civil War and American Militaria Collection of Bruce B. Hermann