Jonathan Taylor was born in Carbon County, on the 21st of April, 1842. He and his family moved to Bethlehem in 1858. When war came on April 12, 1861, he was still a pupil.
Jonathan enlisted in Co. A, 1st PA Volunteers for 3 months as a private. The unit was mustered in at Harrisburg on April 20th, the day before his 19th birthday & only 8 days after the firing on Charleston’s Fort Sumter. Mustered out on July 27th, Jonathan Taylor came home.
By the summer of 1862 when President Abraham Lincoln called for more men, young Taylor was among the first to respond. His companions were many of the most gallant young men of Bethlehem. Civil War armies were very democratic and although young, he was brave, patriotic, earnest, and in every respect competent, and was elected to Captain of Company C, 129th Regiment PA Volunteers. As an officer he always enjoyed, not only the respect of his men, but also the confidence of his superiors. He was given a sword, a symbol of authority, to be carried in battle. It’s scabbard was inscribed, “Presented to Jon.thn K. Taylor by his Friends Bethlehem Pa” The regiment was mustered into the Union Army at Harrisburg on August 15.
On December 13, 1862, Taylor and his regiment were with the Army of the Potomac before Mayre’s Heights and participated in the carnage of the Battle of Fredericksburg. Federal forces hurled flesh and bone against fellow Americans behind a stone wall with a sunken road and when the bloody day was over and all assaults by the army had ultimately failed, the 129th had suffered 142 men killed, wounded or missing. One of those was young Taylor who we believe fell carrying his sword. Severely wounded, he suffered and fought one last battle, finally succumbing to his injuries 105 days later on March 28, 1863.
The train bearing his remains arrived in Bethlehem and was greeted by a city in mourning. Businesses were closed, children and adults lined the path to his home. His funeral took place from the residence of his parents on Wednesday, April 1st. All were saddened at the loss of this truly brave and patriotic young officer. As Captain Taylor, was a frequent visitor of the Moravian Church and agreeably to the desire of his bereaved parents, the Moravian cemetery was made his final resting place.
The Grand Army of the Republic was a Veterans organization formed in 1866. Posts were formed throughout the country by veterans who lived in that community. Many Posts were named for officers of high rank. Bethlehem’s Post 182 became the Jonathan K. Taylor Post. He was the only officer from Bethlehem to die from wounds in battle and it was altogether fitting and proper to honor his service, leadership and ultimate sacrifice. A monument for Post 182, is located in the Rose Garden across the street from Nitschmann Middle School.
A partnership of the GAR Civil War Museum of Philadelphia, Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites, the Bethlehem Area School District & The Civil War Round Table of Eastern PA, Inc. has been formed to bring Jonathan’s sword home. Ownership will pass to the GAR Museum. We need $9000 to acquire to sword where it will be a focal part of a larger display at Bethlehem’s Nitschmann Middle School. Students from all over the district will learn of the local connection to the Civil War & have the opportunity for research projects that go deeper than normal classroom study.
Checks payable to: GAR Museum // In Memo line: “Taylor Sword Fund Donation”
Send to: Taylor Sword Fund c/o GAR Museum
8110 Frankford Ave Philadelphia, PA 19136