Joseph Pannell Taylor

Joseph Pannell Taylor (May 4, 1796 – June 29, 1864) was a United States Army officer who served during the early 19th century and in the American Civil War, attaining the rank of brigadier general in the Union Army. He was born in Louisville, Kentucky, to Richard Taylor and Sarah Dabney Strother. He was the younger brother of Zachary Taylor, who served as the 12th President of the United States, and he was the uncle of Richard Taylor, a Confederate Lieutenant General during the Civil War.

Taylor enlisted in the U.S. Army during the War of 1812, receiving his first commission as a third lieutenant on May 20, 1813. He was promoted to second lieutenant on August 1, 1813, and to first lieutenant on July 15, 1814. Following his discharge on June 15, 1815, he was reinstated as a second lieutenant on May 17, 1816. He was subsequently promoted to first lieutenant on November 24, 1817, and to captain on July 25, 1825.

Throughout his military career, Taylor held various positions in the Army’s subsistence department. He was appointed Assistant Commissary General of Subsistence with the rank of captain on March 10, 1829. He was promoted to major on July 7, 1838, with the same assignment, and to lieutenant colonel and Assistant Commissary General of Subsistence on November 30, 1841. He received a brevet promotion to colonel on May 30, 1848, for his service in the subsistence department.

Taylor contributed to logistical efforts during the buildup to the Civil War. He assisted Commander John Gardner in obtaining provisions for the troops at Fort Moultrie, a fort that was strategically important during the conflict. On September 29, 1861, he was promoted to full colonel and appointed Commissary General of Subsistence. His rank was further elevated when he was promoted to brigadier general in the regular army on February 9, 1863.

Joseph Pannell Taylor died of diarrhea and partial paralysis in Washington, D.C., on June 29, 1864. He was interred at Oak Hill Cemetery in Georgetown, Washington, D.C. After his death, the position of Commissary General of Subsistence was succeeded by Amos Beebe Eaton.

Taylor’s family included several members who served in military capacities. His nephew, Richard Taylor, was a Confederate Lieutenant General. His two oldest surviving sons, John McLean Taylor and Joseph Hancock Taylor, served in the Union Army, reaching ranks of lieutenant colonel and brevet colonel, respectively. His brother-in-law, Nathaniel McLean, was a brigadier general of volunteers. Additionally, his son-in-law, David Rumph Jones, married to his daughter Sarah, served as a Confederate Major-General.

References for his biography include "Civil War High Commands" by John H. Eicher and David J. Eicher, and "Appletons' Cyclopaedia of American Biography," Volume 2, by James Grant Wilson and John Fiske.