On October 8, 1862, my 3rd great-grandfather, Taylor Brant Rezer, died at Camp Chase, Ohio, as a paroled Union soldier of the 29th Pennsylvania Volunteers. While awaiting exchange as a prisoner, he contracted Typhoid Fever due to severe marching and exposure. He was only thirty-four. Sadly, three years later, Taylor’s wife, Sarah Ann Umstead, died leaving their young son an orphan. Perhaps she had too much grief to bear.
On April 15, 1861, President Abraham Lincoln issued a public proclamation calling for 75, 000 volunteers for a militia to quell the uprising in South Carolina that erupted with the opening shots of war upon Fort Sumter. Eight days later, Taylor enlisted as a private with the 22nd Pennsylvania Regiment for a three-month enlistment. Like most soldiers of his day, the volunteers believed that the southern rebellion would be quickly resolved. Spirits ran high, but by the end of summer, it became clear that any such hope was unfounded as the conflict devolved into outright war. On August 19th, Taylor re-enlisted for three years with the 29th Pennsylvania. By the spring of 1862, the regiment was assigned duty in the Shenandoah. Unfortunately, General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson’s brilliant and victorious Valley Campaign was about to begin.
It is not precisely known when Private Taylor B. Rezer was captured. Detailed casualty reports of battles are rare. Records indicate, however, that a large number of men of the 29th Regiment, including their commanding officer, Colonel John K. Murphy, were captured in the 1st Battle of Winchester on May 25, 1862, the volunteers’ first major clash. The Confederates outnumbered the Federals nearly four to one. The 29th Pennsylvania and 27th Indiana bore the brunt of the attack; more than two hundred soldiers of the 29th alone were captured at once that foggy morning by the Louisiana Brigade. Jackson later claimed to have captured over three thousand Union prisoners during the three days of battle and retreat. Whether Taylor was indeed captured at this time or later that summer (which is unlikely), he was paroled back to the Union army and eventually imprisoned at Camp Chase to await exchange.
During this time conditions at Camp Chase were deplorable. Reports by federal inspections, local newspapers, and the personal memoirs of the soldiers attest that the camp was overcrowded, with morale extremely low. Disease was rife; sanitary conditions far below standard. The barracks were shoddy and dirty, nothing more than run-down shanties. The soldiers were more or less confined while they awaited exchange or discharge. Rumors continually persisted of maltreatment even among the Federal parolees. For Taylor Brant Rezer, his service had come to an end. He contracted Typhoid near the end of September and died two weeks later.
Like so many of the heroes of the tragic war that helped preserve our beleaguered nation one hundred and fifty years ago, my great-great-great grandfather answered the call to arms by his President in a time of crisis to defend his country, even at the expense of his own life. There are words no more solemn to describe the cost of sacrifice these brave men paid giving the last full measure of duty in defending his country than those of Taylor Brant Rezer’s obituary.
“No wife stood beside him
To ease the death fear,
Or wipe the cold dew from his brow;
No father or mother was near
No brother to cheer,
No sisters to comfort him now.
I was fortunate to know my great-grandfather, Charles, when he was 93. His father, Nelson, my great great grandfather, joined the Union along with six brothers from Wisconsin as a blacksmith. All six brothers survived the war.
I recently edited a fictional account of the great-grandfather of a friend of mine. Ben Drake from Ohio could not join because there wasn't enough equipment for all the recruits. Finally, he joined a newly formed West Virginia cavalry regiment in 1863 and finished out the war. My friend, Johnny Jackson, spent 10 years researching the facts about Drake's service before writing the book.
Ron