William G. Taylor

He Stayed at His Gun After the Cannon Exploded

William G. Taylor was born on August 9, 1829, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The surviving record preserves his name with the middle initial “G.” but does not securely establish the full middle name, so it should not be expanded. Much of his early civilian life remains sparsely documented, but by the closing stages of the American Civil War he was serving in the United States Navy aboard USS Ticonderoga.

Taylor held the rating of Captain of the Forecastle. Despite the word “Captain,” this was an enlisted naval rating rather than command of the ship. His duties placed him among the experienced sailors responsible for work on the forward part of the vessel, and during the operations that made him famous he also served as captain of a gun. USS Ticonderoga was a steam-powered sloop of war operating with Union naval forces during the campaign against Fort Fisher, North Carolina.

Fort Fisher protected the approaches to Wilmington, one of the Confederacy’s most important remaining Atlantic ports. By late 1864, Union naval power had closed or restricted many Southern ports, making Wilmington increasingly valuable for blockade-running vessels carrying military supplies. Destroying or capturing Fort Fisher would help seal that route and tighten the pressure on the Confederacy.

The first major Union attack came on December 24 and 25, 1864. Ticonderoga joined the line of wooden warships bombarding the Confederate defenses from offshore. Taylor served as captain of one of the ship’s guns while the vessel exchanged fire with the batteries on shore.

During the bombardment, disaster struck aboard Ticonderoga. A 100-pounder Parrott rifle exploded, killing eight sailors and wounding twelve others. The sudden blast and casualties could easily have disrupted the surrounding gun crews, especially while Confederate fire continued to reach the Union ships. Taylor nevertheless remained at his station and continued performing his duties. His later Medal of Honor citation specifically emphasized the coolness and skill with which he handled his responsibilities despite the explosion and the heavy return fire from Fort Fisher.

The December assault ultimately failed to capture the fort. Union naval forces had subjected the defenses to an intense bombardment, but the accompanying Army operation was withdrawn without a successful assault. The failure did not end the campaign. Union commanders prepared another expedition, and in January 1865 the fleet returned with a new Army force for a renewed attempt.

Taylor’s historical Medal of Honor record connects his service aboard Ticonderoga with the Fort Fisher operations of December 24–25, 1864, and January 13–15, 1865. The fuller historical Navy record lists both attack periods, while the detailed citation describing his individual conduct concentrates on the December bombardment and his steadiness as a gun captain after the Parrott rifle explosion. When the Union fleet returned in January, Fort Fisher again came under sustained naval bombardment. Ticonderoga joined the wooden warships in the renewed operation. From January 13 through January 15, Union ships maintained heavy fire against the Confederate defenses while Army troops established positions on the peninsula. The combined attack finally succeeded on January 15, closing the military stronghold that had protected Wilmington’s maritime lifeline.

Taylor’s role in these operations represented the disciplined work on which nineteenth-century naval combat depended. A gun captain had to keep his crew functioning amid smoke, concussion, equipment failure, incoming fire, and casualties. Taylor’s recognized achievement was not based on a dramatic individual charge or the capture of an enemy flag. It rested on remaining at his assigned combat station and continuing to perform his duty effectively after a catastrophic weapon explosion had killed and wounded sailors around him.

His conduct was formally recognized in 1865. General Order No. 59, dated June 22, 1865, included William G. Taylor among the naval personnel awarded the Medal of Honor for Civil War service. The historical Navy record commended him for his “coolness and good conduct as captain of a gun” during the Fort Fisher attacks. His award was made during his lifetime, not posthumously.

The Medal of Honor itself had been created during the Civil War, with Congress authorizing the Navy version in 1861. At that stage of American military history, there was no extensive hierarchy of personal naval combat decorations comparable to those developed in the twentieth century. The Medal of Honor therefore became the central federal recognition for exceptional conduct by sailors and Marines in combat and other extraordinary circumstances.

For Taylor, the decoration permanently linked his name with the operations against Fort Fisher. He received a single Medal of Honor, with no additional clasp, bar, star, or other device established for the award.

After the Civil War, the surviving authoritative record becomes much less detailed about Taylor’s civilian activities. There is not enough reliable evidence to construct an elaborate account of his occupation, family life, or movements after leaving naval service without introducing speculation. What is securely established is that he survived the war and lived for more than four decades after the Fort Fisher campaign.

Taylor eventually lived in Quincy, Illinois. He died there on March 28, 1910, at the age of eighty. He was buried in Sunset Cemetery in Quincy, where he rests as a veteran of the United States Navy and a recipient of the Medal of Honor.

William G. Taylor’s military legacy was created not by rank or command of a fleet, but by steadfast performance at a gun aboard USS Ticonderoga. During the bombardment of Fort Fisher, a powerful naval weapon exploded nearby, killing and wounding members of the crew while enemy fire continued from shore. Taylor stayed at his station and continued the work required of him.

That steadiness became the defining act of his recorded military career. In the final months of the Civil War, as Union forces fought to close one of the Confederacy’s last major ports, his discipline under fire earned him the Medal of Honor and secured his place in the history of the United States Navy.