Capt. David Taylor who was commissioned a 1 st Lieutenant in Co. C, 1 st O. V. I., April 15, 1861, and Captain of Co. B, 113 th Regiment, O. V. I., August 12, 1862. Muster Rolls indicate that he resigned on 10 June 1863, not long after this letter was written. The following explanation for his resignation comes from his Find-A-Grave obituary:“In 1863, Mr. Taylor organized the sl*a*ves as contraband of the war, and pressed them into service in building the fort at Franklin, Tenn., and gave each of the contrabands papers freeing them from slavery, for which Gen. W. S. Rosecrans highly commended him.Early in February, 1863, Captain Taylor arrived at Franklin, Tenn., after a rough campaign through Kentucky’s mud, snow and rain, and immediately, with his comrades, was placed on steamboats, when down the Ohio River, and up the Cumberland River, retaking the forts from Donaldson to Nashville, then south to Franklin, a tired but victorious army. At once, Gen. C. C. Gilbert put the tired soldiers to work clearing the ground and building a fort. In this work David Taylor pressed all the slaves into the work of building.On the evening of February 22, 1863, David Taylor was severely injured, causing paralysis of his left side. When it became apparent that his recovery was extremely doubtful, Gen. W. S. Rosecrans caused a detail of the chaplain of the 78 th Illinois and another soldier to accompany him to Columbus, Ohio, where he was treated by Doctor Smith, the Surgeon General of Ohio, but he never fully recovered from his injury. General Rosecrans highly complimented David Taylor for his care of the soldiers who were benefited by the rest they received while the sl*a*ves built the fort, and after the war visited him at his home.”TRANSCRIPTIONCamp at Franklin, TennesseeMay 30 th 1863Capt. D. Taylor, Jr., Co. B, 113 th Ohio Vol.My dear sir, your letter of a recent day is just received. I very much regret to learn that you are still unfit for duty. You remember that my constant hope was that twenty or thirty days at home would entirely restore your health.It would be impossible for me to advise you in regard to offering a resignation. Dr. Smith’s opinion in the case I should trust implicitly. He knows much better than I could whether you will soon be ready for service. Your paralysis alarms me lest you may never be able for foot service in the field again. But you can tell about these things yourself, Captain, much better than anyone can for you.If you are not able to return when the present leave of absence expires, if I were in your place, I should make no further attempt but would resign at once. You have done your whole duty faithfully and nothing more could be asked of you. All I wanted was a fair trial and I must ask more than that.I am sorry that you have been unable to fill up your company to the maximum number. It is a splendid company—nothing like it in this regiment.Your ordnance account is all square, I presume. I have just been looking over it for the quarter ending March 31 st and if I remember correctly, it is all straight. About your other papers, I know nothing but judging from this they must be in prime condition