Background note:

During the first year of the Civil War, the schooner J.M. Taylor was captured by John Perene, in employ of the mercantile firm of R. M. Blackwell & Co., whose offices were located at 144 Front Street, New York. In 1862, the J.M. Taylor was leased to the federal government to transport troops and horses from Alexandria, Va., to Fortress Monroe.

In April, 1862, Capt. Perene joked about the schooner becoming "lunch before dinner" for the Confederate iron-clad Merrimac, then patrolling the James River. Ironically, it was not the Merrimac that did in the Taylor: while carrying a cargo of fresh meat for Union troops on July 7, the Taylor became lunch for a barrage of Confederate artillery from the shore and was badly mangled. Blackwell & Co. spent months afterward repairing their prize and requesting restitution for damages of the government.

Scope and contents:

The few letters and documents that comprise the J.M. Taylor records recount the fate of a commercial sailing vessel on lease to the federal government for wartime service. It seems clear that these were assembled at the office of Blackwell & Company in a topical file, with the bulk concerning Blackwell's attempt to get restitution from the government for the repair of the Taylor after it was damaged by shore fire along the James.

M-2104
Recat. 11/97 rsc

Link to subject index to the J. M. Taylor Records

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