From the Battlefield to Nancy: A 1864 Civil War Letter (Part Three)

⬅️ Back to Part 2: Garland & Nancy Taylor: Uncovering the 1820 Hammock Marriage Bond (Part 2)

Record F871 from the local history book, featuring the background of Garland H. Taylor and the printed transcription of his September 4, 1864 Civil War letter to Nancy.

    In this third part of our deep dive into record F871, we turn to one of the most powerful pieces of history in our family archives: an original letter written straight from a Civil War battlefield. On September 4, 1864, Garland H. Taylor sat down near Warren, Arkansas, to write home to his wife, Nancy, and their children—offering a raw, firsthand look at life, worry, and hope during the war.

The official county record confirming the 1820 marriage of Garlant (Garland) and Jane Long—the family foundation that would be put to the ultimate test four decades later during the Civil War.

In late summer 1864, 48-year-old Garlant H. Taylor wrote to his wife, Nancy, while stationed far from their Benton County farm. At a time when three of his sons were also serving in the Civil War, his letter captures both the harsh realities of military service and his deep concern for the family left behind.

Letter Overview

• Date: September 4, 1864

• Location: Camp near Warren, Bradley County, Arkansas

• Unit: First Regiment, First Company, Dockery Brigade (South Arkansas Campaign)

Family at War

• With Garlant: His third son, Ephraim Pharis, served alongside him in the same campaign.

• Elsewhere in Service: His older sons, Ezekiel and James, were serving in Price's army (having previously fought at Pea Ridge).

• On the Home Front: His wife, Nancy, remained in Benton County managing the farm and raising their nine younger children.

Nancy (Hammock) Taylor, who managed the farm and raised nine children in Benton County while Garland and her eldest sons were away at war.

Camp near Warren, Bradley Co., AR

Sept 4th 1864

Dear wife and children,

I take this opportunity of writing you a few lines which I hope may reach and find you all well. We are in a [tolerable] state of health at this time. I hope when these lines find you all, alive and well. I wrote you a letter on the 20th of July by Mr. Knight and I heard from Ezekiel and James that I started to write on the 20th of July, at that time I was not able to write for I was sick with the fever. I had four chills every second day and that was all, but I am now better.

Since we left home, I want you to write if you have any chance and let us know how you are getting along. I want you to write as often as you can, write yourself but you can get someone to write for you and let me know the state of things since we left home. Though our visit home was short, to know the prospect you are in. I keep wanting to write that I am afraid it turned out enough to spare from the last we have seen of it, for it looked to be in the mountain field sowd in wheat this fall. Is it bound to be that you can eat it if you have to?

I want to keep everything I wrote that I was to get a discharge in two month. I have heard nothing from it, but I will send a letter to you and let you know when I get home. I think the army will stay here all the season. A portion of our brigade are dismounted and put in infantry. I have received another letter from Ezekiel and I will send a letter to you that he got another from them every day. We are doing well here, we have had no fights for a while, and general hood still holds Atlanta. [It is] believed here that if hood holds Atlanta through the season in our favor, it is thought by long line that the war will close this winter or by the time it is the middle of winter. The people of this state full children, we have the promise if we can keep the north part of the state for forage and no discharge or furlough, I am not coming.

The reason that we have no letter from you is because the post that of state for forage to our family, it is not our intention to go to discharge or furlough. I am not coming home until we get a release, for we have a promise if we can hold this state that we will come home and stay and that is better than to stay a while and have to go back. It would not be once in a while, it would be every week or two.

I had great satisfaction to hear that you had plenty of milk and butter, and bread to eat, I will turn your attention to something else. I want you to take as good care of all things as you can and let none of them go to destruction if you can help it. Pharis is well and wants to be remembered to you all. Tell William Maharen to write him, and manage everything to the best advantage in your judgment.

I want to say to Nancy—my dear wife Nancy—I was in hopes of seeing you last night and pass by for several years. I hope that you will be blessed from on high to give you strength and grace to bear your trial and add more than you can help. Stay in the house as much as you can, and let the boys do the work, take care of my tobacco if you can and do not lose none of it. Save it till I come home. Tell Martha to be a good girl and to listen to her father and mother, and set a good example before her younger sisters. When you do the same, William will be a good boy and work hard and they will be a good boy and learn to work if you haven't got a chance to send them to school. Tell Garland to be a good boy, mind what Mother says, help her all he can, take care of her if you have not come.

If Mary is a very common girl, and misses me very well, the one I am not there to see her. Now, I hope you get your father to write to us this fall and answer all this. I think that this is a little letter if I could see you. I have more to talk about than I can write in a week. I hope that time is not far distant when we all may be permitted to see one another and enjoy the pleasures there of, and no one to make us afraid. I have that confidence to believe that we will meet in peace and uninterrupted Confederate government in a short time. All of my acquaintances are in tolerable health except for Brewer, he has the yellow jaundice, but it is better now, and Mr. Maharen is with us, write to him and let him know how they are getting along.

I saw Charley Mitchell, last May, was well. Tell Nancy he was at Ooltewah, that time. Dear Nancy, I must bring my letter to a close. When this letter reaches you, write to me, Direct to me and first company Dockery Brigade. This from Garland Taylor to Nancy Taylor and my Dear little ones. Fare you well, if I never more see you, I will come home as soon as I can, don't get out of heart.

Your Husband,

Garland H. Taylor

Ezekiel Taylor—Garland and Nancy’s eldest son, who was serving in General Price’s army when Garland wrote to the family in September 1864.

Reflecting Across Generations

Can you imagine Garland sitting in camp near Warren in September 1864, writing those heartfelt words to Nancy, never anticipating how far into the future his voice would carry?  It is extraordinary to think that over 160 years later, his 4th great-grandchildren and future generations would have direct access to his letter—reading his exact words and catching a rare, deeply personal glimpse into the everyday lives of our ancestors.

What the Letter Tells Us About Their Lives

Beyond the military context, Garland’s letter provides incredible details about what life was actually like for the family in 1864:

• Sustenance on the Farm: Garland notes with great relief that Nancy had "plenty of milk and butter, and bread to eat." However, food security was a constant worry—he anxiously asks about their mountain field sown in wheat and whether it will produce enough to feed them through the winter.

• Managing the Homestead: With Garland and his three eldest sons away at war, Nancy was running the entire farm in Benton County while raising nine younger children. Garland instructs her to "stay in the house as much as you can, and let the boys do the work."

• Special Crops: He specifically reminds Nancy, "take care of my tobacco if you can and do not lose none of it. Save it till I come home," showing a small detail of personal comfort he hoped to return to.

• Family Roles & Values: Garland speaks to each child's responsibilities—asking Martha to set a good example for her younger sisters, calling on William to work hard, encouraging little Garland to mind his mother, and holding out hope that the children can attend school if possible.

• Communication & Mail: Letters were erratic and precious. Garland mentions receiving word from his sons via travelers like "Mr. Knight" and notes that news traveled slowly through informal networks and military posts.

Brothers of the Taylor Line: (Back Left) E.P. (Ephraim Pharis) Taylor, (Back Right) Ezekiel Taylor, and (Front Left) John Taylor pictured with family. Taken at the McNeil / Stephens, Arkansas studio. This photograph brings to life the very sons Garland worries over and asks about in his September 1864 letter to Nancy.

With the end of Record F871, this chapter comes to a close. Garland’s letter is far more than a military record saved on an archival page—it is a rare, living window into the love, sacrifice, and quiet resilience that held the Taylor family together through unimaginable hardship.

When we look at the weathered ink of Garland’s dispatch alongside the surviving photographs of E.P., Ezekiel, John, and Nancy, these figures cease to be distant names in a ledger. They become real people—a father writing from camp, a mother managing a homestead against impossible odds, and sons standing at the crossroads of war and home.

Preserving Garland’s words and putting faces to these Civil War soldiers and survivors ensures that their story isn't lost to time. Over 160 years later, their legacy endures, offering his descendants a powerful, unbroken connection to where their story began.