Susie King Taylor was born enslaved in Georgia and secretly taught to read and write by a Black woman running an illegal school, at a time when literacy for enslaved people was against the law across the South. She escaped to Union-controlled territory during the Civil War at age fourteen, alongside members of her family.
Recognised for her literacy, Taylor became a teacher for newly freed Black soldiers and their families, running one of the first schools for freed people in Georgia while still a young teenager. She went on to serve alongside the 33rd United States Colored Troops as a laundress, nurse and unofficial teacher throughout the war, working closely with the regiment for over three years without formal pay.
Taylor's nursing work brought her into contact with Clara Barton, the future founder of the American Red Cross, and she provided medical care to wounded soldiers throughout numerous battles, often under dangerous conditions. Despite her extensive service, she was never granted a military pension in her own right, receiving compensation only as the widow of her first husband, a soldier in the regiment.
In 1902, Taylor published Reminiscences of My Life in Camp, becoming the first Black woman to publish a memoir of her Civil War experiences. The book provided a rare firsthand account of the war from the perspective of a formerly enslaved Black woman, documenting both her wartime service and the ongoing injustices she and other Black veterans faced long after the war's end.
- First Black woman to publish a memoir of her Civil War experiences (1902)
- Taught one of the first schools for freed Black people in Georgia while still a teenager
- Served over three years with the 33rd US Colored Troops as a nurse, laundress and teacher
- Worked closely alongside Clara Barton, future founder of the American Red Cross
- Provided a rare firsthand documented account of Black women's Civil War service
- Literacy under prohibition is its own act of resistance. Taylor risked severe punishment to learn to read and write as an enslaved child.
- Service can take many uncredited forms. She served for over three years without formal military pay or recognition.
- Documentation preserves history that would otherwise vanish. Her memoir remains a uniquely valuable firsthand record precisely because so few like it exist.
- Recognition can be denied even after extensive service. Taylor never received a military pension in her own right despite years of frontline nursing service.