Jesse Taylor, of Mobile, Ala., leads his troops into battle during a reenactment earlier this year in Quitman. Taylor is the great-grandson of Gen. Richard Taylor who commanded the Army of Louisiana and later those of Mississippi and Alabama.

    Dressed in the gray uniform of a Confederate brigadier general, Jesse Taylor of Mobile, Ala., could certainly fit right into that era of American History.

    With his white beard, gold sash around his waist and gleaming sword flashing in the sunlight, Taylor, 69, retraces the steps of his great-grandfather, Gen. Richard Taylor, who commanded the Army of Louisiana and later troops from Alabama and Mississippi. Jesse Taylor’s portrayal of his ancestor is a deeply personal one.

    “This is who I am,” Taylor said at a recent reenactment held in Quitman. “This is a part of my family that shouldn’t be forgotten. My great-grandfather was a loyal and honorable person who despite his physical limitations, produced arguably one of, if not the best, army in the South.”

    Gen. Richard Taylor suffered terribly from rheumatoid arthritis to the point that Taylor had to stay at his encampment bedridden while his troops fought battles.

    But the man who was the son of United States President Zachary Taylor, who died in 1850, learned to overcome his disabilities to command troops throughout Louisiana during the early years of the Civil War.

    Quickly promoted, some say because of his relationships to his aforementioned father and later to Confederate President Jefferson Davis, Taylor’s brother-in-law, Taylor nonetheless proceeded to turn out regiments of well trained, highly disciplined soldiers. One method of how he turned the rough and rowdy Creole soldiers into a highly effective fighting force is a favorite story told by Jesse Taylor.

    One of Taylor’s brigades consisted of various Louisiana regiments as well as Major Chatham Roberdeau Wheat’s “Louisiana Tiger” battalion. The assortment was an undisciplined lot that was known for its hard-fighting on the battlefield, but also for its hard-living outside of the battlefield. Taylor instilled discipline into the Tigers and although Major Wheat did not agree with how he did so, he nonetheless respected Taylor.

    “When the general ordered a formation one day, one of the men from this Louisiana regiment decided he didn’t want to get in line,” Jesse Taylor said. “So my great-grandfather walked up to him and shot him between the eyes. When his friend objected, the general shot him.”

    It was a harsh reality of the times when men either despised one for such deliberate acts of brutality or embraced them as necessary to get the job done. Regardless, the Louisiana troops got the message and did as they were told.

    As the rebel soldiers prepared to meet the federal forces outside Quitman, Jesse Taylor strode here and there to make sure everyone was in their proper place and were up to speed on the battle plan. There was no need for further encouragement as the troops were well motivated without being shot.

    Jesse Taylor said for years he has researched his great-grandfather’s life. He said it gives him great pride to wear the uniform like was worn 150 years ago by his ancestor. He acknowledges not the war, but the man. He salutes his great-grandfather’s dedication to the service he chose at that particular time in history.

    “As the years go by we don’t remember the war so much as we do the men who fought and died in the bloody battles,” Jesse Taylor said.

    After the war, Richard Taylor wrote his memoirs, Destruction and Reconstruction, which is one of the most credited reports of the Civil War. He was active in Democratic Party politics, interceded on behalf of Jefferson Davis with President Andrew Johnson, and was a leading political opponent of Northern Reconstruction policies. He died in New York City and is buried in Metairie Cemetery, New Orleans.

    Jesse Taylor continues to wear the gray uniform of his great-grandfather in reenactments across the South. He hopes, in some small way, his great-grandfather, and a great many other Southern soldiers who fought and died, are not forgotten by today’s children.