The biographical encyclopœdia of Ohio of the nineteenth century:

BIOGRAPIIICAL ENCYCLOPYEDIA.
I
, derers of John B. Cook, Provost Marshal. This was one
of the military trials during the war which attracted great
attention throughout the country, and assumed to some de gree a political character. The trial lasted three months,
1 resulting in the conviction of the prisoners, Oliver and
t Hartup, and their subsequent execution at Camp Chase in
September, I865, after making a full confession of their
- crime. Colonel Taylor won golden opinions from the peow ple and the press for the signal ability and success with
t which he managed the case against the determined efforts
l and labored strategies of the able counsel who represented
t the defence. While serving as Judge Advocate at Cin cinnati and Indianapolis, he made, at the instance of Gen eral Hooker, General Hovey, and Colonel Burnett, a number
- of important investigations and reports, all of which, as well
r as all the records and reports made by him while he was
Judge Advocate, were approved by the Department of Jus tice and the Secretary of War. At the close of the war, after
being mustered out of the service, he was employed by the
government to act as Special Judge Advocate in the trial
. of two important cases at Indianapolis, that of a quarter master and a disbursing officer of the regular army, in
t which the government was interested to the amount of
several hundred thousand dollars. During his term of ser vice hle was twice brevetted for his faithful and efficient ser* vices in the interest of the government, which was done on
- the recommendation of officers of the regular army as well
as of the civil service, for which, when confirmed by the
Senate, he received his commissions; and his superior offi cers also asked that he be paid extra compensation for his
services. In the early part of his professional career he was
, twice elected Prosecuting Attorney of Guernsey county, and
a was very strongly urged to be a candidate for a third term,
but declined. No officer in the county ever discharged his
duties more thoroughly or more acceptably, and his prose cution of those who violated the liquor laws was so vigorous
and successful that scarcely a saloon was found in the
county at the close of his term. In December, I866, he
was married to Miss Hill, daughter of William Hill, of
t North Berwick, Maine. In I872, when the scarcity of
money seemed to impede the progress of improvements in
the community where he resided, he obtained authority to
organize a national bank, and procured the stock, and com pleted the organization of the Guernsey National Bank, with
t a capital of $Ioo,ooo, which has since been increased to
$I5o,ooo, of which he was chosen and still continues Pi-esi dent. He has also been President of the Cambridge Board
of Educaton for the past six years, during iwhich time the
board has built one of the finest union school buildings in
the State; for which the people of the Cambridge Union
School District are greatly indebted to him, as he led in the
movement for the house and in the management of the
building as it progressed. Hte took an active part in pro curing the stock and location at Cambridge of the Marietta
o& Pittsburgh Railroad, and in all important enterprises, in
2")8.
a member of the county and district military committees,
and gave much tin-ie and valuable aid in the organization
of troops, and in procuring and forwarding supplies to the
soldiers in the field. In the fall of i86i, in connection with
W. 11. F. Lenfestey, of Cambridge, Mr. Taylor purchase
the Citeriisey Tiiiies, the onl y Republican paper in th
county, and continued his connection therewith, pul)lishin
it ui-ider the name of Taylor & Lenfestey for ten years, takin, only a general management of the paper, during wlii.c
time the size of the paper was doubled, and the sul)scriptio
list increased from less than -seven hundred to over tw
thousand, while the Republican party grew from a bar
plurality, which bad given the Democrats'for years befor
that fully one-half the offices, to a reliable majority of not les
than six hundred. In i863, when General Morgan's command crossed the Ohio river, Governor Tod issued a call fo
troops to defend the State, giving it as his opinion that th
seat of war was about to be transferred to the north of the
Oliioriver. Mr.Taylorraised,acompanyfortbeSSthOlii-o
Re,imeiit and bad it in camp in -Lbout ten days, where be
was by a unanimous vote of the company chosen Captain.
After the regiment was sufficiently or,anized and drilled for
active service, be was among the officers of this regiment
who petitioned the Secretary of War to send them to the
front instead of the undi-illed hundred-day men, and the
order cai-ne to this effect but was countermanded at the instance of General Richardson, who insisted that the regiment could not be spared from Camp Chase, where they
were guardin, many thousands of rebel soldiers. Soon
after this be was detailed on special duty, and remained on
detached service until the close of the war, serving on
courts-martial and military commissions as judge Advocate,
at Cincinnati, Indianapolis, and other places. I ii tli e fal I
of iS64 he was appointed judge Advocate of the District of
Indiana, with office at Indianapolis, where be remained
until i866. Whei-i he entered upon the new and responsible
duties incident to this position, there were hundreds of
criminals in the military prison-, at Indianapolis, and the
plans of the Soiis of Liberty and Knights of the Golden
Circle to release and arm the rebel prisoners in the Nortli
bad just come to libt. The whole i-ii,,ii-i-igenient of the
judge Advocate's department in that district was given to
him by General Hovey, who was then in command, and
althou,h the duties of District jud,e Advocate did not r, —quire im to act as judge. Advocate of a military court, yet
as soon as the necessary records,. clerks, and phonographic
reporters were provided, he organized two military courts,
and served as judge Advocate. of both, one court sitting ii-i
the forenoon, with one pbono i-apbic reportei-, and the other
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