author
Susie King Taylor
1848–1912
Born into slavery in Georgia, she became a teacher, Civil War nurse, and memoirist whose life opened a rare firsthand window into Black freedom and service during the war. Her story is both deeply personal and historically important.
1 Audiobook
About the author
Susie King Taylor was born in Georgia in 1848 and spent her early years enslaved. As a child, she learned to read and write in secret, despite laws meant to prevent Black people from getting an education. During the Civil War, she escaped to Union lines and soon began teaching formerly enslaved children and adults, making her one of the first Black teachers to openly teach African Americans in Georgia.
She is especially remembered for her work with a Black Union regiment, where she served as a nurse, laundress, and helper to soldiers in camp. Her experiences gave her a close view of the war and of the courage of Black troops fighting for freedom. Later, she wrote Reminiscences of My Life in Camp with the 33d United States Colored Troops, the only known published Civil War memoir by a Black woman.
After the war, Taylor lived in Savannah and later Boston, continuing to work and support her community. Today she is remembered not only for what she did, but for what she preserved: a clear, firsthand account of education, military service, and Black life in a time of enormous change.