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| Charles Cox from Percy Hart's History and Directory of the Three Towns, 1904, p.167 |
To be frank, this article includes much speculation about Cox because records of his life are extremely sparse. The writer hopes the reader will indulge his speculations and assumptions.
Two questions about the Taylor-Cox connection remain unanswered. What was their relationship after the Civil War, and how did Charles Cox become a prosperous member of the Brownsville, Pennsylvania community?
Let us begin with Taylor's war service. Lieutenant Taylor enlisted at the age of 27 into Company E at Washington, PA. He was likely recruited by Captain Henry A. Purviance, the co-publisher of a Washington, PA newspaper. [See last week's post for a profile of Purviance]. Taylor served as a first lieutenant along with Thompson Purviance, a young cousin of Henry Purviance who was killed at Seven Pines.
Taylor spent 13 months in the 85th Pennsylvania. He is listed as having been wounded at Seven Pines on May 31, 1862. He was medically dismissed for "partial paralysis" almost six months later on November 22, 1862.
When Taylor returned to Washington County, he was accompanied by an African-American from Virginia named Charles Cox. One source noted that Cox was from the area of Norfolk, Virginia. If so, they two probably met wither when the regiment landed at Hampton Roads for the Peninsula Campaign in April of 1862 or while the regiment was stationed at nearby Suffolk, VA between September and December of 1862. Cox may have been a free man, but more likely a displaced slave who became employed by Taylor as a valet or cook during Taylor's time in the army. Cox may have tended to Taylor's physical needs in camp as a result of the paralysis.
At the time of the meeting between Cox and Taylor, the issue of emancipation of slaves was highly controversial. President Abraham Lincoln had issued the Emancipation Proclamation on September 22, 1862. It was to take effect on January 1, 1863 for slaves in the states of the Confederacy. Many Americans, including Union soldiers, spent the fall of 1862 debating the issue. While abolitionists were pleased, many other northerners were concerned that the primary goal of the war, which so far had been saving the Union, would be superseded by freedom for slaves.
Cox was around 50 or so years old when the two returned to western Pennsylvania together. Perhaps Taylor, who seems to have come from a well-to-do family (a brother became a college professor), felt he still needed help in his recovery. He may also have valued Cox's companionship and perhaps even friendship while camped at Suffolk.
By 1880, Taylor was living in the western part of Washington County near the Monongahela River. Cox had crossed the Monongahela River to live in Luzerne Township, a part of Brownsville, Fayette County. Cox probably did not work for Taylor at this time, but the two appear to have remained on friendly terms. By this time, Cox was married to Catherine (Peyton) and had two sons, Henry and William.
Catherine was younger than Charles, by about 25 years, according to their shared headstone. The 1880 census lists her as having been born in Virginia, leading to the possibility that she traveled north with Taylor and Cox in 1862. Both sons are recorded as having been born Pennsylvania. Catherine would have been around 20 years of age when Taylor and Cox left the regiment.
Charles Cox is listed in the 1880 census as being employed as a laborer. Accounts of his age vary wildly. This census lists his age as 65, meaning his birth would have been round 1815. His headstone, however, lists his birth year as 1799, meaning he would have been over 80 years of age in 1880. In Percy Hart's history of Brownsville, Cox is noted as having been 107 years old at his death in 1899, making his birth year around 1792.
Also perhaps noteworthy in the 1880 census is that Cox and his family lived among white neighbors at this time.
In his 1904 history of the Brownsville area, local resident and author Percy Hart lists Cox among the three most prominent African American residents of the town. Hart includes a photo of Cox (top of page), who had died a few years earlier, but offers no other biographical information.
In 1891, the Connellsville Weekly Courier carried this brief paragraph about Cox.
Although the article highlights the fact that Cox was given a place of honor at the regimental reunion, the language used is cringe-worthy by modern standards. The article used the term "captured" to describe Cox's attachment to the regiment, which does not appear to be a matter of coercion, and does not mention Taylor's role in his migration to the North.
Furthermore, City Point, VA was developed into a Union base in 1864, 19 months after Cox left Virginia for Pennsylvania.
In reality, Cox probably was considered an honorary part of the regiment; his presence at the reunion may have reminded the veterans that the freedom of people like Cox was one of the positive outcomes of the war.
The article also states Cox was captured by"the Brownsville company." This is incorrect. Company C was the company of the 85th Pennsylvania with men mostly from Brownsville and the immediate area. Taylor was a member of Company E, which were men from Washington and Greene Counties. Taylor did hail from East Bethlehem and Centreville, PA in Washington County, just a few miles from Brownsville. The fact that Cox settled near Brownsville may have led to the assumption in the article that he was first associated with the "Brownsville company."
Taylor went on to a prominent career in local business and politics. After recovering from the paralysis, he worked as a clerk for a railroad company in Pittsburgh. In 1886, he was appointed the commissioner of the Cumberland Road (today's Route 40 in Pennsylvania) by Governor Robert E. Pattison, replacing fellow 85th Pennsylvania veteran Moses McKeag, who had passed away. A year later, Taylor was elected as a commissioner for Washington County. (Commemorative Biographical Record of Washington County, Pennsylvania, Volume 1, 1893)
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| Hart's Directory, p.255 |
This death registry lists Taylor and Cox as having died on the same day.
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| Obituary for Robert G. Taylor Pittsburgh Daily Post, 11-21-1899, p.1 |
This article about the Taylor-Cox relationship seems to contain fairly accurate information about Cox, who very likely was a servant for Taylor during the war.
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| Obituary for Charles Cox Pittsburgh Press, 11-21-1899, p.8 |
This article notes Cox's nickname as "Captain Charlie." It is unknown where Cox picked up this moniker. If he were born near Norfolk, he may have worked at the port there. Or he may have worked on the river at Brownsville, where passenger and cargo ships were docked and maintained during the 1800's. The article notes that Cox was financially successful but does not state the kind of work in which he had engaged.
Cox was buried in Brownsville and has a rather prominent headstone for himself and his family, perhaps denoting that he did indeed find financial success after he crossed the Mason-Dixon Line into Pennsylvania.
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| New Bethlehem (PA) Vindicator 11-24-1899, p.6 |
Finally, this article from a newspaper in northeast Pennsylvania focuses on the unusual matter of the two men passing away on the same day: November 20, 1899. It also implies that they maintained some sore of relationship after returning from the war.
Robert G. Taylor is buried in the Taylor Cemetery in Centreville, Washington County, PA.
