Unbounded: Susie King Taylor's Civil War

Abstract

The goal of this thesis—a literary, historical, and biographical analysis of Susie King Taylor’s virtually-forgotten 1902 Reminiscences of My Life in Camp with the 33D United States Colored Troops Late 1st S.C. Volunteers—is to add to discussion about this “slave narrative” which has never been the subject of in-depth investigative scholarship. With a particular focus on why Taylor’s voice is so consciously spare and unemotional, why the work is often interpreted as revealing little about her personal life, and whether the latter is actually the case, I hope to create a broader understanding of Taylor herself as well as of the situations she describes. To do this, I have added relevant information from contemporary primary sources, including the writings of Thomas Wentworth Higginson, Colonel of the 33rd United States Colored Troops, who provided an introduction to Taylor’s memoir. Key results of my research include: the possibility that Taylor was freed by her master at a young age or perhaps not even a slave; new information about her husband Edward King’s role in the 33rd U.S.C.T.; and the name and occupation of her only child, among other things. I suggest that this interface of biographical information and the historical moment in which Taylor lived and wrote is where we can locate a primary theme of Reminiscences: black female agency. Susie King Taylor is an exemplar of agency, as were all the female relatives she mentions. A more nuanced picture of this remarkable woman is certainly worth painting.