Theiss, Nancy. Oldham County Live at the River's Edge, Charleston, SC: The History Press, 2010.
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| Richard Taylor |
p. 10 Commodore Richard Taylor was certainly one of the most distinguished pioneers and early citizens of Oldham County. Born in Orange County, Virginia, the commodore married twice and had six sons and five daughters. Taylor was comissioned as a captain in the navy during the Revolutionary War in 1775. He was wounded twice, in the knee and thigh, and retired from active duty in 1781. His vessel, the Tartar, was engaged in battle with an English schooner when he received his first wound (the thing). In November 1781, he was commondore of the Patriot in another battle with an English cruiser just outside Chesapeake Bay. The following description of the battle scene was written by Mr. ANderson, who worked with Commodore Taylor and collected historical records, according to Lucien Rule's Pioneering in Masonry:
The sea was calm and the breeze insufficient to manipulate his vessel. Captain Taylor, therefore, determined to attack the Englishmen in open boas and board and capture her by a hand to hand fight. As his boats approached the enemy, they were the target for volley after volley from the guns of the British, but without damage to any of them. The American seamen were enthusiastic and felt that victory was within their grasp, when one of Captain Taylor's sailors, making mock of the British fire, exclaimed, "Why don't you elevate your mettle?" This hint to elevate the
