2nd Lt. William Taggart, 2nd Regiment N.H. Continental Line
William Taggart was born December 1, 1751 in Derry, New Hampshire. He was the son of William, Sr. and Mary (McCormick) Taggart.
William Taggard was commissioned as an Ensign in Captain Elijah Clayes’ Company of the 2nd Regiment, New Hampshire Continental Line on November 8, 1776. His residence is given as Hillsborough, Hampshire. During the retreat from Ticonderoga, Ensign Taggart was wounded in the right shoulder on July 6, 1777 at the Battle of Hubbardton.
On December 29, 1777, Ensign Taggard was promoted to Lieutenant. During the Continental Army’s encampment at Valley Forge, Lieutenant Taggart is listed as “Present” for December 1777 and January 1778 and “Sick” for February 1778-June 1778. This sickness is revealed in his Pension as smallpox, and as a result he lost the use of one of his eyes.
Lieutenant Taggart was discharged from service on February 4, 1780. His name appears on a list on invalid pensioners returned by the Circuit Court for the District of New Hampshire that was submitted to the U.S. House of Representatives by the Secretary of War on December 14, 1792. His monthly allowance was $5.33 1/3 and he was paid $120.00 in arrears.
In 1781, William Taggart married Sarah Mead.
Lieutenant Taggart died March 20, 1830 in Hillsborough, New Hampshire.
Sources: Francis B. Heitman, Historical Register of Officers of the Continental Army, (Baltimore, 1914), 531; Pension for Lieutenant William Taggard, S. 19809; Selected Wartime Service Records of Lieutenant William Taggard.
