Susie King Taylor (1848-1912) was the first Black nurse in the Civil War, who nursed Black soldiers back to health - and cooked them delicious meals.
Susie King Taylor (1848-1912) was the first Black nurse in the Civil War, who nursed Black soldiers back to health - and cooked them delicious meals.
Food has been a unifier for millennia, not just gathering people together to share a meal, but acting as a warm introduction to new histories and traditions. This February on Womanica, we’re celebrating Tastemakers - the Black chefs, cooks, and food historians who created new foodways and preserved important culinary stories of the past. The impact of chefs like Pig Foot Mary, Mama Dip, and Georgia Gilmore stretch far beyond the culinary scene - uplifting their local communities and inspiring those who came after them.
History classes can get a bad rap, and sometimes for good reason. When we were students, we couldn’t help wondering... where were all the ladies at? Why were so many incredible stories missing from the typical curriculum? Enter, Womanica. On this Wonder Media Network podcast we explore the lives of inspiring women in history you may not know about, but definitely should.
Every weekday, listeners explore the trials, tragedies, and triumphs of groundbreaking women throughout history who have dramatically shaped the world around us. In each 5 minute episode, we’ll dive into the story behind one woman listeners may or may not know–but definitely should. These diverse women from across space and time are grouped into easily accessible and engaging monthly themes like Educators, Villains, Indigenous Storytellers, Activists, and many more. Womanica is hosted by WMN co-founder and award-winning journalist Jenny Kaplan. The bite-sized episodes pack painstakingly researched content into fun, entertaining, and addictive daily adventures.
Womanica was created by Liz Kaplan and Jenny Kaplan, executive produced by Jenny Kaplan, and produced by Liz Smith, Grace Lynch, Maddy Foley, Brittany Martinez, Edie Allard, Lindsey Kratochwill, Adesuwa Agbonile, Carmen Borca-Carrillo, Taylor Williamson, Ale Tejeda, Sara Schleede, Abbey Delk, and Alex Jhamb Burns. Special thanks to Shira Atkins.
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Hello! From Wonder Media Network, I’m Chef Kia Damon.
I'm a Florida born chef, writer, host and recipe developer. I served as an executive Chef of New York City restaurant Lalito at the age of 24, and became Cherry Bombe magazine's first Culinary Director at 25. Since leaving I've founded Kia Feeds The People, a budding mutual aid effort. I’ll be your guest host for this month of Womanica.
This month, we’re talking about Tastemakers. We’re celebrating the Black chefs, cooks, and food historians who created new foodways and preserved important culinary stories of the past.
Today, we’re talking about the first Black nurse in the Civil War, who nursed Black soldiers back to health - and cooked them delicious meals. Let’s talk about Susie King Taylor.
Susie King Taylor was born on August 6th, 1848, on a plantation in Liberty County, Georgia. Susie’s mother was enslaved, and so was she. But at seven years old, Susie and two of her siblings got the opportunity to leave the plantation. They traveled to Savannah, Georgia, to live with their grandmother, a free woman.
At the time in Georgia, it was illegal for Black people to learn to read or write. That didn’t deter Susie - in Savannah, she and her brother began attending a secret school for Black children. To avoid detection, the school’s students would wrap their books in paper, and enter the school one at a time.. From a young age, Susie used her education to help her community. She would write passes for her family and friends, so they could travel at night without being arrested.
In April of 1862, a year after the Civil War began, Susie left Savannah and traveled to St. Catherines island, a community off the coast of Georgia. There, Susie, her uncle and his family received protection from the Union Army. A few weeks later, they were taken to St. Simons Island, where hundreds of Black Civil War refugees were being held.
On St. Simons,, at only 14 years old, Susie founded the first ever school for Black people. She taught around forty free Black children during the day, and their parents at night.
During her time on St. Simons, confederate soldiers would often raid Susie’s camp to capture refugees and re-enslave them. The men living on the island started a militia to fight the soldiers off. When the Union Army caught wind of this, they sent a captain out to St. Simons, to recruit the men for a Black regiment of the Union Army. Thus - the 33rd United States Colored infantry was born.
Susie joined the regiment as a laundress, and soon afterwards married Edward King, an officer. She was only fifteen years old. And though she started off washing clothes, she soon expanded her list of titles. When a large part of the regiment came down with a smallpox variant, Susie - who had already been vaccinated against smallpox - became their nurse.
She also took on the task of teaching the soldiers how to read. She learned how to assemble, disassemble, and shoot a gun. And she was the regiment’s cook. After one particularly harrowing battle in the war, she wanted to cook something special for the soldiers - but all she had on hand was turtle eggs and a few cans of condensed milk. She had never cooked with turtle eggs before, but she decided to try something new - and ended up making a delicious custard that she served to the wounded troops.
While the Black soldiers in the regiment were compensated for their service, Susie was never paid for her work in the Union Army. In 1866, after the war had ended, she returned to Savannah and opened a private school for Black children. She charged a dollar a month in tuition. That same year, her husband Edward died in a work accident. Soon afterwards, a free public school opened in Savannah - putting Susie out of business.
She spent a few years trying to open other private schools, but most of her attempts failed. Finally, in 1872, she began working as a laundress for a wealthy white family. After a year, she became their cook - her food was so good, it won a prize for ‘excellent cooking’ at the summer fair.
In 1874, Susie moved to Boston, where she worked as a domestic servant. She grew to love the city, and later wrote she felt that Black people were treated more fairly there than in the South, where Black people were being, quote, “burned, tortured, and denied a fair trial.”
In 1979, Susie remarried, and left her job. Soon after, she helped found Corps 67, which helped raise money for Black Civil War veterans.
Susie died in 1912. Her story lives on in the book she self-published in 1902 - called Reminiscences of My Life In Camp with the 33rd United States Colored Troops Late 1st S. C. Volunteers. It was one of the first memoirs self-published by a Black woman about the Civil War.
All month, we’re talking about tastemakers. For more information, find us on Facebook and Instagram @womanicapodcast.
Special thanks to Jenny and Liz Kaplan for letting me guest host this month of Womanica.
As always, we’re taking a break for the weekend. Talk to you Monday!