Lawrence Taliaferro

Lawrence Taliaferro (/ˈtʌlɪvər/; February 28, 1794–January 22, 1871) was a United States Army officer best known for his service as an Indian agent at Fort Snelling, Minnesota, from 1820 through 1839 and also as an individual who played a part in the saga of the famous African American slave Dred Scott.

Taliaferro was born at Whitehall Plantation in King George County, Virginia to James Garnett Taliaferro and his wife Wilhelmina (Wishart) Taliaferro. During the War of 1812, he enlisted at age 18 as a volunteer in a Virginia militia company. He was soon selected to study for a regular Army commission, and was made an ensign of the 1st United States Infantry Regiment in July 1813. He chose to remain in the Army after the war, intending to make it his career.

Taliaferro partnered with Colonel Josiah Snelling to ensure peace and safety for the frontier outpost. His role was to mediate between the American Fur Company traders, the Ojibwa and Dakota Indians in the area, and United States interests. His was a difficult task, as evidenced by his diary: "How to get rid of me at this Post seems now the main object of Tom, Dick, and Harry — so that those who may come after me can the more easily be bribed or threatened into silence and acquiesce in the plans on foot to cheat & destroy the Indians."

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