Zachary Taylor was born in Virginia in 1784 and was taken to Kentucky as an infant to be raised on a plantation. He was a career officer in the Army, but his talk was most often about cotton farming. His home was in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and he owned a plantation in Mississippi.
He spent a quarter of a century policing the frontiers against Indians. In the Mexican War, he won major victories at Monterrey and Buena Vista. This caused President Polk to keep him at arm's length, Polk sending Taylor to northern Mexico.
Soon, Taylor was elected president by his political party. Taylor however, did not respond well to having a boss. He often acted as if he was above parties and politics. He also tried to run his administration in the same fashion in which he fought the Indians. Taylor was at the frontlines when his decision to force territories to apply for statehood backfired on him, as congress was very unlikely to approve an application where the state allowed slavery.
After participating in ceremonies at the Washington Monument on a blistering July 4, Taylor fell ill; within five days he was dead. After his death, the forces of compromise triumphed, but the war Taylor had been willing to face came 11 years later. In it, his only son Richard served as a general in the Confederate Army.
Fun Facts:
- President James Madison was Taylor's second cousin.
- There are theories that Taylor was assassinated and that the snack he ate beforehand was poisoned.
- Taylor died while eating buttermilk and cherries that were contaminated with cholera.
Zachary Taylor:
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