Really Cool Stuff about Zachary Taylor
1. After the victory of Fort Harrison, Taylor was awarded the first ever brevet in American history. “The most remarkable of Taylor’s honors, however, came from President James Madison himself. On October 31, 1812, the Intelligencer announced that Captain Zachary Taylor had been awarded the rank of brevet major. It was the first brevet ever awarded in United States history.” (p. 11).
2. A young lieutenant in the Second Dragoons, Jefferson Davis, fell deeply in love with Zachary Taylor’s eighteen-year-old daughter, Sarah. Taylor, however, had a marked antipathy for Jefferson, vowing that no daughter of his would ever marry into the military. In an effort to assuage his prospective father-in-law, Jefferson Davis resigned from the army a few years later but Taylor’s hatred had not abated. Sarah eventually eloped with Davis on June 30, 1835. “There was, unfortunately, to be no happy ending. Leaving Louisville after a large family wedding, the newlyweds took a steamer down the Mississippi to visit Davis’ elder brother, Joseph. There, in early August, both Sarah and Jefferson contracted malaria, and soon Sarah died. Death came suddenly and unexpectedly” (p. 25). Davis would marry again years later and also reenter the army. He would fight in the Mexican War under General Taylor and they would eventually become great friends.
3. At one point, Taylor commanded Fort Gibson, Oklahoma, which was the famous last stop of the “Trail of Tears.”
4. Even Taylor’s horse was famous. His name was Old Whitey and when Taylor died, it was saddled with a pair of the General’s boots turned backwards in the stirrups. Old Whitey followed the casket all the way to the cemetery.
5. During the Mexican War, Taylor unveiled new weapons technology which was called flying artillery. “Whereas the Mexican artillery, lacking explosive projectiles, bounced its iron balls on the ground in front of the lines, Taylor’s artillery tore holes in the Mexican ranks” (p. 48). This new weapon would give the Americans a decided advantage in the war and eventually lead to victory in Mexico.
6. Brownsville, TX was named during the Mexican War. “On entering Fort Texas, he [Taylor] was happy to learn that casualties among the garrison were light. He was saddened, however, to learn that the commander, Jacob Brown, had been killed on the morning of May 5. Taylor renamed the bastion Fort Brown. Its remnants still remain in the town that bears its name, Browsville” (p. 51).
7. During the Mexican War, the Texas Rangers gained fame. “Taylor had attained the services of the Second Regiment of Texas Mounted Volunteers, known more familiarly as the Texas Rangers” (p. 57).
8. It was during Taylor’s presidency that a seventh cabinet position would be added: Secretary of the Interior.
9. Taylor coined the term “First Lady” upon the death of Dolley Madison in 1849. “It was at Mrs. Madison’s funeral that Taylor coined a new term for the American lexicon: ‘First Lady’” (p. 97).
10. On July 4, 1850, mere days before his death, Taylor attended a ceremony which laid the cornerstone for the future Washington Monument.
This book was a very concise account of Zachary Taylor’s life and a relatively easy read. I mean, there were only 140 pages for goodness sake but I felt that all the pertinent information was included. I also felt that I was given a good idea of what Taylor was like as a down-to-earth general quite literally stumbling into the highest office in the land. If I look at Taylor in today’s light, I can’t quite imagine him as our president but to the hero of the Mexican War there was no other alternative.
I also have to admit something: I winced every time I had to use the word “Mexicans” and I realized that I have been brainwashed. Even though we fought a war against the Mexicans, as a people, I found myself wanted to mitigate that word and write “Mexican-Americans” or something less offensive. It’s amazing how PC and supersensitive I am—how my modern-day United States has let me know that I must be careful. Interesting.
As I’ve read a number of books about this era, I’ve noticed that the historians are all enticed by one giant question: What if Zachary Taylor had lived? More than one author has mentioned this one particular question in relation to the causality of the Civil War. For instance, if Taylor had lived, would there have been a Civil War at all? Or if he had lived would the Civil War have been postponed? While there hasn’t been total agreement on this, most historians do agree on one point—that if Taylor had lived, Franklin Pierce would never have been president. Not having read about Pierce yet I can’t offer any opinion but I have to admit that my curiosity is piqued. Check out this statement by John Eisenhower “At the very least, had Taylor lived and been reelected, as seems likely, the country would have been spared the dismal presidency of Franklin Pierce, and history could well have been different” (p. 137). It’s suppositions like that that make reading history exciting. With most presidential pundits treating Pierce like a total zero, I looking forward to plowing through Millard just to get to the good stuff.
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