12. Zachary Taylor

Zachary Taylor had a long and distinguished military career, followed by a rather short and unremarkable presidency. 

He joined the Army in 1808 as a First Lieutenant and served in the War of 1812.  During the defense of Fort Harrison against an attack by Tecumseh, Taylor and his 50 men held off 400 natives.  As a result of his actions he was given a brevet major rank (he had been promoted to captain in 1810).  He was the first person in the Army to be given a brevet rank (the brevet rank is temporary rank that often comes with more responsibility, but no more pay).  Once the war was over he was reduced back to a captain; this did not sit well with him and he left the Army.  It wasn’t long before he was back in.  Over the course of 40 years Taylor served in the War of 1812 and the Black Hawk War (1832-37), fought the Seminole Indians (1837), and finally served in the war with Mexico.  During the Black Hawk War, he personally accepted the surrender of Chief Black Hawk.  He served with great distinction during wars with the Seminole Indians in Florida.  Eventually he was given command of all the troops in Florida.  By this time he had been promoted to brigadier general.  It was in Florida that he got his famous nickname “Old Rough and Ready”.

It was during the war with Mexico that Taylor gained national fame.  In 1845, President Polk sent Taylor down to the disputed border area between Texas and Mexico.  When Taylor’s men were attacked by Mexican forces Polk told Congress that a state of war existed.  On May 8, 1846, Taylor defeated a Mexican army 3 times the size of his force at Palo Alto.  Taylor’s use of artillery gave him the advantage over the Mexican forces.  Victory brought another promotion, this time to major general.

In September, he again defeated a much larger Mexican force at Monterrey in northern Mexico.  This battle involved fighting in the city literally in hand-to-hand combat in an urban setting.  The Mexican defenders surrendered after Taylor agreed to an 8 week armistice.  He faced criticism for allowing the Mexican army to leave with their weapons and did not get agreement that they would not fight again.  Polk, by this time, started to get uncomfortable with the success and praise that Taylor was receiving.  Even though Polk had pledged not to run for president again he was getting concerned that Taylor might be recruited to run for president from a rival party.  Polk was critical of Taylor after Monterrey, and might have removed him if Taylor wasn’t so popular.  Instead what Polk did was order Winfield Scott to take Mexico City and gave him many of Taylor’s best troops.

The Mexican general, Santa Anna, intercepted a letter that stated that Taylor was left with only about 5,000 men.  Santa Anna determined that he was going to attack Taylor with 15,000 – 20,000 Mexican troops.  This battle took place at the Battle of Buena Vista.  It lasted two days and ended as a huge victory for Taylor.  During the battle, Santa Anna had Taylor’s forces pinned down and sent a message to Taylor requesting his surrender.  The response that was sent back was “Tell him to go to hell!”.  After the battle, as Polk had feared, members of the Whig party began to encourage Taylor to run for president.

Taylor defeated Lewis Cass (Democrat) and Martin Van Buren (Free Soil) in the 1848 election.  With little experience in politics and believing himself to be independent, Taylor did not buy into the entire Whig platform.  He was opposed to the ideas of a national bank, increasing tariffs and spending federal money on internal improvements.  Even though he was a slave holder, he believed that the future states should have the right to decide in their own constitutions if they would allow slavery.  This did not endear him to southern politicians, some of whom began to discuss secession.  He reportedly told 3 southern congressmen speaking of secession, “If it becomes necessary, in executing the laws, I will take command of the army myself, and, if you are then taken in rebellion against the Union, I will hang you with less reluctance than I hanged deserters and spies in Mexico.”

The Compromise of 1850 was being hotly debated when Taylor died.  He did not come out strongly in favor or against the compromise.  I’ll cover this when I write up Millard Fillmore since that is when it passed, but in general, it consisted of 5 majors items: California statehood, Texan claims to New Mexico lands, the Fugitive Slave Law, slave trading in DC, and two new territories (Utah and New Mexico).

His only international accomplishment had to do with a proposed canal across Honduras.  The Clayton-Bulwer treaty was important because it stated that neither the US nor the UK could claim control over any canals built in Central America.

On July 4, 1850, after watching a dedication ceremony for the Washington Monument, Taylor returned to the White House where he reportedly ate a bowl of cherries and drank a glass of milk.  He died on July 9, just 16 months into his term of office.  His cause of death was listed as gastroenteritis.  There has been speculation that he was poisoned with arsenic.  He was even exhumed in 1991 so tests could be run; the results proving that the levels of arsenic in his body were several hundred times lower than a fatal dosage.

 

Fun Facts!

• Zachary Taylor’s son-in-law was Jefferson Davis (his daughter Sarah died from Malaria 3 months after marrying him)
• His only son, Robert, served as a lieutenant general in the Confederate army
• Due to religious reasons, Taylor refused to be inaugurated on March 4th (a Sunday) as stated in the Constitution at the time;  Because the Polk administration had officially ended, and no president or vice president was sworn in, the President Pro Tempore of the Senate (David Atchison)was technically president for a day
• Taylor is the only president that died in office despite being elected in a year ending in a zero, although he did die in a year ending in “0” (1850)
• He is one of only 4 presidents that did not get to nominate a judge for the Supreme Court (William Henry Harrison, Andrew Johnson, Jimmy Carter)
• Taylor was the last southerner elected president until Lyndon Johnson
• Taylor has the 3rd shortest presidency after Harrison and Garfield
• Taylor never voted in an election as he never registered to vote
• He is the last president to own slaves while in office
• During the war with Mexico a controversy arose due to Taylor have two officers working for him of equal rank, but one held a brevet rank.  This led to an issue over which officer had seniority and eventually forced the army to review the brevet rank.