Library of Congress
- NAME – Zachary Taylor
- NICKNAME(S) – Old Rough and Ready
- BIRTH / DEATH – Nov. 24, 1784 Barboursville, Va. / 1850 Washington, D.C.
- FATHER – plantation owner
- MOTHER – housewife
- COLLEGE – none
- WIFE – Margaret “Peggy”
- KIDS – 6 – five girls (one died age 1 and one died at age 4)
- PETS – horse (Old Whitey)
- RELIGION – Episcopalian
- ANCESTRY – English
- AGE – 64
FIRSTS:
– first President not to have served in the Congress or the Continental Congress
MA AND PA: Father was a Lt. Col. under Gen. Washington in the Revolutionary War. He was given 6,000 acres for his service from which he created a plantation near Louisville.
BACKGROUND:
– joined the Virginia militia at age 22
– joined the Army in 1810
– 1837 – defeated the Seminole Indians at the Battle of Lake Okeechobee in Florida
– led an army in the Mexican War and won the Battle of Buena Vista 1846-48
FIRST LADY: Peggy was a military wife who followed her husband around. She was the daughter of a Revolutionary War veteran.
RETIREMENT: None. He died in office. His last words were: “I have always done my duty. I am ready to die. My only regret is for the friends I leave behind me.”
TRIVIA:
– favorite food – beignets
– his commission in the Army was from his second cousin, Secretary of State James Madison
– his famous horse in the Mexican War was “Old Whitey”
– he owned more than one hundred slaves
– his daughter Sarah married Jefferson Davis
– he refused to be sworn in as President on a Sunday, so Senate President Pro Tempore David Atchison was President for a day
– the first time he voted was when he voted for himself for President
– there were spittoons in almost every room in the White House; Taylor took pride in his ability to hit the spittoon dead center with his chewing tobacco; he loved chewing tobacco
– famous for wearing shabby civilian clothes when he was a general
ANECDOTES:
THE ONE DAY PRESIDENT
President Polk’s term ended at noon on March 4, 1849. But incoming President Taylor refused to be sworn in on a Sunday. According to the Constitution, President pro tempore of the Senate was next in line since Polk’s Vice President had resigned a few days earlier. So, David Atchinson was President for one day. He did not take advantage of it and spent most of the time sleeping.
– Shenkman 83
THE PRODIGAL SON-IN-LAW
In 1832, Taylor was commandant of Fort Crawford in Wisconsin. A new West Point graduate arrived at the fort and soon was dating Taylor’s daughter Sarah (called by her middle name Knox). The couple fell in love and wanted to marry, but Taylor refused to give permission. Having been a soldier most of his life, he knew it was a rough life for wives. The constant movement from one post to another was not something he wanted for his daughter. The love birds waited two and a half years for Knox to become legal. Davis resigned his military commission so his commanding officer could not stop him and they married despite Taylor’s displeasure. The newlyweds made a trip to his plantation in Mississippi with a stopover in Louisiana to visit relatives. They both caught malaria and three months into the marriage they had waited so long for, Knox was dead. A despondent Davis became a recluse on his plantation for the next eight years. He saw only his brother and his slaves. In the 1840’s, he reemerged into society. He remarried and was elected to the House of Representatives in 1845. When the Mexican War broke out, he volunteered and commanded a regiment in Gen. Taylor’s army. He fought gallantly and was wounded at Taylor’s signature victory in the Battle of Buena Vista. Taylor visited him in the hospital and told him: “My daughter was a better judge of men than I was.” When Taylor was President, he and Davis disagreed about secession, but the Davis’ were frequent guests at the White House.
– Shenkman 84-85
RETURN TO SENDER
Taylor was nominated as the Whig candidate for President in June, 1848, but he did not find out until July. A letter from the Whig Party informing him of his selection arrived postage due and he refused to pay the ten cents. This was not as crazy as it sounds. Although stamps had been introduced one year earlier, most mail was still under the old system of the recipient paying the postage when it arrived. Taylor, being famous, received a lot of unsolicited mail and had a policy of refusing most of the mail he received.
– Shenkman 85