Zachary
Taylor, the son of a farmer, was born in Montebello, Virginia, on
24th November, 1784. Soon after his birth the family migrated to Kentucky
and in 1806 Taylor joined the United States
Army.
In 1810 Taylor married Margaret Smith and the couple had six children,
including Sarah Knox Taylor, who was later to marry Jefferson
Davis. During the 1812 War Taylor successfully held Fort Harrison.
He also took part in Black Hawk War (1832) and the Seminole Wars (1835-42)
in Florida. Taylor defeated the Seminoles
at Okeechobee Swamp in 1837 and was given command of the army in the
South-West.
In December, 1845, James Polk, the president
of the United States, announced the annexation of Texas. This marked
the beginning of the Mexican War and
Taylor and a 4,000 man army marched into the Rio Grande. Taylor defeated
the Mexicans at Palo Alto on 8th May, 1846 and in September captured
Monterrey.
Taylor upset James Polk when he granted
the Mexican Army an eight-week armistice. Polk took away Taylor's
best troops and ordered him to fight a defensive war. Taylor disobeyed
these orders and in February, 1847, marched south and although outnumbered
four to one, defeated the Mexican Army at Buena Vista.
In 1848 the Whig Party selected Taylor as
its candidate for president. He obtained 1,360,101 votes and defeated
the Democratic Party candidate, Lewis
Cass (1,220,544) and Martin Van Buren
(291,263) of the Free Soil Party.
The great issue before the nation was the problem of slavery
in the land taken from Mexico. New Mexico and California were being
ruled by military governors but Taylor favoured them becoming part
of the United States. This became more complicated after the people
of California and New Mexico approved constitutions prohibiting slavery.
Taylor's son-in-law, Jefferson Davis and
John Calhoun, led the pro-slavery faction
in Congress that opposed the admission of California and New Mexico
as free states. Zachary Taylor died on 9th July, 1850 and was replaced
by his vice president, Millard
Fillmore, before
this issue was decided.
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