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{{two other uses|the twelfth President of the United States|the U.S. Representative from Tennessee|Zachary Taylor (Tennessee)|the Power Rangers character|Zack Taylor}}
{{Infobox_President | name=Zachary Taylor
| nationality=American
| image=ztaylor.jpg
| order=12th [[President of the United States]]
| term_start=[[March 4]], [[1849]]<ref>*Taylor's term of service was scheduled to begin on [[March 4]], [[1849]], but as this day fell on a Sunday, Taylor refused to be sworn in until the following day. Vice President Millard Fillmore was also not sworn in on that day. Most scholars believe that according to the [[United States Constitution|U.S. Constitution]], Taylor's term began on March 4, regardless of whether he had taken the oath or not.</ref>
| term_end=[[July 9]], [[1850]]
| predecessor=[[James K. Polk]]
| successor=[[Millard Fillmore]]
| birth_date={{birth date|1784|11|24|mf=y}}
| birth_place=[[Barboursville, Virginia]]
| death_date={{death date and age|1850|07|09|1784|11|24}}
| death_place=[[Washington, D.C.]]
| spouse=[[Margaret Taylor|Margaret Smith Taylor]]
| occupation=[[Soldier]] ([[General]])
| party=[[Whig Party (United States)|Whig]]
| vicepresident=[[Millard Fillmore]]
| religion=[[Episcopal Church in the United States of America|Episcopal]]
| signature=Zachary Taylor Signature.png
|}}
'''Zachary Taylor''' ([[November 24]], [[1784]] – [[July 9]], [[1850]])<ref> Taylor was the first President to have been born after the end of the Revolutionary War and the Treaty of Paris. This makes him the first President born to the undisputed, self-governed American Colonies.</ref> was an [[Military of the United States|American military leader]] and the twelfth [[President of the United States]]. Known as "Old Rough and Ready," Taylor had a 40-year military career in the [[United States Army|U.S. Army]], serving in the [[War of 1812]], [[Black Hawk War]], and [[Seminole Wars|Second Seminole War]] after achieving fame while leading U.S. troops to victory at several critical battles of the [[Mexican-American War]]. A [[Southern United States|Southern]] [[Slavery in the United States|slaveholder]] who opposed the spread of slavery to the [[United States territorial acquisitions|territories]], he was uninterested in politics but was recruited by the [[Whig Party (United States)|Whig Party]] as their nominee in the [[U.S. presidential election, 1848|1848 presidential election]]. In the election Taylor defeated the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] nominee, [[Lewis Cass]], and became the second U.S. president never to hold any prior office (George Washington being the first). Taylor was also the last southerner to be elected president until [[Woodrow Wilson]]. ([[Andrew Johnson]] became president through succession).
As president, Taylor urged settlers in [[New Mexico]] and [[California]] to by-pass the territorial stage and draft constitutions for statehood, setting the stage for the [[Compromise of 1850]].
Taylor died of acute [[gastroenteritis]] just 16 months into his term. [[Vice President of the United States|Vice President]] [[Millard Fillmore]] then became President.
==Early life==
Taylor was born on [[November 24]], [[1784]], in a [[log cabin]] in Montebello, near [[Barboursville, Virginia|Barboursville]] in [[Orange County, Virginia]].
Zachary Taylor was the third of nine children of Colonel Richard Lee Taylor and Sarah Strother. [[James Madison]] was a second cousin and [[Robert E. Lee]] was a third cousin once removed (through [[Richard Lee I|Colonel Richard Lee the Immigrant]]). In his infancy, Taylor's family moved to [[Kentucky]], where Taylor grew up on a [[plantation]]. He was known as "Little Zack" and was educated by private tutors. He was one of the descendants of [[King Edward I]] of [[England]], as well as ''Mayflower'' passengers [[Isaac Allerton]] and [[William Brewster (Pilgrim)|William Brewster]].
Taylor met [[Margaret Taylor|Margaret Mackall Smith]] of [[Maryland]] in early 1810, and they were married on [[June 21]], [[1810]]. They had one son and five daughters, two of whom died in infancy.
*[[Ann Mackall Taylor]] (born [[April 9]], [[1811]])
*[[Sarah Knox Taylor|Sarah Knox "Knoxie" Taylor]] (born [[March 6]], [[1814]]-[[1835]])
*[[Octavia Pannill Taylor]] (born [[1816]])
*[[Mary Smith Taylor]] (born [[1819-1820]])
*[[Mary Elizabeth Bliss|Mary Elizabeth "Betty" Taylor]] (born [[April 20]], [[1824]]-[[1909]])
*[[Richard Taylor (general)|Richard "Dick" Taylor]] (born [[January 27]], [[1826]]-[[1879]]), [[Confederate States Army]] [[General]]
==Military career==
{{Unreferencedsection|date=January 2008}}
[[Image:Zachary Taylor.jpeg|thumb|left|220px|General Zachary Taylor in uniform.]]
On [[May 3]], [[1808]], Taylor joined the U.S. Army, receiving a [[Commissioned officer|commission]] as a [[first lieutenant]] of the [[7th Infantry Regiment (United States)|Seventh Infantry Regiment]]. He was ordered west into [[Indiana Territory]], taking command at the [[Battle of Fort Harrison]]; he was promoted to [[captain]] in November 1810.
During the [[War of 1812]], Taylor became known as a talented military commander. Assigned to command [[Fort Harrison]] on the [[Wabash River]], at the northern edge of present-day [[Terre Haute]], Indiana, he successfully commandeered a small force of soldiers and civilians to stave off a British-inspired attack by about 500 Native Americans between September 4 and September 15. The [[Battle of Fort Harrison]], as it became known, has been referred to as the "first American land victory of the War of 1812." Taylor received a [[Brevet (military)|brevet]] promotion to [[major]] on [[October 31]], [[1812]]. Taylor was promoted to [[Lieutenant Colonel (United States)|lieutenant colonel]] on [[April 20]], [[1819]], and [[Colonel (United States)|colonel]] on [[April 5]], [[1832]].
Taylor served in the [[Black Hawk War]] (May-August 1832) and the Second Seminole War (1835-1842). During the Seminole War, Taylor fought at the [[Battle of Lake Okeechobee]] and received a brevet promotion to [[Brigadier general#United States|brigadier general]] in January 1838. It was here he gained his nickname "Old [[Rough and Ready]]" for his rumpled clothes and wide-brimmed [[straw hat]]. On [[May 15]], [[1838]], Taylor was promoted commanding general of all U.S. forces in [[Florida]].
[[James K. Polk]] sent the Army of Occupation under Taylor's command to the [[Rio Grande]] in 1846. After [[Mexico]] sent a cavalry unit and attacked Taylor's troops (and additionally killed 16 American soldiers), Polk urged [[United States Congress|Congress]] to declare the [[Mexican-American War]]. In that conflict Taylor won additional important victories at [[Battle of Monterrey|Monterrey]] and [[Battle of Buena Vista|Buena Vista]] and became a [[national hero]].
Polk kept Taylor in Northern Mexico, disturbed by his informal habits of command and his affiliation with the Whig Party. He sent an expedition under General [[Winfield Scott]] to capture [[Mexico City]]. Taylor, incensed, thought that "the battle of Buena Vista opened the road to the city of Mexico and the halls of [[Moctezuma II|Montezuma]], that others might revel in them."
==Election of 1848==
{{main|U.S. presidential election, 1848}}
[[Image:Fillmore campaign.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Taylor/Fillmore campaign poster]]
Taylor received the [[United States Whig Party|Whig]] nomination for President in 1848. [[Millard Fillmore]] of Cayuga County, [[New York]] was chosen for the Vice Presidential nominee. Like many other army officers, Taylor was nonpolitical and had never voted. His homespun ways and his status as a war hero were political assets. Taylor defeated [[Lewis Cass]], the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] candidate, and [[Martin Van Buren]], the [[Free Soil]] candidate.
To the astonishment of Whigs, Taylor ignored their platform, as historian Michael Holt explains: <blockquote>
Taylor was equally indifferent to programs Whigs had long considered vital. Publicly, he was artfully ambiguous, refusing to answer queries about his views on banking, the tariff, and internal improvements. Privately, he was more forthright. The idea of a national bank "is dead, and will not be revived in my time." In the future the tariff "will be increased only for revenue"; in other words, Whig hopes of restoring the protective [[tariff of 1842]] were vain. There would never again be surplus federal funds from public land sales to distribute to the states, and internal improvements "will go on in spite of presidential vetoes." In a few words, that is, Taylor pronounced an epitaph for the entire Whig economic program. <ref>Holt 1999 p 272 </ref></blockquote>
==Presidency==
===Policies===
[[Image:The Taylor Administration.jpg|thumb|right|320px|''President Taylor and his Cabinet''<br>From left to right: [[William Ballard Preston|William B. Preston]], [[Thomas Ewing]], [[John M. Clayton]], Zachary Taylor, [[William M. Meredith]], [[George W. Crawford]], [[Jacob Collamer]] and [[Reverdy Johnson]], ([[1849]]).]]
Although Taylor had subscribed to [[United States Whig Party|Whig]] principles of legislative leadership, he was not inclined to be a puppet of Whig leaders in [[Congress of the United States|Congress]]. He ran his administration in the same rule-of-thumb fashion with which he had fought [[Native Americans]].
Under Taylor's administration, the [[United States Department of the Interior]] was organized, although the legislation authorizing the Department had been approved on President Polk's last day in office. He appointed former [[Secretary of the Treasury|Treasury Secretary]] [[Thomas Ewing]] the first [[United States Secretary of the Interior|Secretary of the Interior]].
===The Compromise of 1850===
The slavery issue dominated Taylor's short term. Although he owned slaves, he took a moderate stance on the territorial expansion of slavery, angering fellow Southerners. He told them that if necessary to enforce the laws, he personally would lead the Army. Persons "taken in rebellion against the Union, he would hang ... with less reluctance than he had hanged deserters and spies in Mexico." He never wavered. [[Henry Clay]] then proposed a complex [[Compromise of 1850]]. Taylor died as it was being debated. (The Clay version failed but another version did pass under the new president, [[Millard Fillmore]].)
===Administration and Cabinet===
[[Image:Zachary-Taylor-portrait.jpg|thumb|right|210px|Portrait of Zachary Taylor]]
{{Infobox U.S. Cabinet
|align=left
|clear=yes
|Name=Taylor
|President=Zachary Taylor
|President start=1849
|President end=1850
|Vice President=[[Millard Fillmore]]
|Vice President start=1849
|Vice President end=1850
|State=[[John M. Clayton]]
|State start=1849
|State end=1850
|War=[[George Walker Crawford|George W. Crawford]]
|War start=1849
|War end=1850
|Treasury=[[William M. Meredith]]
|Treasury start=1849
|Treasury end=1850
|Justice=[[Reverdy Johnson]]
|Justice start=1849
|Justice end=1850
|Post=[[Jacob Collamer]]
|Post start=1849
|Post end=1850
|Navy=[[William Ballard Preston|William B. Preston]]
|Navy start=1849
|Navy end=1850
|Interior=[[Thomas Ewing|Thomas Ewing, Sr.]]
|Interior start=1849
|Interior end=1850
}}
===Death===
The cause of Zachary Taylor's death is not well understood. On [[July 4]], [[1850]], Taylor was diagnosed by his physicians with ''cholera morbus'', a term that included [[diarrhea]] and [[dysentery]] but not true [[cholera]]. Cholera, [[typhoid fever]], and [[food poisoning]] have all been indicated as the source of the president's ultimately fatal gastroenteritis. More specifically, a hasty snack of iced milk, cold cherries and pickled cucumbers consumed at an [[Independence Day]] celebration might have been the culprit. <ref>[http://www.historynet.com/picture_of_the_day?podDay=11&podMonth=July Historynet.com Magazine Publisher: Picture of the Day]</ref> By [[July 9]], Taylor was dead.
In [[1991]], with permission from his descendants, Taylor's body was exhumed by the Jefferson County (KY) Coroner, Richard Greathouse, M.D. with the assistance of the Kentucky State Medical Examiner and officials of the Veterans Administration. . At the autopsy, conducted at the offices of the
Kentucky State Medical Examiner, observers noted that Taylor's body, while somewhat decomposed, was still instantly recognizable as the 12th President — Taylor's brow ridge remained intact. Tissue samples, including hair, fingernails and adipocere were removed and sent to the Oak Ridge National Laboratory for testing for the possibility of assassination by means of deliberate poisoning. The laboratory detected traces of [[arsenic]] and sent the results to a Kentucky medical examiner, who determined the quantity of arsenic present — there is a faint amount of arsenic present naturally in the human body — was several hundred times less than there would have been had he been poisoned with arsenic.<ref>[http://www.ornl.gov/info/ornlreview/rev27-12/text/ansside6.html "President Zachary Taylor and the Laboratory: Presidential Visit from the Grave"] from [[Oak Ridge National Laboratory]]</ref> Despite these findings, assassination theories have not been entirely put to rest. [[Michael Parenti]] devoted a chapter in his controversial 1999 book ''History as Mystery'' to what he called "The Strange Death of Zachary Taylor". In it he speculated that Taylor was assassinated and that his autopsy was botched.
[[Image:zachary taylor stamp.JPG|thumb|left|Taylor postage stamp]]
There is some strong evidence that Taylor died from complications of [[heat stroke]]. On July 4, 1850, the weather in Washington was hot and rather humid. Taylor was there to preside over ceremonies at the laying of the cornerstone of the [[Washington Monument]]. Taylor was sporting a thick coat, vest, high-collared shirt, and a top hat. Shortly after arriving, Taylor complained that he was very thirsty. He went to the reception table and downed a large amount of water directly from a pitcher.
Since the water was sitting in the sun, the idea of cholera is a possibility. But Taylor exhibited classic symptoms of heat stroke, particularly red, flushed skin on the face. Records also indicate that Taylor was having trouble walking and exhibiting slurred speech. At no time while outside did anyone loosen or remove Taylor's clothing. Only after returning to the [[White House]] was some of his clothing loosened.
At this point his clothing was removed, but internal organs had already been damaged. In fact, his doctors were mystified as to the cause of multiple organ failure. Medical sciences had not addressed heat stroke and the internal damage caused by it. According to author Charles Panati, Taylor actually awoke briefly and said: "I should not be surprised if this were to result in my death." He took a few sips of iced milk, again adding to the possibility of cholera. He lapsed again into unconsciousness and died on [[July 9]], [[1850]].
Taylor is buried in [[Louisville, Kentucky]], at what is now the [[Zachary Taylor National Cemetery]].
==Surviving family==
*Taylor's son [[Richard Taylor (general)|Richard]] became a [[Confederate States Army|Confederate]] Lieutenant General, while his daughter [[Sarah Knox Taylor]] (1814–1835) had married future [[President of the Confederate States]] [[Jefferson Davis]] three months before her death of [[malaria]].
*Taylor's brother, Joseph Pannill Taylor, was a Brigadier General in the [[Union Army]] during the [[American Civil War|Civil War]]. (Joseph P. Taylor's son [http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/jhtaylor.htm Joseph Hancock Taylor] was a US Colonel in the Civil War and was also a son-in-law of Union General [[Montgomery C. Meigs]]).
*Taylor's niece Emily Ellison Taylor was the wife of Confederate General [[Lafayette McLaws]].
*Ann Taylor's son [[John Taylor Wood]], a [[U.S. Navy]] officer defected to the [[Confederate]] side and later fled to [[Canada]] during the Civil War; his great-grandson [[Zachary Taylor Wood]] was Acting RCMP Commssioner, great-great-grandson [[Stuart Taylor Wood]] was [[Commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police]] and great-great-great-grandsons (Cst. Herschel Wood and Supt.(Ret) John Taylor Wood served in the RCMP.
== References ==
<references/>
==Further reading==
* Bauer, Jack K. ''Zachary Taylor: Soldier, Planter, Statesman of the Old Southwest''. Louisiana State University Press: 1993. ISBN 0-8071-1851-6
* Hamilton, Holman. ''Zachary Taylor: Soldier of the Republic'' (1941) vol 1
* Hamilton, Holman. ''Zachary Taylor: Soldier in the White House'' (1951) vol 2
* Michael F. Holt; ''The Rise and Fall of the American Whig Party: Jacksonian Politics and the Onset of the Civil War.'' (1999)
* Smith, Elbert B. ''The Presidencies of Zachary Taylor and Millard Fillmore''. University Press of Kansas: 1988. ISBN 0-7006-0362-X.
* [[List of United States Presidents who died in office]]
==External links==
{{wikisource author}}
{{wikiquote}}
{{Commons}}
*[http://www.millercenter.virginia.edu/index.php/academic/americanpresident/taylor Extensive essay on Zachary Taylor and shorter essays on each member of his cabinet and First Lady from the Miller Center of Public Affairs]
*[http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/zt12.html White House Biography]
*[http://zacharytaylor.org Biography by Appleton's and Stanley L. Klos]
*[http://www.usa-presidents.info/union/taylor.html Zachary Taylor State of the Union Address]
*[http://www.familytales.org/results.php?tla=zat Zachary Taylor letters from 1846-1848]
*[http://www.doctorzebra.com/prez/g12.htm Medical and Health history of Zachary Taylor]
* [http://stevelutzphoto.smugmug.com/gallery/1505804/1/72199399 Photo of grave of President Zachary Taylor, with GPS coordinates]
*[http://www.archive.org/details/generaltaylorsle00taylrich ''General Taylor's letters : letter of Gen. Taylor to Gen Gaines; Secretary Marcy's reprimand of Gen. Taylor; and Gen. Taylor's reply; with the fable alluded to annexed '']
{{s-start}}
{{s-off}}
{{s-bef|before=[[James K. Polk]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[President of the United States]]|years=March 4, 1849 – July 9, 1850}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Millard Fillmore]]}}
{{s-ppo}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Henry Clay]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[United States Whig Party#Candidates|Whig Party presidential nominee]]|years=[[United States presidential election, 1848|1848]]}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Winfield Scott]]}}
{{end}}
{{USPresidents}}
{{USWhigPresNominees}}
{{Black Hawk War (1832)}}
<!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]] -->
{{Persondata
|NAME=Taylor, Zachary
|ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
|SHORT DESCRIPTION=President of the USA, 1849-50
|DATE OF BIRTH=[[November 24]] [[1784]]
|PLACE OF BIRTH=[[Barboursville, Virginia]]
|DATE OF DEATH=[[July 9]] [[1850]]
|PLACE OF DEATH=[[Washington, D.C.]]
}}
[[Category:Presidents of the United States|Taylor, Zachary]]
[[Category:Whig Party (United States) presidential nominees|Taylor, Zachary]]
[[Category:United States presidential candidates, 1848]]
[[Category:United States Whig Party|Taylor, Zachary]]
[[Category:Defenders of slavery|Taylor, Zachary]]
[[Category:United States Army generals|Taylor, Zachary]]
[[Category:People of the Black Hawk War|Taylor, Zachary]]
[[Category:People of the Mexican-American War|Taylor, Zachary]]
[[Category:People of the Seminole Wars|Taylor, Zachary]]
[[Category:American people of the War of 1812|Taylor, Zachary]]
[[Category:History of the United States (1849–1865)|Taylor, Z]]
[[Category:Congressional Gold Medal recipients|Taylor, Zachary]]
[[Category:American Episcopalians|Taylor, Zachary]]
[[Category:People from Louisville, Kentucky|Taylor, Zachary]]
[[Category:Kentucky politicians|Taylor, Zachary]]
[[Category:Virginia politicians|Taylor, Zachary]]
[[Category:Americans of British descent]]
[[Category:Cause of death disputed|Taylor, Zachary]]
[[Category:Deaths by infectious disease|Taylor, Zachary]]
[[Category:1784 births|Taylor, Zachary]]
[[Category:1850 deaths|Taylor, Zachary]]
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{{Infobox_President | name=Zachary Taylor
| nationality=American
| image=ztaylor.jpg
| order=12th [[President of the United States]]
| term_start=[[March 4]], [[1849]]<ref>*Taylor's term of service was scheduled to begin on [[March 4]], [[1849]], but as this day fell on a Sunday, Taylor refused to be sworn in until the following day. Vice President Millard Fillmore was also not sworn in on that day. Most scholars believe that according to the [[United States Constitution|U.S. Constitution]], Taylor's term began on March 4, regardless of whether he had taken the oath or not.</ref>
| term_end=[[July 9]], [[1850]]
| predecessor=[[James K. Polk]]
| successor=[[Millard Fillmore]]
| birth_date={{birth date|1784|11|24|mf=y}}
| birth_place=[[Barboursville, Virginia]]
| death_date={{death date and age|1850|07|09|1784|11|24}}
| death_place=[[Washington, D.C.]]
| spouse=[[Margaret Taylor|Margaret Smith Taylor]]
| occupation=[[Soldier]] ([[General]])
| party=[[Whig Party (United States)|Whig]]
| vicepresident=[[Millard Fillmore]]
| religion=[[Episcopal Church in the United States of America|Episcopal]]
| signature=Zachary Taylor Signature.png
|}}
'''Zachary Taylor''' ([[November 24]], [[1784]] – [[July 9]], [[1850]])<ref> Taylor was the first President to have been born after the end of the Revolutionary War and the Treaty of Paris. This makes him the first President born to the undisputed, self-governed American Colonies.</ref> was an [[Military of the United States|American military leader]] and the twelfth [[President of the United States]]. Known as "Old Rough and Ready," Taylor had a 40-year military career in the [[United States Army|U.S. Army]], serving in the [[War of 1812]], [[Black Hawk War]], and [[Seminole Wars|Second Seminole War]] after achieving fame while leading U.S. troops to victory at several critical battles of the [[Mexican-American War]]. A [[Southern United States|Southern]] [[Slavery in the United States|slaveholder]] who opposed the spread of slavery to the [[United States territorial acquisitions|territories]], he was uninterested in politics but was recruited by the [[Whig Party (United States)|Whig Party]] as their nominee in the [[U.S. presidential election, 1848|1848 presidential election]]. In the election Taylor defeated the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] nominee, [[Lewis Cass]], and became the second U.S. president never to hold any prior office (George Washington being the first). Taylor was also the last southerner to be elected president until [[Woodrow Wilson]]. ([[Andrew Johnson]] became president through succession).
As president, Taylor urged settlers in [[New Mexico]] and [[California]] to by-pass the territorial stage and draft constitutions for statehood, setting the stage for the [[Compromise of 1850]].
Taylor died of acute [[gastroenteritis]] just 16 months into his term. [[Vice President of the United States|Vice President]] [[Millard Fillmore]] then became President.
==Early life==
Taylor was born on [[November 24]], [[1784]], in a [[log cabin]] in Montebello, near [[Barboursville, Virginia|Barboursville]] in [[Orange County, Virginia]].
Zachary Taylor was the third of nine children of Colonel Richard Lee Taylor and Sarah Strother. [[James Madison]] was a second cousin and [[Robert E. Lee]] was a third cousin once removed (through [[Richard Lee I|Colonel Richard Lee the Immigrant]]). In his infancy, Taylor's family moved to [[Kentucky]], where Taylor grew up on a [[plantation]]. He was known as "Little Zack" and was educated by private tutors. He was one of the descendants of [[King Edward I]] of [[England]], as well as ''Mayflower'' passengers [[Isaac Allerton]] and [[William Brewster (Pilgrim)|William Brewster]].
Taylor met [[Margaret Taylor|Margaret Mackall Smith]] of [[Maryland]] in early 1810, and they were married on [[June 21]], [[1810]]. They had one son and five daughters, two of whom died in infancy.
*[[Ann Mackall Taylor]] (born [[April 9]], [[1811]])
*[[Sarah Knox Taylor|Sarah Knox "Knoxie" Taylor]] (born [[March 6]], [[1814]]-[[1835]])
*[[Octavia Pannill Taylor]] (born [[1816]])
*[[Mary Smith Taylor]] (born [[1819-1820]])
*[[Mary Elizabeth Bliss|Mary Elizabeth "Betty" Taylor]] (born [[April 20]], [[1824]]-[[1909]])
*[[Richard Taylor (general)|Richard "Dick" Taylor]] (born [[January 27]], [[1826]]-[[1879]]), [[Confederate States Army]] [[General]]
==Military career==
{{Unreferencedsection|date=January 2008}}
[[Image:Zachary Taylor.jpeg|thumb|left|220px|General Zachary Taylor in uniform.]]
On [[May 3]], [[1808]], Taylor joined the U.S. Army, receiving a [[Commissioned officer|commission]] as a [[first lieutenant]] of the [[7th Infantry Regiment (United States)|Seventh Infantry Regiment]]. He was ordered west into [[Indiana Territory]], taking command at the [[Battle of Fort Harrison]]; he was promoted to [[captain]] in November 1810.
During the [[War of 1812]], Taylor became known as a talented military commander. Assigned to command [[Fort Harrison]] on the [[Wabash River]], at the northern edge of present-day [[Terre Haute]], Indiana, he successfully commandeered a small force of soldiers and civilians to stave off a British-inspired attack by about 500 Native Americans between September 4 and September 15. The [[Battle of Fort Harrison]], as it became known, has been referred to as the "first American land victory of the War of 1812." Taylor received a [[Brevet (military)|brevet]] promotion to [[major]] on [[October 31]], [[1812]]. Taylor was promoted to [[Lieutenant Colonel (United States)|lieutenant colonel]] on [[April 20]], [[1819]], and [[Colonel (United States)|colonel]] on [[April 5]], [[1832]].
Taylor served in the [[Black Hawk War]] (May-August 1832) and the Second Seminole War (1835-1842). During the Seminole War, Taylor fought at the [[Battle of Lake Okeechobee]] and received a brevet promotion to [[Brigadier general#United States|brigadier general]] in January 1838. It was here he gained his nickname "Old [[Rough and Ready]]" for his rumpled clothes and wide-brimmed [[straw hat]]. On [[May 15]], [[1838]], Taylor was promoted commanding general of all U.S. forces in [[Florida]].
[[James K. Polk]] sent the Army of Occupation under Taylor's command to the [[Rio Grande]] in 1846. After [[Mexico]] sent a cavalry unit and attacked Taylor's troops (and additionally killed 16 American soldiers), Polk urged [[United States Congress|Congress]] to declare the [[Mexican-American War]]. In that conflict Taylor won additional important victories at [[Battle of Monterrey|Monterrey]] and [[Battle of Buena Vista|Buena Vista]] and became a [[national hero]].
Polk kept Taylor in Northern Mexico, disturbed by his informal habits of command and his affiliation with the Whig Party. He sent an expedition under General [[Winfield Scott]] to capture [[Mexico City]]. Taylor, incensed, thought that "the battle of Buena Vista opened the road to the city of Mexico and the halls of [[Moctezuma II|Montezuma]], that others might revel in them."
==Election of 1848==
{{main|U.S. presidential election, 1848}}
[[Image:Fillmore campaign.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Taylor/Fillmore campaign poster]]
Taylor received the [[United States Whig Party|Whig]] nomination for President in 1848. [[Millard Fillmore]] of Cayuga County, [[New York]] was chosen for the Vice Presidential nominee. Like many other army officers, Taylor was nonpolitical and had never voted. His homespun ways and his status as a war hero were political assets. Taylor defeated [[Lewis Cass]], the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] candidate, and [[Martin Van Buren]], the [[Free Soil]] candidate.
To the astonishment of Whigs, Taylor ignored their platform, as historian Michael Holt explains: <blockquote>
Taylor was equally indifferent to programs Whigs had long considered vital. Publicly, he was artfully ambiguous, refusing to answer queries about his views on banking, the tariff, and internal improvements. Privately, he was more forthright. The idea of a national bank "is dead, and will not be revived in my time." In the future the tariff "will be increased only for revenue"; in other words, Whig hopes of restoring the protective [[tariff of 1842]] were vain. There would never again be surplus federal funds from public land sales to distribute to the states, and internal improvements "will go on in spite of presidential vetoes." In a few words, that is, Taylor pronounced an epitaph for the entire Whig economic program. <ref>Holt 1999 p 272 </ref></blockquote>
==Presidency==
===Policies===
[[Image:The Taylor Administration.jpg|thumb|right|320px|''President Taylor and his Cabinet''<br>From left to right: [[William Ballard Preston|William B. Preston]], [[Thomas Ewing]], [[John M. Clayton]], Zachary Taylor, [[William M. Meredith]], [[George W. Crawford]], [[Jacob Collamer]] and [[Reverdy Johnson]], ([[1849]]).]]
Although Taylor had subscribed to [[United States Whig Party|Whig]] principles of legislative leadership, he was not inclined to be a puppet of Whig leaders in [[Congress of the United States|Congress]]. He ran his administration in the same rule-of-thumb fashion with which he had fought [[Native Americans]].
Under Taylor's administration, the [[United States Department of the Interior]] was organized, although the legislation authorizing the Department had been approved on President Polk's last day in office. He appointed former [[Secretary of the Treasury|Treasury Secretary]] [[Thomas Ewing]] the first [[United States Secretary of the Interior|Secretary of the Interior]].
===The Compromise of 1850===
The slavery issue dominated Taylor's short term. Although he owned slaves, he took a moderate stance on the territorial expansion of slavery, angering fellow Southerners. He told them that if necessary to enforce the laws, he personally would lead the Army. Persons "taken in rebellion against the Union, he would hang ... with less reluctance than he had hanged deserters and spies in Mexico." He never wavered. [[Henry Clay]] then proposed a complex [[Compromise of 1850]]. Taylor died as it was being debated. (The Clay version failed but another version did pass under the new president, [[Millard Fillmore]].)
===Administration and Cabinet===
[[Image:Zachary-Taylor-portrait.jpg|thumb|right|210px|Portrait of Zachary Taylor]]
{{Infobox U.S. Cabinet
|align=left
|clear=yes
|Name=Taylor
|President=Zachary Taylor
|President start=1849
|President end=1850
|Vice President=[[Millard Fillmore]]
|Vice President start=1849
|Vice President end=1850
|State=[[John M. Clayton]]
|State start=1849
|State end=1850
|War=[[George Walker Crawford|George W. Crawford]]
|War start=1849
|War end=1850
|Treasury=[[William M. Meredith]]
|Treasury start=1849
|Treasury end=1850
|Justice=[[Reverdy Johnson]]
|Justice start=1849
|Justice end=1850
|Post=[[Jacob Collamer]]
|Post start=1849
|Post end=1850
|Navy=[[William Ballard Preston|William B. Preston]]
|Navy start=1849
|Navy end=1850
|Interior=[[Thomas Ewing|Thomas Ewing, Sr.]]
|Interior start=1849
|Interior end=1850
}}
===Death===
The cause of Zachary Taylor's death is not well understood. On [[July 4]], [[1850]], Taylor was diagnosed by his physicians with ''cholera morbus'', a term that included [[diarrhea]] and [[dysentery]] but not true [[cholera]]. Cholera, [[typhoid fever]], and [[food poisoning]] have all been indicated as the source of the president's ultimately fatal gastroenteritis. More specifically, a hasty snack of iced milk, cold cherries and pickled cucumbers consumed at an [[Independence Day]] celebration might have been the culprit. <ref>[http://www.historynet.com/picture_of_the_day?podDay=11&podMonth=July Historynet.com Magazine Publisher: Picture of the Day]</ref> By [[July 9]], Taylor was dead.
In [[1991]], with permission from his descendants, Taylor's body was exhumed by the Jefferson County (KY) Coroner, Richard Greathouse, M.D. with the assistance of the Kentucky State Medical Examiner and officials of the Veterans Administration. . At the autopsy, conducted at the offices of the
Kentucky State Medical Examiner, observers noted that Taylor's body, while somewhat decomposed, was still instantly recognizable as the 12th President — Taylor's brow ridge remained intact. Tissue samples, including hair, fingernails and adipocere were removed and sent to the Oak Ridge National Laboratory for testing for the possibility of assassination by means of deliberate poisoning. The laboratory detected traces of [[arsenic]] and sent the results to a Kentucky medical examiner, who determined the quantity of arsenic present — there is a faint amount of arsenic present naturally in the human body — was several hundred times less than there would have been had he been poisoned with arsenic.<ref>[http://www.ornl.gov/info/ornlreview/rev27-12/text/ansside6.html "President Zachary Taylor and the Laboratory: Presidential Visit from the Grave"] from [[Oak Ridge National Laboratory]]</ref> Despite these findings, assassination theories have not been entirely put to rest. [[Michael Parenti]] devoted a chapter in his controversial 1999 book ''History as Mystery'' to what he called "The Strange Death of Zachary Taylor". In it he speculated that Taylor was assassinated and that his autopsy was botched.
[[Image:zachary taylor stamp.JPG|thumb|left|Taylor postage stamp]]
There is some strong evidence that Taylor died from complications of [[heat stroke]]. On July 4, 1850, the weather in Washington was hot and rather humid. Taylor was there to preside over ceremonies at the laying of the cornerstone of the [[Washington Monument]]. Taylor was sporting a thick coat, vest, high-collared shirt, and a top hat. Shortly after arriving, Taylor complained that he was very thirsty. He went to the reception table and downed a large amount of water directly from a pitcher.
Since the water was sitting in the sun, the idea of cholera is a possibility. But Taylor exhibited classic symptoms of heat stroke, particularly red, flushed skin on the face. Records also indicate that Taylor was having trouble walking and exhibiting slurred speech. At no time while outside did anyone loosen or remove Taylor's clothing. Only after returning to the [[White House]] was some of his clothing loosened.
At this point his clothing was removed, but internal organs had already been damaged. In fact, his doctors were mystified as to the cause of multiple organ failure. Medical sciences had not addressed heat stroke and the internal damage caused by it. According to author Charles Panati, Taylor actually awoke briefly and said: "I should not be surprised if this were to result in my death." He took a few sips of iced milk, again adding to the possibility of cholera. He lapsed again into unconsciousness and died on [[July 9]], [[1850]].
Taylor is buried in [[Louisville, Kentucky]], at what is now the [[Zachary Taylor National Cemetery]].
==Surviving family==
*Taylor's son [[Richard Taylor (general)|Richard]] became a [[Confederate States Army|Confederate]] Lieutenant General, while his daughter [[Sarah Knox Taylor]] (1814–1835) had married future [[President of the Confederate States]] [[Jefferson Davis]] three months before her death of [[malaria]].
*Taylor's brother, Joseph Pannill Taylor, was a Brigadier General in the [[Union Army]] during the [[American Civil War|Civil War]]. (Joseph P. Taylor's son [http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/jhtaylor.htm Joseph Hancock Taylor] was a US Colonel in the Civil War and was also a son-in-law of Union General [[Montgomery C. Meigs]]).
*Taylor's niece Emily Ellison Taylor was the wife of Confederate General [[Lafayette McLaws]].
*Ann Taylor's son [[John Taylor Wood]], a [[U.S. Navy]] officer defected to the [[Confederate]] side and later fled to [[Canada]] during the Civil War; his great-grandson [[Zachary Taylor Wood]] was Acting RCMP Commssioner, great-great-grandson [[Stuart Taylor Wood]] was [[Commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police]] and great-great-great-grandsons (Cst. Herschel Wood and Supt.(Ret) John Taylor Wood served in the RCMP.
== References ==
<references/>
==Further reading==
* Bauer, Jack K. ''Zachary Taylor: Soldier, Planter, Statesman of the Old Southwest''. Louisiana State University Press: 1993. ISBN 0-8071-1851-6
* Hamilton, Holman. ''Zachary Taylor: Soldier of the Republic'' (1941) vol 1
* Hamilton, Holman. ''Zachary Taylor: Soldier in the White House'' (1951) vol 2
* Michael F. Holt; ''The Rise and Fall of the American Whig Party: Jacksonian Politics and the Onset of the Civil War.'' (1999)
* Smith, Elbert B. ''The Presidencies of Zachary Taylor and Millard Fillmore''. University Press of Kansas: 1988. ISBN 0-7006-0362-X.
* [[List of United States Presidents who died in office]]
==External links==
{{wikisource author}}
{{wikiquote}}
{{Commons}}
*[http://www.millercenter.virginia.edu/index.php/academic/americanpresident/taylor Extensive essay on Zachary Taylor and shorter essays on each member of his cabinet and First Lady from the Miller Center of Public Affairs]
*[http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/zt12.html White House Biography]
*[http://zacharytaylor.org Biography by Appleton's and Stanley L. Klos]
*[http://www.usa-presidents.info/union/taylor.html Zachary Taylor State of the Union Address]
*[http://www.familytales.org/results.php?tla=zat Zachary Taylor letters from 1846-1848]
*[http://www.doctorzebra.com/prez/g12.htm Medical and Health history of Zachary Taylor]
* [http://stevelutzphoto.smugmug.com/gallery/1505804/1/72199399 Photo of grave of President Zachary Taylor, with GPS coordinates]
*[http://www.archive.org/details/generaltaylorsle00taylrich ''General Taylor's letters : letter of Gen. Taylor to Gen Gaines; Secretary Marcy's reprimand of Gen. Taylor; and Gen. Taylor's reply; with the fable alluded to annexed '']
{{s-start}}
{{s-off}}
{{s-bef|before=[[James K. Polk]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[President of the United States]]|years=March 4, 1849 – July 9, 1850}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Millard Fillmore]]}}
{{s-ppo}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Henry Clay]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[United States Whig Party#Candidates|Whig Party presidential nominee]]|years=[[United States presidential election, 1848|1848]]}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Winfield Scott]]}}
{{end}}
{{USPresidents}}
{{USWhigPresNominees}}
{{Black Hawk War (1832)}}
<!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]] -->
{{Persondata
|NAME=Taylor, Zachary
|ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
|SHORT DESCRIPTION=President of the USA, 1849-50
|DATE OF BIRTH=[[November 24]] [[1784]]
|PLACE OF BIRTH=[[Barboursville, Virginia]]
|DATE OF DEATH=[[July 9]] [[1850]]
|PLACE OF DEATH=[[Washington, D.C.]]
}}
[[Category:Presidents of the United States|Taylor, Zachary]]
[[Category:Whig Party (United States) presidential nominees|Taylor, Zachary]]
[[Category:United States presidential candidates, 1848]]
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[[Category:Defenders of slavery|Taylor, Zachary]]
[[Category:United States Army generals|Taylor, Zachary]]
[[Category:People of the Black Hawk War|Taylor, Zachary]]
[[Category:People of the Mexican-American War|Taylor, Zachary]]
[[Category:People of the Seminole Wars|Taylor, Zachary]]
[[Category:American people of the War of 1812|Taylor, Zachary]]
[[Category:History of the United States (1849–1865)|Taylor, Z]]
[[Category:Congressional Gold Medal recipients|Taylor, Zachary]]
[[Category:American Episcopalians|Taylor, Zachary]]
[[Category:People from Louisville, Kentucky|Taylor, Zachary]]
[[Category:Kentucky politicians|Taylor, Zachary]]
[[Category:Virginia politicians|Taylor, Zachary]]
[[Category:Americans of British descent]]
[[Category:Cause of death disputed|Taylor, Zachary]]
[[Category:Deaths by infectious disease|Taylor, Zachary]]
[[Category:1784 births|Taylor, Zachary]]
[[Category:1850 deaths|Taylor, Zachary]]
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