RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) –
Leading up to America’s 250th birthday, next July, we are highlighting things you might not know about our presidents…
KOTA Territory’s Phil Aldridge tells us about the man who never voted in a presidential election before he was elected president.
Zachary Taylor was born on November 24, 1784, in Orange County, Virginia. He had limited schooling but learned outdoor skills of farming, horsemanship, and using a musket.
General Taylor served four decades in the U.S. Army, commanding troops in several wars, including the War of 1812 and the Mexican-American War. He was nicknamed “Old Rough & Ready” for his willingness to go to battle with his troops. His victories during the Mexican-American War made him a national hero and it led to him getting the presidential nomination.
Taylor had no political experience, but his heroics on the battlefield catapulted him to win the presidency in 1848. His warhorse “Old Whitey” would routinely graze on the White House lawn.
He was married with six children. His second daughter, Sarah Taylor, would marry Jefferson Davis, the future president of the Confederacy.
Taylor was a slave owner, but opposed the creation of new slave states in California and New Mexico. Southern leaders were outraged and threatened to secede, but Taylor told them he would lead the army if necessary to enforce federal laws to preserve the Union.
On the 4th of July 1850, Taylor attended a ceremony at the unfinished Washington Monument. It was a hot day, and he reportedly ate raw vegetables, cherries, and drank milk. He fell ill and died on July 9 from gastroenteritis, only 16 months into his presidency.
Zachary Taylor was 65 years old.
Taylor was the second president to die in office at the time. William Henry Harrison, the 9th president, died in 1841.
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