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 LIFE OF 
 
 GEN. ZACHARY TAYLOR, 
 
 THE WHIG CANDIDATE FOR THE PRESIDENCY. 
 
 BY BEN: PERLEY POORE 
 
 CC.ENKRA.L Taylor's military exploits are not the ca^sifs of his popularity; thev are only the occasiont 
 for the display of his sound judgment, energy of character, loltv and pure" sense of justice, and iiicorrupt- 
 il)le honesty. He has as much reputation for what he has written, as for what he has done, because eveu 
 where the composition is not his own, the sentiments, luolives and feelings arc ; and every thing he says 
 as every thing he does, is marked by the purity and loftiness of his own character."— ffer/erai Feriifer F 
 Smith, an " out and out Loco Foco."} 
 
 Zachakt Taylor's ancestors emigrated < 
 from England in 1692, to Virginia, the i 
 Southern parent of those " thirteen old colo- 
 nies," that rose suddenly, like the dragon's ; 
 teeth sown by Cadmus, into full grown men ; * 
 not, however, armed like those fa])ulons '] 
 warriors, with weapons for their own destruc- 
 tion, but with the strength, vigor and intelli- ' 
 gence of the Anglo-Saxon race. His father, \ 
 " Col. Dick Taylor," (as he was familiarly \ 
 called,) was born on the 22d day of March, ? 
 1 744, and after receiving a degree at William ' 
 and Mary College, set off, though still a ; 
 mere boy, to explore the trackless solitudes 
 of the banks of the Mississippi. His elder 
 brother, Hancock, had been killed by the ' 
 Indians, while surveying for government ■ 
 near the fiills of the Ohio ; but this did not ' 
 daunt Richard, who traversed the forests as \ 
 far South as Natchez, returning home alone, i 
 over a long and. dangerous trail. Allied ' 
 with many of those great and good men ! 
 who graced tlie palmy days of the Old Do- | 
 minion, he had strong ties to bind him to 
 the home of his fathers; but like many oth- 
 ers, he feared tlic ultimate effect of the ener- \ 
 rating round of hospitalities which had been 
 adopted from the mother country, and deter- 
 mined to remove to a more primitive region. 
 
 The breaking out of the Revolutionary 
 struggle enlisted his services in behalf of 
 those principles, for the support of which 
 the delegates of the Colonies had pledged 
 " their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred 
 honor" — a pledge which every Whig, of 
 every section of the country, regarded as 
 binding him individually. Elected Colonel 
 of a regiment in the Virginia line, he applied 
 himself to military affairs and tactics with 
 such steadiness, that in less than three 
 months he was pcrfec'ly master of the com- 
 mand which had been entrusted to him. 
 He served throughout the struggle, with 
 such courage and zeal as to win the com- 
 mendation of his superior officers, and par- 
 
 ticularly distinguished himself at the passage 
 ( of the Delaware and battle of Trenton, 
 I where, fighting by the side of Lieutenant 
 I (afterwards President) Munroe, he attracted 
 ; Washington's particular notice. The A"ir- 
 ginians were mainly instrumental in gaining 
 that important victory, which saved Phila- 
 delphia, and raised the drooping spirits of 
 the insurgents. 
 
 On the 20th of August, 1779, Col. Taylor 
 received the congratulations of his friends, 
 as the happy bridegroom of Sarah Strother, 
 then nineteen years of age, to whom Nature 
 had been no niggard in the bestowal of per- 
 sonal attractions, which adorned a cultivated 
 mind and a Christian heart. Their family 
 eventually numbered five sons and three 
 daughters — the third son, Zachary Taylor, 
 was born in Orange county, Virginia, on 
 the 24th of November, 1790."^ 
 
 In July, 1791, Col. Taylor, accompanied 
 by his family, left Virginia, for her eldest 
 daughter, Kentucky, that great State which 
 led the march of civilization Westward, and 
 whose forests had been stained with so 
 many massacres, that it was called the 
 " dark and bloody ground." He settled in 
 Jefferson county, about five miles from 
 Louisville, and two from the Ohio river — 
 one of the leaders of those hardy pioneers 
 ■who attained such brill i.ant victories over 
 their savage opponents, and the wild luxu- 
 riance of untamed nature. L^niting indom- 
 itable industry to a rare strength of judg- 
 ment, Col. Taylor produced at home all the 
 necessaries of life, purchasing neither cloth- 
 ing nor food, and was always " beforehand." 
 No plantation was better fenced or kept in 
 better order than his ; and as the forests 
 around his humble dwelling fell beneath the 
 axe of the settler, to be replaced in the land- 
 scape by smiling fields, the old veteran 
 could look around him with the soul-cheer- 
 ing satisfaction that in the work of improve- 
 ment he had not been a drone in the hive. 
 
 \.^W 
 
 H" 
 
 J 
 
LIFE OF GEN. ZACIIARY Ti 
 
 Nor were his neighbors unmindful of the 
 claims to tlicir esteem of one who tlms inva- 
 riably sustained the character of an upright 
 and 'patriotic citizen. He was elected a 
 membei of the convention for framing the 
 constitution of Kentucky; a Representative, 
 and afterwards Senator, from Jelr'erson coun- 
 ty to the State Legislature, and a member 
 of the electoral colleges which voted for 
 Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, and Clay.— 
 Washington, with w^hom he had been on 
 the most intimate terms in Virginia, finding 
 that he maintained his high reputation in 
 the home of his adoption, appointed him 
 Collector of the port of Louisville, New Or- 
 leans being then a Spanish province. After 
 a long life of industrious labor, for his coun- 
 try and for himself, Col. Richard Taylor 
 died as he had lived, an honest man — the 
 noblest work, of God. 
 
 Meanwhile, an inmate of a humble log 
 cabin, the character of young Zachary was 
 formed amidst the hardsbips and dangers of 
 backwoods life. His motlier instilled into 
 the youthful minds of her sons those Chris- 
 tian virtues which she practised with exem- 
 plary devotedness, and in the long winter 
 evenings, when the doors had been barrica- 
 ded, and the loaded rifles laid ready to repel 
 any attack that might be made by the Indi- 
 ans before morning, their father would tell 
 them of the Revolution. Not merely to "show 
 how fields were won," but to portray tlie 
 patriotism and integrity of his beloved cliicf, 
 in the hoi)e tliat his boys might, following 
 the example of Washington, be inspired 
 with those unselfish and dithdent, but devot- 
 ed and fearless sentiments and emotions, 
 which arm patriots for noble and sublime 
 efforts. New England, even then, sent her 
 " schoolmaster abroad," and the young Tay- 
 lors became pupils of Mr. Elislia Ayres, a 
 native of Connecticut, who in 1847, then 
 upwards of four-score years of age, was re- 
 siding at Preston, in the vicinity of Norwich, 
 and gave the following account of "young 
 Zachary : " 
 
 " Tlie Kentuckians were then a warlike and chiv- < 
 alruus people, and thcv were often engaged in otien- > 
 slvc or defensive skirmishes with the Indians. A > 
 number wore known to be in the woods not far dis- 
 tant from the school-house, and. on one occasion, j 
 one of tlicm wassliot, wearin-..' a I'.riti<li uniform. In ^ 
 thoir ho.slilltv to the Americans, lliev were eiicoura;,- : 
 ed and sii^taiued liv the I'.rilish aiilh-irities on tiic , 
 Korlberii fronlii-r. Tliere was a .Mr. Wlielsel, ui tlie ! 
 lici'Miborliuod of the seliuul, wlio, liavmc bec^n once '; 
 cha'sed IjV three ur lour Iiidian-;, loaded liisrille wlide J 
 runiniiu.and.siicee.ssivelvsli.it tbem all 'I'liis exploit J 
 made Whetsel famous, and lie became tlie instructor ; 
 of the vount,' men and boys in tlie iieijiliborliood, in s 
 his mode of maiiitainini; a running Hie. Among Ills > 
 implls, it is believed, was young Zacliary." ; 
 
 The child is father to the man," an Eng- , 
 
 in the 
 marks 
 of Ills early intercourse with tbose adven- 
 turous " Hunters of Kentucky," >vho were '. 
 " fit to stand by Nimrod and give direction." ; 
 Paring and iintrammcUed, they deemed \ 
 themselves the equals of any men, and ac- 
 knowledged no sujierior, wliile tiie belief 
 that they were cap.il)le of doing any reason- , 
 able act' rendered tlicm equal to its accoiu- j 
 
 .2.2., CCjiO 
 
 lish poet tells us ; and one can trace 
 bold, ujirigbt career of Gen. Taylor, 
 
 plishment. Sharing in the incidents and 
 : perils of their hunting parties, young Tay- 
 lor acquired much practical wisdom, with a 
 : stalwart constitution. Many are the tradi- 
 ' tions around his borne, which illustrate his 
 ' cool daring. In the Spring of 180G, (when 
 : Lewis Cass always appeared with a black 
 , cockade in his hat, as a proof of his federal- 
 ' ism,) Zachary Taylor, after a hard day's 
 ; ploughing in anew " clearing," swam across 
 ; tiie Ohio river, then filled with floating ice, a 
 feat which is cited as surpassing in danger 
 and difficulty the far famed exploit of swim- 
 ming the Hellespont. 
 
 While thus engaged in agricultural pur- 
 suits, Zachary Taylor, with his intimate 
 ; friends, Joseph P. Taylor and George Crog- 
 J han, (now officers of liigh rank in eur gallant 
 I army,) joined a volunteer rifle corps, raised 
 ; as a portion of a force to oppose the suppos- 
 ] ed treasonable designs of Aaron Burr, and 
 : served in it as sergeant until the alarm had 
 subsided. Soon afterwards came the news 
 of the capture of the United States frigate 
 ; Chesapeake by the British frigate Leopard, 
 ; kindling into a blaze the angry feelings that 
 ■ the repeated aggressions of the English na- 
 ; tion had raised to so high a pitch. A desire 
 ; to vindicate the outraged honor of his coun- 
 try at once took possession of the mind of 
 Taylor, and he applied for a commission left 
 vacant by the death of his elder brother. 
 Mr. James Madison and other influfutial 
 '• relatives recommended him highly, and on 
 the 3d of May, 1S08, President 'Jefterson 
 : signed his commission as 1st Lieutenant of 
 ; the 7th Regiment of United States Infantry. 
 ': Subsequent events have shown that the 
 young soldier merited the flattering replies 
 ' "given to the President's invariable questions, 
 ! when candidates for public offices were pro- 
 ; posed to him — " Is lie honest ? — is he faith- 
 : ful — is he capable 7 " 
 I Ordered to join his regiment, which was 
 then under Gen. Wilkinson, at New Orieans, 
 Lieutenant Taylor was there seized with the 
 ' vellow fever, ami narrowly escaped death. 
 \ lie returned home to recruit his iiealth, and 
 I afterwards repaired to the barracks atCincin- 
 I nati, where he studied all the military works 
 he could procure, and acquired that tliorough 
 ' knowledge of the " art of war " which has 
 ; since enabled him to command with «neli 
 j skill. General Harrison, who was then Gov- 
 i ernorof the North- Western Territory, learn- 
 \ ing the successful efforts of the English 
 > agents to induce Tecumseh and Olliwachica, 
 ; (better known as the Prophet.) to league the 
 J Jliamies and other Western tribes to take 
 , up arms against the United States, marclied 
 into the Indian country. While on this ex- 
 pedition, in whicli Lie'ut. Taylor served, ho 
 built several stockade forts, and one of them, 
 situated on the Wabash, some fifty miles 
 ; above Vincennes, was named, in honor of 
 
 the commander. Fort Harrison. 
 ' In 1810, Lieutenant Taylor was married 
 to a lady who is described as on" of the 
 most elegant among the nmny belles who 
 have united their fortunes to those of our , 
 
 ^^. 
 
LIFE OF GEN. ZACHARY TAYLOR. 
 
 country's brave defenders, and at the same 
 time is noted for her Immhle yet unaffected 
 piety, being a member of the Episcopal 
 church. Not lonjj after )iis marriage, the 
 young Lieutenant was sent on an expedition 
 into the Indian country, and so long a time 
 elapsed without tidings of him reaching his 
 family, that they began to fear that he bad 
 fallen a victim to his perilous duty. The 
 Secretary of War, however, was so pleased 
 with his <levoted activity that he recommend- 
 ed liim for promotion, and in 1812, President 
 Madison rewarded him with a Captain's 
 commission, attached to which was an order 
 ajipointing him commander of Fort Harri- 
 son. 
 
 Captain Taylor, at the head of fifty sol- 
 diers, arrived at Fort Harrison, in May,1812. 
 On the 19th of June the President sanc- 
 tioned a Declaration of War against Great 
 Britain. The young commander strained 
 every nerve to place his stockades in a 
 proper state of defence ; but owing to the 
 pro.\.imity of marshy ground, many of bis 
 men were seized with fever, and between 
 labor and skirmishing, the few who escaped 
 sickness were soon worn out. Aware of 
 this, the Indians imagined that it would be 
 an easy matter to cKterminate the whole 
 garrison, and came, nearly four hundred 
 and fifty strong, on the night of the 3d of 
 September, when Captain Taylor, debilitated 
 himself, had only sixteen men fit for duty. 
 The Indians at first attempted to enter the 
 fort by stratagem, killing two young men, 
 who were making hay in the vicinity, late 
 in the evening ; but Capt. Taylor was too 
 well ac(iuainted with their manoeuvres to 
 send out a party for the corpses until the 
 next morning. They were found scalped 
 and mangled, adding fresh fear to the 
 alarmed women w-ho had sought protection 
 within the stockade, and greatly embar- 
 rassed the few men who could join in the 
 limited preparation for defence. 
 
 On the evening of the 4th, the Prophet 
 sent a delegation, headed by a white flag, to 
 beg admittance into the stockade, under the 
 pretence of smoking the pi])e of peace; but 
 Captain Taylor refused to open the gates, 
 although he "gave them provisions and to- 
 bacco. After retreat beating he examined 
 each musket, saw that sixteen rounds of 
 ammunition wx're in each cartridge-box, 
 and ordered one of the non-commis■^ioned 
 oilicers to walk around the inside of the 
 stockade during the night, as he was only 
 able to ])ost three sentinels. About eleven 
 o'clock, the Indians approached on all sides, 
 as it was so dark they could not be per- 
 ceived, and having set fire to a store-house, 
 gave the war-whoop. Perfectly collected, the 
 j'oung commander gave orders for extin- 
 guishing the flames, but his men were so 
 debilitated that they could do but little, and 
 some whiskey catching fire, it shot up in 
 blue, glaring columns, which rendered the 
 scene truly appalling. "' Most of the men," 
 says Taylor, in his official report, " immedi- 
 ately gave themselves up for lost, and I had 
 
 ;. the greatest ditliculfy in getting my orders 
 ; executed; and, sir — what from the raging 
 
 ■ of the fire — the yelling and howling of sev- 
 eral hundred Indians — the cries of nine 
 women and children (a part soldiers' and a 
 
 , part citizens' wives, who had taken shelter 
 ; in the fort) — and a desponding of so many 
 
 of the men, which was wor.se than all — I 
 I can assure you that my feelings were very 
 ;' unpleasant." Two of the stoutest privates 
 \ jumped the pickets and ran off; but Captain 
 ' Taylor was firm, and succeeded in inspiring 
 
 his feeble garrison with his own courage. 
 ', We copy further from his report : 
 
 '< " J[y presence of mind did not for a moment for- 
 
 I sake me. I saw by throwins; off part of the roof that 
 
 J joined the blockhouse tliat was on Are, and keeping 
 
 > the end perfectly wet, the whole row of buildings 
 ; niit;ht be saved, iind leave only an entrance of eit;h- 
 
 < teen or twenty feet for the Indians to enter, after the 
 \ house was consumed ; and that a temporary breast- 
 
 < work might be I'ornied to prevent tlieii enterini,' even 
 \ there. 1 convinced tlie men that this could be ac- 
 
 > complished, and it appeared to inspire them with 
 \ new Jile ; and never did men act with more firmness 
 
 or desperation. Those that were able (while others 
 - kept up a constant tire from the upper blockhouse 
 ; and the two bastions) mounted the roofs of the 
 houses, with Doctor Clark at their head, (who acted 
 with the greatest firmness and presence of mind, the 
 whole time the attack lasted, which wa- seven 
 
 • hours,) under a shower of bullets, and in less than a 
 '( moment threw off as much of the roof as was neces- 
 \ sary. This was done, with one man killed, and two 
 ;> wounded, and I am in hopes neither of them danger- 
 ; ously '1 he man that was killed was a little derang- 
 ed, and did not get off the house as soon as directed, 
 
 ; or he would not have been hurt ; and although the 
 J barracks were several times in a blaze, and an im- 
 ; mense quantity of fire against them, the men used 
 ! such e.Nertion', that they kept it under ; and, before 
 ) dav, raised a temporary breastwork as high as a 
 ; man's head. Although the Indians continued to 
 ;■ pour in a heavy tire of balls, and an innumerable 
 quantitv of arrows, during the whole time Ihe attack 
 
 < lasted, in every part of the parade, I had but one 
 I othe- man killed — nor any other wounded inside 
 ' the fort — and he lost his life bv being too an.xious ; 
 ; he got into one of the gallies in the bastions, and 
 . tired over the pickets, and called out to hi> comrades 
 '> that he had killed an Indian, and neglecting to stoop 
 ' down in an instant, lie was shot. 
 
 j " Oneof the men that jumped the pickets, returned 
 ' an hour before dav, and running up towards the 
 
 ■ gate, begged for Oiid's sake for it to be opened. I 
 suspected it to be a stratagem of tlie Indians to get 
 
 ' in, as I did not recollect the voice; I directed the 
 
 j men in the bastion where I happened to be to shoot 
 
 • him, let him be who he would, and one of them tired 
 ' at him, but fortitnatilv he ran up the other bastion. 
 
 where the v knew his voice, and Doctor Clark directed 
 . him to lie close to the pickets, behind an empty bar- 
 ; rel that happened to be there, and at daylight I had 
 i him let in. His arm was broken in a most shocking 
 ( manner, which he says was done by the Indians, 
 
 which I suppose was the cause of his retunilng. X 
 ! think it probable that he will not recover. '1 he other 
 , thev caught aliout unehuiulrcd and thirty yards from 
 , the'garrison.and <ut liiin all to pieces. After keep- 
 ', ing up a constant lire until about six o'clock the. 
 ] next morning, which we began U. return with some 
 
 effect, after davlight, they removed out of reach of 
 ': our guns. A partv of Uiem drove up the horses that 
 '' belonged to the citizens here, and as they could not 
 : catcirihem verv rtadilv, shot tlic wli..le of them in 
 ' our sitlit, a.s well as a number if their hogs. 'Ihey 
 ; drove'off the whole of tlie cattle, which amounted 
 ) to sixl v-flvc head, as well as the public oxen. 
 
 " I had the vacancy tilled up before night, (which 
 \ was made bv the burning of the bh.ckhouse) with a 
 •; strong row of pickets, wliicli I got bv pulling down 
 
 the guard house. We lost the whole of our provis- 
 
 ■ ions, I ut must make out to live upon green corn, 
 until we can get a supply, which I am in hopes will 
 
 ' not belong." 
 
 The unaffected manner in which young 
 
 ■ Taylor thus reijorted his heroic defence of a 
 .' defenceless post, though it docs not possess 
 
 the severe style and finished terseness of 
 
 his more recent military papers, is marked 
 
 \ by the same modesty and vigor of thought, 
 
LIFE OF GEN. ZACHARY TAYLOR. 
 
 and Iiis victon' was on every tongue in the 
 Western country. Major General Hopkins 
 wrote to Gov. Shelby of Kentucky : " The 
 firm and almost unparalleled defence of Fort 
 Ilarrison, by Captain Zachary Taylor, has 
 raised for him a fabric of character not to 
 be effaced by eulojry." He received the 
 brevet rank of Major, the first brevet com- 
 mission given by an American President, 
 and from that moment his life has been one 
 continued scene of victory, under the most 
 disadvantageous circumstances. No matter 
 how battling or discouraging have been the 
 difiiculties to encounter, the energy and 
 resolution which he first displayed at Fort 
 Harrison have conquered — the word im- 
 possible appears to have been omitted from 
 his vocabulary, and his men follow him as 
 one who carries victory chained to his stand- 
 ard. This reputation has the same effect 
 in the array as in the navy, where it is well 
 known that Decatur or Hull could make 
 sailors perform prodigies of valor, who had 
 shown the " white feather " under other 
 officers. Old Ironsides would be defended 
 with ten times as much resolution as the 
 ill-fated Chesapeake could have been. In 
 the nav}-, or army, or political strife, it is 
 half the" battle gained, to have a leader to 
 whom success is habitual. " General 
 Taylor never surrenders." 
 
 The defence of Fort Harrison so disheart- 
 ened the Indians that Tecumseh was unable 
 to carry out his project of exterminating the 
 whites, and in several subsequent engage- 
 ments, Major Taylor so distinguished him- 
 self as to receive the official commendation 
 of Major General Hopkins. He was in 
 several skirmishes, and accompanied Col. 
 Russell several hundred miles up the Mis- 
 souri, in the month of November, to secure 
 a small settlement on that river, left much 
 exposed to the depredations of the savages. 
 Three months before the conclusion of the 
 war he was placed in command over the 
 entire Indiana forces, and received the cheer- 
 ing news of peace at Vincennes. This first 
 campaign of Taylor was thus prophetically 
 summed up by J. C. Breckenbridge, of 
 Kentucky, thirty years since. 
 
 " When wc look back," continues the hlosraphor, 
 "on the many important services rendered by this 
 oflBccr to his country during.the hitewar; when we 
 reflect on tlic peculiar perils and hardships to which 
 tliose gervicc* must have perpetually exposed him, 
 performing as he did, in one year, marches to the 
 territories of Indiana, Illinois and Utissoiiri, anuumt- 
 Ing to more than :jO00 miles, and tlnd no solitary 
 instance In which the extent of his achievements did 
 not exceed the scanty measure of his means; we 
 cannot restrain the expression of our reiirct at his 
 detention from those glorious Holds of civilized com- 
 bat, where his genius might have borne him to no- 
 bler enterprise, and bis valor displayed itself on a 
 mure conspicuous theatre. 
 
 " With afrumeritted for the most active and hardy 
 enterprise, an ardent spirit, a sanguine temper, and 
 an invincible courage, gifted with a rapid discern- 
 Dicnt, a discrinunaling judgment, and a deep knowl- 
 edge of niankind, ami possessing a heart susceptible 
 of the most generous impulses of humanity, we re- 
 gard .Major Tavlor as an olhi cr i^f peculiar pnuuise, 
 and hazard, we think, bit llltic in tln' prediction 
 that, in the event of war at no dhtant period, be- 
 tween the t nited States and Kngland or .Spain, 
 riding on the tide of military glory, he will Hud his 
 true level at the head of the army." 
 
 It is by no means remarkable that one 
 
 who knew General Taylor in his youth, 
 should predict that in the event of a war, 
 with "England or Spain," — Mexico was 
 then Spain — he would find his true level at 
 the head of the army. He has already 
 found that level, but it was not his true one. 
 The true level of such a man can never be 
 found but at the head of the nation. His 
 biographer might well regret the detention 
 of such a man from those glorious fields of 
 civilized combat, where his services might 
 have borne him to a nobler enterprise, and 
 his valor displayed itself in a more auspi- 
 cious theatre. He has " bided his time," 
 and will soon enter upon his true field. 
 
 When the army was remodelled, after the 
 cessation of hostilities, Major Tavlor found 
 himself degraded to the rank of Captain. 
 Although he has never claimed promotion, 
 he felt that he could not submit to a degra- 
 dation which implied tliat he had not per- 
 formed his duties. He therefore resigned 
 his commission and returned to his farm, 
 where he purchased stock and made prepar- 
 ations t> engage in agricultural pursuits. — 
 Remonstrances from officers and civilians, 
 setting forth the great injustice which had 
 been done to Captain Taylor, had their de- 
 sired effect, and he was reinstated in his 
 former well-earned rank by Tresident Madi- 
 son, in 1816, though it issaid that nothing 
 but the strong persuasions of those friends 
 who had exerted themselves so strenuously 
 in his behalf, could induce him to leave his 
 happy home for the tented field. 
 
 Major Taylor was first ordered to Green 
 Bay, at that time far beyond the limits of 
 civilization. It is the scene of one of the 
 most characteristic anecdotes of this incom- 
 ])arahle man. whose private virtues far surpass 
 liis military fame. The Paymaster, (as the 
 story is told,) received from the government 
 the necessary funds to pay off the U. States 
 troops, which funds, save a small amount, he 
 exchanged for the bills of J. H. Piatt & Co., 
 Bankers, in the city of Cincinnati. This was 
 a "business transaction " on private account. 
 The Paymaster proceeded to Detroit, and 
 there paid off the soldiers in this individual 
 responsibility paper; he then proceeded to 
 Mackinaw, and there paid the soldiers in like 
 manner; lastly he reached Green Bay. — 
 Here again the Paymaster, with proper offi- 
 cial solemnity, counted out to Capt. Tavlor 
 the bills of J. H. Piatt & Co., Bankers," for 
 the soldiers. " Old Zack " looked at the 
 " rags " and said : — "Is this Ihf stuff you in- 
 tend to pai/ ua ? " The Paymaster assured 
 him it was the same he had paid to the men 
 at Detroit and Mackinaw; • but," s.tys he, 
 with a knowing wink, "■/have United States 
 Bank Bills for i/ou officers." To this Captain 
 Taylor replied: — '-Sir, my ynen can receive 
 no money that I am nnu-illiny to take myself — 
 go back atul (jet us yood money." 
 
 After commanding the jjost at Green Bay 
 for two years, he joined the Southern force 
 under Col. Russell, where he rcmaincil until 
 1824, with the exception of a visit to his wife, 
 when she was dangerously ill. The erection 
 
\ 
 
 LIFE OF GEN. ZACIIARY TAYLOR. 
 
 of Fort Jesup, the construction of a military j 
 road, anil other important duties, were per- ; 
 formed in a manner which won fur Major ; 
 Taylor the approhatioti of his superior otli- 
 oers, while his subordinates idolized him, j 
 for although scrupulously exact in requirin;; 
 a faitiiful performance of their duties, he 
 treated them with fatherly kindness. One : 
 day, at Fort Jesup. a carpenter, who had \ 
 been sent to fell a tree, thonfjlit that as the ; 
 weather was warm he would indulge in a : 
 nap, from which he was awakened hy the 
 ringing of an axe, wielded in true backwoods \ 
 style. Si)ringing to his feet, he saw to his ] 
 amazement that his commanding officer had : 
 nearly performed the task which he liad neg- ^ 
 Icctcd, and began to stammer forth an ex- ^ 
 otise. "Nevermind, my man,'' said Major , 
 Taylor; "passing accidentally, I saw you ' 
 asleep, and knowing that the Lieutenant who :; 
 is on his way here with a party to carry this ' 
 log to the fort, would report you for neglect •: 
 of work, I have saved myself the disagreea- : 
 We duty of ordering you to be put in irons. : 
 But mind — don't do so again." ; 
 
 Deservedly popular with his men, Major ; 
 Taylor had but to advertise for recruit's at ; 
 any place in the Western country, and hun- , 
 drcds flocked to his station ; but although : 
 he might have remained in the recruiting | 
 service for years at Louisville, near his fam- ■; 
 ily, he was not willing that his name should ! 
 be thus used to entice men into the army, | 
 who miLrht be ill-treated by the officers of the j 
 regiments to which they would be detailed, j 
 
 In 1819 he was made Lieutenant Colonel, 
 and after commanding several of those fron- \ 
 tier posts which mark the Western limit of ; 
 civilization, was ordered to Washington, to ; 
 sit as a member of a Board of Army and < 
 Militia Officers, convened by the Secretary ', 
 of War, to propose a system for organizing s 
 the militia of the nation. General Scott '. 
 was President of this commission — the i 
 members were Brigadier General Eustis, ; 
 Lieut. Colonel Taylor, Lieut. Colonel Cut- < 
 ler, and Maj. Nourse, of the regular service ; ; 
 and Mijor General Cadwaladcr, Adjutant | 
 General Daniel, and Adjutant General Sum- 
 ner, of the militia. Some of the older offi- 
 cers wished to keep a portion of the militia ; 
 {or their substitutes.) in constant service, ; 
 but Lieutenant Colonel Taylor opposed ibis , 
 approach to a standing army, taking the ; 
 ground that the militia was an institution for < 
 the defence of homes and li resides, and every \ 
 able-bodied man should be in a state of read- j 
 iness to act in the hour of danger. He drew ^ 
 up an able report, which wa.% finally adopted ■ 
 by the Board, and approved of by Congress, ; 
 though the bill based upon it still slumbers 
 in the room of the Committc on the Militia, \ 
 •who seetn to forget the maxim of our p<itfir : 
 patn\e — " In time of peace prepare for ; 
 war." '. 
 
 For the ensuing five years Lieut. Colonel ; 
 Taylor was stationed on the North-western 
 frontier, where he occupied the leisure hours , 
 which a soldier has in " pipinjx times of ; 
 peace," by a course of study which will be of j 
 
 great advantage to him in filling the first 
 civil office in the nation, to which admiring 
 thousands now invite him. ''As plain Lieut. 
 Colonel Taylor," says one who then knew 
 him, " I have often seen him jmtting his men 
 through the battalion drill, on the northern 
 banks of the Wisconsin, in the depth of Feb- 
 ruary. This would seem only characteristic 
 of the man, who has since proved himself 
 equally ' Kough and Keady,' under the 
 scorching sun of the tropics. But, looking 
 back, through long years, to many a pleasant 
 hour, spent in the well selected library of the 
 post, which Colonel Taylor t' en command- 
 ed, we recur now, with singular interest, to 
 the agreeable conversations, held in the 
 room which was the Colonel's favorite re- 
 sort, amid the intervals of duty." And the 
 same chronicler of his severe habits of disci- 
 pline and study, continues: " Nor will the 
 reader think these personal reminiscences 
 impertinent, when we add that our object in 
 recurring to them here is simply to men- 
 tion that, remembering alike the wintry drill 
 and the snug book room, Taylor's hardihood 
 — the idea of which now so readily attaches 
 to his sobriquet of Kough and Ready — 
 would certainly not then have struck a stran- 
 ger as more characteristic than his liberal- 
 minded intelligence." 
 
 In 18.32 Taylor was promoted to the com- 
 mand of the 1st Regiment of Infantry, a part 
 of the force under General Atkinson, which 
 was ordered against the Sac Indians, com- 
 manded by Black Hawk, who had commit- 
 ted many acts of savage ferocity. After 
 pursuing this redoubtable chief through an 
 almost impassable wilderness, he was over- 
 taken on the " Bad Axe," near the junction 
 of the Mississippi and Iowa, and after a des- 
 perate action, entirely defeated. Black Hawk 
 escaped, but was delivered up in a few weeks 
 by some faithless allies, and entrusted to the 
 charge of Colonel Taylor, who conveyed him 
 to Jefferson Barracks. 
 
 The "Black Hawk War" terminated, 
 Colonel Taylor was ordered to the command 
 of Fort Crawford, near Prairie du Chien, 
 which had been erected under his superin- 
 tcndance. For several years he held the 
 responsible post of Indian Agent, in which 
 capacity he won the respect and confidence 
 of the tribes placed under his care, banishing 
 all sellers of "fire water" (whiskey) after 
 destroying their poison, aiding the missiona- 
 ries in their work of Christian love, and 
 showing an honesty and good faith, which 
 unfortunately has not characterized all those 
 who had the disbursement of the funds 
 which should be paid to the red man, as a 
 paltry recompense for the home of his fath- 
 ers. " The biographers of Lewis Cass state 
 that when he crossed the Alleghany, he had 
 
 ; but one dollar in his pocket — yet it is well 
 known, that in a few years he was in the 
 
 ; possession of a coto«sal fortune. The fees 
 
 ' of a country attorney in the far We«t are 
 not large, and when once we asked a Wcst- 
 
 '< em man how Cass could afl'ord to lavish 
 money as he did, when aping nobility at 
 
 i 
 
LIFE OF GEN. ZACHARY TAYLOR. 
 
 Paris, he replied, with a sij^nificant wiiili — 
 " Oh ! he was an Indian Agent. Li;;ht conic, 
 light goes." The honest name of Zachary 
 Taylor has never been stained by the breath 
 of tlie slightest reproach, for like the Roman 
 matron, he is " above suspicion." 
 
 In 1832, Lewis Cass, then Secretary of 
 War, procured the passage of a fraudulent 
 treaty with the Seminole Indians, by nhich 
 they were bound to emigrate west of the 
 Mississippi, though it was never signed by 
 Micanopy and other influential chiefs, who 
 had governed the tribe for years. Not hav- 
 ing been parties to tliis plan for obtaining 
 their hunting grounds, they declared they 
 would not leave ; and Osceola indignantly 
 exclaimed at the next council, as he drove 
 his scalping-knifc into a table, " this is the 
 only treaty I will execute." " I am no 
 slave," he remarked on another occasion ; 
 " my skin is dark, but not black. I am an 
 Indian — a Seminole. The white man 
 shall not make me black. I will make the 
 white man red with blood ; and then black- 
 en him in the sun and rain, where the wolf 
 shall smell of bis bones, and the buzzard 
 live upon his flesh." This threat was car- 
 ried into execution, and although the Indi- 
 ans could not reach the origin of their de- 
 cree of banishment, they wreaked a terrible 
 vengeance on every white, rendering Florida 
 a scene of devastation, murder, sorrow and 
 distress. The long smothered passions of 
 an oppressed race were let loose, and a war 
 of seven years ensued, which will be long 
 remembered by those who jiarticipated in it, 
 although their country was little disposed to 
 award them the praise they so well deserved. 
 
 The climate, ignorance of the country, 
 and the treachery of the enemy, baffled the 
 skill of the most zealous and intelligent 
 officers. Military science was completely 
 defied, and General Scott was arraigned 
 licfore a Court of Inquiry, held at Frederick, 
 Md., to explain the entire f;iilure of his 
 operations, attended with an immense ex- 
 penditure of life and money. During the 
 sitting of this Court, Colonel Taylor as- 
 sumed the entire command of the North- 
 western division, belonging to General At- 
 kinson, who was a member, and who spoke 
 of Colonel Taylor in high terms, as the 
 only man who could end the war. After 
 the Court had adjourned. General Atkinson 
 resumed his command, and the (^1tonel 
 received a furlouj:h, but had not been at 
 home a fortnij^bt ere he was ordered to join 
 General Jesup at Tampa Bay. Govern- 
 ment found that something more than pro- 
 found military science was ncccssarv. — 
 "The first ([uatity of a soldier," said Napo- 
 leon, ''is constancy in enduring fatigue and 
 hardship — courage is the second." 
 
 The liigli expectation which the Govern- 
 ment had of Colonel Taylor's success is 
 shown in the fact that, immediately on his 
 arrival, be was placed in command of a 
 separate column, composed of the 1st. 4th, 
 and 6th Infantry, a battery of light artillery 
 and the Missouri volunteers. The latter 
 
 had. to use a common phrase, come " to see 
 the Ele|)hant," and we extract one from 
 numerous anecdotes of Taylor's good na- 
 tured way of governing these "citizen sold- 
 iers," contrasting with the autocratical airs 
 
 ; assumed by others " dressed in a little brief 
 
 ; authority." 
 
 " Anione thenewlv arrived volunteers tras a full 
 private, who, heartily sick of rainy weather, mud, 
 ' and nil shelter, first went to hLs captain with his 
 ; complaints, but, meeting; with no particular .synipa- 
 ; thv, resolved to have a talk witli Colonel 'I'aylor him- 
 , .self. Arrived at tlic ci inniaiidir's quarters, the 
 ; Colonel was poirtcd out to him, but he was rather 
 , incredulous. " That old fi-Uow (,'oloDcl Taylor? 
 : Xiinscnse I " Satisflcd, however, that such was ev- 
 en the case, he marched up, and rather patronbciiigly 
 : opened his business. 
 
 " Colonel Taylor, I believe." 
 
 "Yes. sir." 
 
 "Well, Colonel, I'm d—ish jrlad to see you — am, 
 : indeed." The rciloiicl rctunied the civility. 
 
 " Colonel, y,.u'll excuse me, but since I've been 
 ; here I've been lioiiiu' all I could for you — have in- 
 deed ; but the tact is the accommodations are very 
 
 < bad — they are indeed : mud, sir I blffgedio lie dowa 
 
 > in it, actually ; and the fact is, Colonel, I'm a ^e*.- 
 J III man's son', and not used to it 1 " 
 
 ; The Colonel, tio doiilit, stronirly impressed with 
 tlie fact of huviiii; a rji jitleinan's sov in his .irmy, 
 expressed his regret that such an annoyance shouU 
 
 j ever exist, under any circumstances, 'm a civilized 
 armv. 
 
 . ' ' Well — but Colonel, what am 1 to do ? " 
 
 " Why, really, I don't know, unless you take my 
 
 ;■ place."" 
 
 " Well, now, that's civil — 'tis, indeed. Of course 
 don't mean to turn you out, but a few hotjrs' sleep — 
 
 ; a cot, or a bunk, or anything, would be so rcfn-sb- 
 
 l ing! Your place — where is it, Colonel? " 
 
 ; "Oh, just drop doyyn — anp irliere about here — any 
 
 ' place about camp w ill answer ! " 
 
 '/ The look which the " gentleman's son " gave the 
 
 ' Colonel v\as rather peculiar. 
 
 > "Well, no wonder they call yon 'Rough and 
 s Ready,' said he; and, amid the smiles of all but 
 ', ' Koiigh and Ready' hhnself, the ' gentleman '.•« 
 
 < son ' returned to take his cliance of the weather." 
 
 \ Having perfected his arrangements. Col. 
 
 < Taylor marched into the interior from Tam- 
 : pa Bay, in nearly an Eastern direction, with 
 ; orders '■ to attack the enemy wherever foinid, 
 
 or in whatever numbers." Passing through 
 dense thickets of cypress and palmetto, 
 over a wet soil, matted with rank herbage, 
 Colonel Taylor perseveringly followed the 
 savages into one of their most inaccessible 
 
 ■ fastnesses. " He came up with them," 
 ; says the offlcial report of General Jesup, 
 ■j ''on the Okeechobee, attacked them, and in 
 i one of the best fought actions known to our 
 ; history, gained a complete victory." '1 he 
 
 action is thus described by one of bis biog- 
 ; raphers : 
 
 " On the S.lth of December they reached a dpn<>e 
 
 swamp, wlicve tne enemy were reported to be in 
 
 lorce. Here they halted. A few stci.s more nilglit 
 
 liiing them within range ot a hidden foe— thai foe 
 
 nilKlit be im every side: and Ihev, about to share 
 
 the fate of Dade. Yet, led on by (^olonel Taylor, no 
 
 .' man desponded, 'the line of battle wa< formed, and 
 
 ; those brave men pushed forwanl. 'I'li charge an ex- 
 
 : posei' foe, reiiuirescoo'iiessand intrepiditv; t<.charge 
 
 a protected fort, is the test of veteran abilities : bat 
 
 ' to wade up to the middle in a sw amp, when' the rank 
 
 grass is waving over head, anil an unseen eneniv ,.ii 
 
 ! every .otde. implies a degree of courage possi sseil by 
 
 < few. Yet this duty was cheerfully undertaken hy 
 • that Utile army. Korgett ng all danger, only eager 
 ' for action, the troops hurried forward with enthiisl- 
 
 ■ asm. Having i.ri'Ceeded about a ijuarter of a mi e, 
 ' they entered a wide slough, whicli seemed to forbid 
 I all further progress. Abandoning their horses, the 
 ; troops buried themselves to the nock in the grass, 
 ' wading through a four feet dpep of sllnie ani' water. 
 
 "Suildenly the rustlingol gras.- and sjilasli of water 
 
 were drowned In tin- reports of Iiuiulreds of rilles. 
 
 i '] he savages were close before them, liaving reserved 
 
 ', their lire until their aim would be certain. There 
 
LIFE OF GEN. ZACHAEY TAYLOR. 
 
 ■was a pauRO, a shouting of orders, and then the men 
 charj,'od fearlessly on. 'I'hen another volley, ana , 
 
 found In great almndance at the encampment of the 
 Iwistilfs. The litters were carrh'd on ihe backs of our 
 wiiik and totterlr.j: horses, aided hy the residue of 
 the command, with more ease and comfort to the 
 siiflerors than I could have su|)|>oseil, and with as 
 much its thev could have been in ambulances of the 
 
 oneoflicer after another sunk down pale in the agon^ 
 
 ies of death. All around was one blaze of lln-, and 
 
 \'£.t r\n Imp jinnearod. Mowed down bv scnres, their 
 
 hureoid leader hl^edinTone^H-rv sideiand nu ehance : much its they c.mbl have been in ambulanc 
 
 of resisting; tl" front li.ic faltered, then rolled back ; most improved and modern construction. 
 
 and broke ' The Indians poured after them, yel- / 
 
 lim,' the war-whoop, and hurlins one discharpe alter > 
 
 another in the fugitives, until they met the rcKular ; 
 
 troops, rndisniaved by auL-ht around, these heroic ' 
 
 men were trealinj; on as coolly as though on parade. 
 X'nflinchingly (heir bosoms met the Idasting dischar- 
 ges of the Sii ages, and sunk amid the tangled grass, 
 dving the waving blades with their life blood. Havoc 
 raged among the Klh infantrv to such a degree, that 
 the dark, cool water beneath them grew warm ami 
 red with their hlood, and every man of the foremost 
 ranks was shot down. Tlieir leader, the heroic 
 Thompson, while shouting them on, received a mor- 
 tal wound. Adjutant Center, Captain Van Swearin- 
 gen, and Lieutenant Itrooke, found graves beside 
 him. Of five companies in the advance, every infe- 
 rior officer was killed or disabled ; and of one, only 
 four men were uninjured. Still the battle .shout went 
 
 At the time, no particular praise was 
 awarded to Colonel Taylor for this liumane 
 conduct ; but a renewal of it in after years 
 brought an eloquent tribute from Senator 
 Clayton, which will not be inappropriate 
 here: — "I say, therefore, that, from the 
 bottom of my heart, I thank the brave, gen- 
 erous and merciful commander of the Amer- 
 ican troops. I thank him, sir, not only for 
 his gallantry and skill, his conduct and 
 bravery, butemincntly and above all other 
 considerations, as an American Senator, I 
 
 lour men weic uiuii.micu. ..wi. n.^ •■.... .^ ■..--■ •■- , , , . ., , . , . , t i l ■ 
 
 up echoing and breakins among those romantic glailes j thank lum for his liumaiuty ! 1 honor him, 
 
 —still peal after peal of rattling musketry hurled forth ;- i,,.,.., „„_],„ ,i,_,,,,.i,t „f „„,i i;,viro(l feeble and 
 
 the tom-nts of death -and still, mangled and groan- ) because lie tliouotit Ot, antt spared, Ittuit anu 
 
 ing, high bosoms sunk among the sedgy reeds, \Yhile 
 
 the life-blood oii>,ed lilackcrand thicker between the , 
 
 blades. Amid the horrors of that awful hour, Taylor ; 
 
 was rushincr from rank to rank, exhorting his heroes ; 
 
 to the charl'e, and thrilling every heart with enthusi- ; 
 asm. >;ow'the savages broke in disorder ; then they 
 paused, rallied, and rolled back on their pursuers, 
 with a fiirv that appeared irresistible. Again they 
 
 were broken, UL-ain thev rallied, till the whole swamp > 
 
 seemed to boil with the raoid movements. Onward, , 
 
 faster and tinner, Taylor led his sliouting heroes, ; 
 
 bearing down opposins hosts, and sweeping every ! 
 
 thing before them. The ground was mashed into < 
 
 pools beneath their feet, and the foe were lying In j 
 
 heaps on everv side. . ; 
 
 " At length the Indians were driven from their , 
 
 position to their camp on the borders of Lake Okee- j 
 
 Chobeo Here their flunk was turnc-il bv Lieutenant '. 
 
 Colonel Davenport, ami immoiliately after they de- ^ 
 
 livered a final voUey and lied. The pursuit was con- ; 
 
 tinned until night. \ 
 
 " The loss of the Americans in this battle was four- ; 
 teen officers and one hundred and tw-enty-fourmen ; 
 
 that of the Indians was not ascertained." < 
 
 unoffending woman, in that hour of her ut- 
 most peril. I honor him, because he spared 
 tottering age and helpless infancy ; and I 
 glory that an American officer has shown 
 himself thus alive to the best feelings of the 
 human heart." 
 
 It was at this battle that Colonel Taylor 
 is said to have used profane language; 
 though men who have been with him in 
 scenes the most trying, and under the most 
 provoking circumstances, declare that he 
 never is guilty of uttering an oath. ]Major 
 Gaines, cf Kentucky, said in his speech at 
 Faneuil Hall :—'" Taylor does not swear. 
 I have known him long, have slept in his 
 tent, and been on the most intimate terms 
 with him ; yet I never heard him utter a 
 profiine word. Once, though, I remcmtier 
 his telling me he was sorely tried. It was 
 at the battle of Okeechobee, where the 
 
 This signal victory confirmed Colonel 
 Taylor's high military reputation : but, while 
 adiiiiriug his gallant, and intrepid conduct 
 
 on the field of battle, it is more pleasing to ; Missouri volunteers were so hard pressed, 
 see, by his own report, the tender solicitude ; that they fell into disorder, and finally rc- 
 he dis'plaved for the wounded. A great ob- * treated. 'Where are you going?' asked 
 jection urged against military men is, that ; Colonel Taylor, riding up to their head, 
 the scenes of carnage in which they destroy J They said they had been ordered to retreat. 
 
 ' Toil lie, vou" scoundrels !' answered Tay- 
 lor. 'Aiid,' said old Zack, 'I believe I 
 cursed them.' " 
 
 Washington, says one of his eulogists, 
 ' possessed such violent passions as rarely 
 ; inhabit the human breast. Several times iu 
 his varied and active life, when he was sur- 
 , prised bv the gross cowardice or misconduct 
 \ of individuals on whom he had relied, the 
 : storm gathered on his brow, usually so se- 
 rene, and wrath flashed forth like lightning 
 ; — as terrible, yet as transient — for in an 
 ' instant he was himself again. Thus con- 
 trolled, (and the remark will apply as well 
 ' to Tavlor as to Washington,) this impetu- 
 ; osity should not perhaps' be regarded as a 
 I failing, but rather as a trial, given, like 
 other trials, to afford opportunity for tri- 
 umph, glorious in proportion to the strength 
 I of the enemy subdued. Thus controlled, 
 what does the violence of the tempest prove, 
 : but the divinity of the virtue which rides in 
 : and rules it ! 
 • The important consequences of the battle 
 
 ' of Okeechobee — which, in anv other coun- 
 
 Bav, on rude litters constructed with the knife and ; ,„^„i,i »,„vo t.^rinin-ifeil •' .• war were 
 
 axe alone, withpoles and dry hides -the latter beluK ^ try, would na^e terminatLd i..(- war «ere 
 
 their fellow-creatures, blunt all their tender 
 sensibilities. But the following extract from 
 Colonel Taylor's report shows that bis heart 
 was yet alfve to suffering, and prompt to 
 alleviate it : — 
 
 " As soon as the enemv were completely broken, 
 Coffleial report of Okeechobee.] I turned niv attention 
 to taking care of the wounded, to facilitate their re- 
 moval to mv baggage, where I ordered an encamp- 
 ment to be formed." I directed Captain Tavlor to 
 cross over to the spot, and employ every individual 
 whom he mi;.'ht find there, in constructing a small 
 footwav across the swamp. This, with great exer- 
 tions, was completed in a short time alter d.irk, when 
 all the dead and wounded were ca; ricd over in litters 
 made for the purpose, with one exception, a private 
 of the 4th infantry, who was killed and could not be 
 found. 
 
 " And here I trust I may he permitted to sav, that 
 I experienced one of the most trving scenes of mv 
 life, and he who could have looked on it with indif- 
 ference, his nerves must have been ditVerently organ- 
 ized from mv own. Besides the killed, there lav one 
 hundred and twilve wounded otlicers and sol.liers, 
 who had accompanied me one hundred and forty-five 
 miles, most of the way through an une.xplorc'i wil- 
 derness, without guide- , who had so gallantly beaten 
 theenemv under mv orders in his strongest position, 
 and who had to be coiiveved back, through swamps 
 and hammocks, from whence wc set out, without 
 anv apparent means of doing so. 'I his service, how- 
 ever, was encountered and overcome, and thev hi.vc 
 been convevcd thus far, and proceeded on to Tain pa 
 
 ^ 
 
■ff " . ' sM 
 
 UK 
 
 8 
 
 LIFE OF GEN. ZACHARY TAYLOR. 
 
 thus summed up by Colonel Taylor in his 
 report, on returning to the coast : — 
 
 " This column, in six weeks penetrated one liun- 
 dred ami fllty miles into tlie ineniv'scountry, opened 
 roads, and constructed bridges and causewavs, wlien 
 necessary, on tlic ^'reator portion of tlie route ; es- 
 tablislied two depots and the necessary defences for 
 Ihesaini-, and tinaliv overtook and beat tlic enemv, 
 in his strongest position, 'ilie results of whicli move- 
 ment and battle have been, the caiiture of thirty of 
 the liostiles, tlie coming in and siirrenderin« of more 
 than one hundred and liftv Indians and negroes — 
 mostly of the former, including the chiefs On-la-too- 
 gec, Tus-ta nug-gee, and other principal men — the 
 capturing aiut driving out ol the country six hundred 
 head of cattle, upwards of one hundred head of hor- 
 ses, bcsidi s obtaining a thorougli knowledge of the 
 country through which we operated, a greater por- 
 tion of which was entirely unknown, except to the 
 enemy." 
 
 A general order, signed by the Com- 
 mander-in-Chief, was issued to tlie Army, 
 complimenting Colonel Taylor and his offi- 
 cers for their gallantry, and tendering them 
 the tlianks of the President. This official 
 acknowledgment of Taylor's bravery was 
 followed, on the 2.5th of December, 1837, by 
 a commission of Brevet Brigadier General, 
 "for distinguished services at the battle of 
 Okeccliobee." He was, at the same time, 
 ordered to take up his position at Fort Bas- 
 sinser ; and we give an anecdote of him 
 while stationed here, that is as amusing as 
 it is characteristic : — 
 
 '' The General had a favorite horse, which he called i 
 Claybank,' a very fine animal, and much attached ' 
 to his master. But he did not much fancv the mustv ' 
 corn often furnished the troop.s. '1 he (ieiural used ' 
 to partake of the same fare as his soldiers, and so • 
 did Cla\lj:ink, so far us (lie corn was concerned, and ; 
 they werr butli ciiuallv dainty. 'Ihe General wa.s ! 
 very foiiil ot bcmiiny, and nuistv corn made anvthing ; 
 but a idrasaiit diet, lie would subject himself to ', 
 the sus|iii Kill of ' picking,' to the preiudice of the ' 
 soldiers, rather than eat it, wlun not compelled to. ! 
 Finding that Claybank undorsto<i(l that business bet- < 
 ter tlian he did, he would ijuietlv let him loose '<. 
 amongst the sacks of corn. Aftcrsmelling very care- 
 fully , the sagacious animal would commence gnaw- i 
 ing a hole in one that pleascil him. '1 lie General < 
 would patiently watcli tlie iiuuicruvre iiiitil he saw \ 
 that Claybank had made a (iioicc, tlwn culling his > 
 tiervaiil, be would direct him to tiav.' Clavb.-mk sta- '' 
 
 f'ie<l i ediatcly, for fear he might do mischief; ' 
 
 but," he would sav, ' as the animal has eaten a hole ■ 
 »n the bag, take out a quart or so of the com, and > 
 make a dish of hominy." 'Jhe trick was plaved for ; 
 some time, but at last it became known, that when- , 
 ever (,'lavbaiik gnawed into a sack, sweet corn wa.s ) 
 to be found there, and the incident became a stand- 
 ing joke during the war, and it was enjoyed bv none < 
 more heartily than by the subject of it himseli'." / 
 
 "General Taylor never hesitated to move about 
 
 ; unattended, and, generally, when riding out on iin- 
 
 ; portant business, he kept a mile or two ahead of his 
 
 escort. No matter how many Indians were prowling 
 
 ■ about, the old General seemed unconscious that they 
 ; would harm him, and often, when only armed par- 
 j ties could escape attack. General Taylor would trust 
 , himself alone, under some wide spreading tree, in 
 \ close pro.ximity with the enemy, and thus circuin- 
 , stanced, he wouhl eat his frugal meal, and if desira- 
 ; ble, indulge in a sound sleep. At t)ie time the Indi- 
 ) ans were most troublesome to our troo|>s, Goieral 
 ; 'I avlor announced his deti-niiination to go from Fort 
 ; King to Tampa Bay, whirl! journev would takehim 
 ; through nearly one liundrrd mihs of hostile country. 
 I 'I'he jaunt was considered, liy ever\- body, as a most 
 ' desperate adventure. The nx'iniing lor startini; came, 
 . when the General's travelling companions, JIajor 
 : liliss* and a young lieutenant, began to look «ist,fuilv 
 ; around for the escort. In due time, si.\ dragoons, ail 
 ^ saddled and bridled, made their appearance. There 
 ; was a force to meet several thousand wilv Seminoles, 
 
 who filled up every nook and comer between Fort 
 King and Tampa Bav ! After some hesitation, one 
 
 ■ of the tieneral's friends suggested that the escort was 
 , not sufficiently strong, and that a requisition .should 
 : be made for a greater force. '1 he General examined 
 
 the appearance of the six dragoons, attentively, for a 
 ; moment, and then remarked, if the number was not 
 J suflicicnt, two more might be added to it." 
 
 , The general orders issued from the War 
 Department, in November, 1839, announced 
 tiiat " General Taylor, by the zealons and 
 : intelligent discharge of l)is duties, having 
 i given satisfaction to the Department, he will 
 ' continue in con»mand." During another 
 . year he continued to carry out his system of 
 warfare, by means of which many sn>all par- 
 ; ties were captured or voluntarily snrrender- 
 ; cd. Yet as the number of tlie savag«s di- 
 J minished, the vindictive cruelty of the sur- 
 vivors increased. Fathers were sliot in ihe 
 presence of their f.imilics, the heads of in- 
 fants were dashed against stones before their 
 mothers, the white flag enticed victims into 
 amiiush, and incendiary fires ligliied the 
 yelling barl)arians in their ticndish deeds. 
 The boldest hearts became discouraged, and 
 one who served there may be permitted to 
 say, that as an otticcr went about at the 
 head of his small commatid of ragged scouts, 
 he resembled a bandit chief more than a 
 defender of a civilized country. "■'I'lie only 
 stars over his head were tlie stars of heaven, 
 the only stripes were lacerated feet, by wad- 
 ing swamps and saw-palmetto h.-immocks, 
 and the only sound which welcomed him 
 home after liis toils, was the vulirar abuse of 
 
 the inexperienced." Fifteen hundred and 
 On the 1.5th of March, 1838, General | forty-nine gallant spirits passed to another 
 Jesup relintpiished the command of the I **"^' better world, where every man is re- 
 Army of Florida to General Taylor, who 
 
 abandoned the plan of marching columns 
 through the swamps, and commenced divid- 
 ing the country into military districts of 
 twenty miles stjuare. In the centre of each, 
 or at the most eligible point, a blockhouse 
 was built, and garrisoned by twenty or thir- 
 ty men, a part of them niounted. These 
 were to make daily scoutin 
 
 warded according to his deserts. 
 
 The noble example of General Taylor 
 sustained his men among their perilous hard- 
 
 \ * Major Bli.ss is the son of Captain .lohn Bliss, who, 
 
 i with his w He, were natives of Lebanon, NewUamp- 
 
 : shire, but moved to Whitehall, New-York, just t>e- 
 
 ;, fore the Ia.st war, where W. \V. S. Bliss was horn. 
 
 ', After serving through it, Captain Bliss went to Mobile 
 
 • I'oint, to superintend the building of forlitlcalions, 
 where he shortly after died. His widow returned to 
 
 were to make daily scoutintr exnediiiou'; ! i^",<'rc ho. snortiv after died. His widow returned to 
 
 ar,A .1,., ,eK ■ ' 11 .. ' I-cbunon, where her gn^alest care was to watch the 
 
 and the Othccr in command was held re- j budding of the mind of heronlcson, and tolrahi him 
 
 sponsible that the hammocks of his district 
 
 contained no Indians. The General used 
 to visit these blockhouses when least ex- 
 pected, keeping their garrisons on the alert, 
 and e.xhihiiiiitr a jiersonal courage which 
 made the Indians regard him as a charmed 
 man. The following anecdote illustrates 
 this singular disregard of danger : 
 
 for future usefulness. In the fall after he whs fourteen 
 years of age, he went to West Toint, where, in due 
 time, he graduated, and has since become distinguish- 
 ed In ihe service of his country. He was ever his 
 mother's pride, and he delighted to honor her, H-sall 
 truly noble men do. But his lust \ Isii, < i>v(rcd with 
 glory won In Slexico, proved the cause of her death. 
 It was an event vhich she had anticipated with a 
 gn at deal of pleasure, and she sank under the ex- 
 citement It occasbuied. Of Major I51iss, as tieneral 
 'laylor's favorite aid, it may be said — " IJkc master, 
 like man." 
 
\ 
 
 LIFE OF GEN. ZACHARY TAYLOR 
 
 ships, and no onecoulrl tliiiik of complaining, 
 after seeing his small tent, which we should 
 like to see reproduced, sidc-hy-sidc with the 
 {;ilded saloons in the rue Mati<.nion, where 
 Lewis Cass, then Minister at I'avis, enter- 
 tained his aristocratic friends. There must 
 liavc Iieen a difference, also, in the personal 
 appearance of the two ; — one decked out 
 in the gold-embroidered court liverij, which 
 Franklin refused to put on, hut which Cass 
 not only wore himself, hut made all his 
 countrymen whom he presented at Court 
 wear, to please the regal ideas of his friend, 
 that faNe democrat. Louis Philippe. The 
 other, less ainhitious, is portrayed in the 
 following capital story : — 
 
 " DuriiiR tJic Florida oaiiipai|.'n, a certain young 
 officer, afler rccciviiiK His i(iiiiml>isi(Mi, was ordered 
 to join the arms- in tliat quarter. His first duty was, 
 of course, to report liiiuselr til (ieneral'tavlor. After 
 a vcrv tedious jouniev, licivrver, tlinui'jti the woods, 
 ourotlieer arrived at a small shanty, called a tavern, 
 alxiut til'tv miles from head-quarters, where lie 
 thoujjht proper to stay three days. There were only 
 two visitors there besides himself. One of them, an 
 oldish, shulihv-lookiiig man, with ahlack hat, minus 
 part of tlie cn)\vn, and a piece of twine for a ribbon, 
 was verv ini|uisilive, and, anioiiK other things, asked 
 our (illic.T what excuse he intended to make for his 
 deJav in reiiortiiij,' hiiiiself to the (ieneral. 
 
 " ' Oh,' s;iid the officer, • they say Taylor is a very 
 oasv old soul, and 1 can easily hiake up an e.xcuse.' 
 OnVoinj; to bed that ni^ht, the otHcerasked the land- 
 lord who (hat impudent, inquisitive old fellow was? 
 'Whv,' said the host, 'don't you know General 
 Tavlor?'' About an hour afterwards, at midnight, 
 the tramp of a horse's feet was heard, making quick 
 tracks towards head-quarters." 
 
 In 1840, General Taylor, at his own re- 
 quest, was relieved by General Armistead, 
 and received a furlough, which he improved 
 by visiting the New England States. His 
 gentlemanly deportment while an inmate of 
 the Maverick House, at East Boston, is well 
 rememliered hy those who were there at the 
 time with him, and they recall many com- 
 plimentary remarks which he made after his 
 solitary strolls through the Tremont city. 
 This was not Lewis Cass's style of travelling. 
 For he had Old Ironsides placed at his dis- 
 position, and sailed about the Mediterranean 
 at Uncle Sam's expense, with his family and 
 a suite of uniformed young gentlemen, whose 
 conduct towards the gallant tars, who were 
 thus sutiservientto a "democratic " pleasure 
 seeker, was, if we mistake not, so resented 
 that an ajipeal to arms was talked of. 
 
 General Taylor was too valuable a man 
 to be ])ermittcd to remain idle, and he was 
 appointed to the command of the first Mili- 
 tary Division, which includes the South- 
 western frontier. Fort Jesup was for two 
 years his headquarters, and the chaplain 
 furnishes valuable testimony as to his moral 
 character, for there was the place to study 
 it. In garrison, away from civilization, men 
 are seen in their true light — every good or 
 bad trait manifesting itself — and the follow- 
 ing plain statements are golden proofs. 
 
 " General Tavlor was two vears at Fort Jesup, as 
 the commander of 1(500 men, many of whom were 
 among the worst of the race ; in that fort, swearing 
 was as common as plumes; the very moral sense 
 seemed to demand an oath as a test of a gentleman. 
 'J he chaplain who was with Cn ii. T. during his whido 
 command, and saw him under circumstances of the 
 greatest provocation, savs lie never heard an oath 
 from his lips. His principles and practice in this 
 respect are kuowu to the whole army. 
 
 " Gen. Tavlor Is a strict tcct'taller. Tie conforms 
 to the customs of the army, and keeps on hisyilde- 
 hiiard such liquors as an' ilrank in the army ; but he 
 pledges his oiilcer- onlv in cold water. At the close 
 Id' a paraile, it is cii.iuctle on the part of the otMcers 
 to cmII at head-<|uartiTs and pay rc'spect to the com- 
 mander iii-chler. It is etiquette on the part of the 
 commander to allow the ollicers to drink bis health. 
 It has been Cell. Tavlor's custom for years, to pour 
 out his glass of cold water, and drink the health of 
 his stair alone. When be assumid th<^ cummand of 
 Fort Jesup, he found intrinpeianci- to be the pre- 
 vailing sin. Whipping, imprisDiinnnt and lini'S had 
 been exhausted. It was proposed t(j attempt to re- 
 form the men. Gen. Taylor gave the chaplain his 
 warm co-operation hy authority and example. A 
 change was seen at once ; and in less than two years, 
 more than COO reformed men •iiandieil in procession, 
 with badges and banners. So.; e ol lliem «lio joined 
 the aruiv because of their intcmijcraiice, obtained 
 their discharge through (Icn. tavlor, and returned 
 iKinu- to their lamiliessolier men. .Some of tliein are 
 in good business lu I'.oston at tills time. 
 
 "(;en, 'lav lor is a friend to the Sabliath and to 
 public worship. You cannot judge men severely 
 who are in the hand of committees, as Gen. Taylor 
 was at New Orleans, on his return from Mexico. l?y 
 such a rule J. Q. Adams, Mr. Webster, and others 
 must be set down as enemies to the Sabbath ; a sin- 
 gle act, over which, as public men, they bad no con- 
 trol, must weigh more than a long life. It is a com- 
 mon thing for ofticcrs in the aniiv to take exercise 
 on the .Sabbath, by walking or riding after public 
 worship. During the whole time he was at Fort 
 Jesup, the chaplain says he never saw General Tay- 
 lor riding for exercise, nor so inuch as walking before 
 his quarters. lie regarded the Sal)liatli as cs-^entiul 
 to good order and morals, and he threw the lt>rce of 
 his example fullv in its favor. lie was n gular and 
 devout at worship. 'Whenever the chaplain preached, 
 whoever else -was absent. Gen. Taylor was in his 
 place." 
 
 How different would be the testimony of 
 the chaplains who were stationed in the 
 "Halls of the MontezuiTias " during the Gov- 
 ernorship of General Butler, the Loco Foeo 
 candidate for the Vice Presidency, if called 
 upon to state how he observed the Sabbath ! 
 If the correspondent of the New Orleans 
 Crescent may be credited, (and " Chap- 
 paral's" letters have a trutiiful repntalion.) 
 the would-be Vice President, while Com- 
 mander-in-Chief of our army, violated God's 
 holy law by attending a horse-race on Sun- 
 day, and sank his official dignity by coun- 
 tenancing by his jiresence a party of ganri- 
 blers. This gross act of itnmoraiiiy is 
 cluonicled in the following extract, which 
 we commend to the particular attention of 
 those enemies of Henry Clay, who per- 
 suaded many good Christians not to give 
 him their votes, because, as they falsely 
 asserted, he once played "poker" on board 
 of a Missis.sippi steamer on the Lord's day. 
 
 " There was a regular row at the racecourse on 
 Siindav. Blanv persons were out there, and among 
 them the General in-Cbief 'I here was some foul 
 riding or jockevlng, which caused manv fights and 
 lilondv noses. "A party of gamblers made a race, and 
 entered a fine horse, which was the favorite with 
 evervtiodv, and everytiody tried to bet on him — 
 some goiiiL: as high as live to one — l)Ut the favorite 
 didn't w in, and the joi keviiig was .so jialpable that a 
 row was vominenied at once. The stand gave way 
 while Gen. Uutler was upon it, but fortunately no 
 one was seriously hurt." 
 
 In May, 184,5, it was whimpered that Pres- 
 ident Polk intended to secure his reelection 
 by plungitig the nation into a bloody and 
 expensive contest, a fatal step which he was 
 urged on to take by Lewis Cass, who de- 
 clared that " ILX mi]/IU sira/low the wlioh of 
 Mexico icllhout being /not bi/it." How differ- 
 ent are the sentiments of General Taylor, 
 who, too old and brave a soldier to be daz- 
 zled by that phantom called military glory, 
 
^J' - 
 
 ^ 
 
 10 
 
 LIFE OF GEN. ZACHARY TAYLOR. 
 
 is ready, (we quote his own words,) to " sin- ' 
 cerely rejoice at the prospect of PEACE. 
 My life, (he says.) has been devoted to arms, 
 yet I look upon war at all times and under 
 all circuntst.inces, as a national calamity, to ' 
 beavoiilcd if compatible with national honor. 
 The principles of our Government, as well 
 as its true policy, are opposed to the subju- 
 gation of other nations, and the dismember- 
 ment of other countries by conciuest. In the 
 lanojuage of the great Washington, ' why 
 should we quit our own to stand on foreign 
 ground?'" Had these sound views been 
 carried out by President Polk, the country 
 would not have been involved in debt, nor 
 would thousands have mourned over the 
 cruel losses which they have sustained. But 
 there " is a divinity that shapes our ends, 
 rough-hew them as we will," and so Mr. 
 Polk found it when he overlooked General 
 Scott, lest he should win new laurels and 
 become a dangerous rival for the Presidency, 
 to place a man little known in command. 
 General Coombs says that he firmly believes 
 that it is an overruling Providence that has 
 baffled all the schemes of aggrandisement 
 and usurpation, which the atitliors of this 
 war originated for their own benefit. Gen- 
 eral Scott was " headed," but General Tay- 
 lor went forward to the discharge of his duty, 
 and won tlie fame and confidence which, in 
 spite of the intentions of President Polk, 
 has made him the very rival he so much 
 feared ! 
 
 General Taylor's first orders from the 
 Secretary of War, after the President had 
 determined to commence hostilities on his 
 own responsibility, directed him to have the 
 forces under his command, or which might 
 be assigned to ir, put into a j)ositioii wliich 
 would enable him to give Texas " a defence 
 from /orei(jn invasion and Indian incursions." 
 Subsequent instructions gave iiim as an 
 ultimate point, the Hio Grande del Norte, 
 as " Texas must be protected from hostile 
 invasion,''' and he left for that point, relin- 
 quishing the i>leasure he had anticipated 
 from seeinir his son, then in college at New- 
 Haven. That he little thought it was the 
 intention of Government to place him in a 
 da^ge^()U^^ position, with only troops enough 
 to teini)t the Mexicans to attack him, and 
 then to commence an aggressive war, is ev- 
 ident from his last despatch to the War De- 
 partment, prior to his sailing from New- 
 Orleans. 
 
 New Orlkaks, July 20, 184.'). 
 Sir : I respectfullv acknowlodpp vour cnmmuiilca. 
 tioii of Julv a, covorin- the in-^lriK'liniis of tlic; Sec- 
 retary of War of the >.iiiic dale, rrbilive to the Me.\i- 
 can sefllniiieiit<i)ri this side of Ihi' liiu Crande. 'I'hose 
 Instructions «ill he chi.i,|v idieved ; and the depart- 
 nient may rest assured th.it l' will take no ste|i to 
 interrupt the friendlv relations between the I'mted 
 States and Me.xico. I am siratilled iit reccivini; these 
 Instr ictions, as they confirm my views, prevlou.slv 
 communicated, In regard to the proper lino to be oc- 
 cupied at present hy our troop.s. 
 
 1 uin, sir, very respectfully, 
 
 Your obedient ser>-ant, 
 
 Z. TAYI,OR, 
 Brevet Brig. Gen. IT. S. A., commandinK- 
 
 The army of occupation passed six months 
 in camp at Corpus Christi, where General 
 
 ' Taylor drilled his new forces into a state of 
 admirable discipline, and inspired thetn by 
 his fn-.nk and gallant bearing with that con- 
 fidence in their leader which contriliutes so 
 largely to military success. Nor was he less 
 mindful of the morals of his men, breaking 
 up the faro-banks and groggeries which a 
 gang of rowdy camp-followers repeatedly 
 endeavored to establish clandestinely, until 
 ; the General's patience was exhausted. — 
 " Take those sporting men," said he to an 
 officer, " and send them Avhere they will not 
 bother us any more." '• But where can I 
 send them. General ? " '■ Oh ! anywhere. 
 Send them to the United States." In March, 
 1 846, the General crossed the vast wilderness 
 lying between the Nueces and the Rio 
 ' Grande, fording a wide arm of the sea, 
 which the Mexicans threatened to defend, 
 but retreated on the approach of the Ameri- 
 cans. " While on this march," says the Gen- 
 eral, in an official letter. " it was my earnest 
 desire to execute my instructions in a pacific 
 ; manner — to observe the utmost regard for 
 ■ the personal rights of all citizens, anil to take 
 care that the religion and customs of the 
 people should suffer no violation." Arriv- 
 ing at Point Isabel, the Americans found 
 the buildings set on fire, and the Mexicin 
 I authorities treating them as enemies; yet 
 General Taylor had no wish to ])recipitate 
 f his country into a bloody war, and we find 
 
 him writing to the Mexican commander: 
 i 
 
 I "Notwithstanding these repeated assurances on 
 
 i tJie part of tlie Mexican authorities, and notwith- 
 
 5 standiDfr the most obviously hostile preparations on 
 
 '( the riyht bank of the river," accompanied by a rij.'id 
 
 i non-intercourse, I carefully abstained froni any act 
 
 ; of hostility — determined that the onus of producing 
 
 ', an actual state ofhosliiitiis shoulil not rest with me. 
 
 ', Our relations remaimd in this state utitil I had the 
 
 honor to receive your note of the 12tli inst., in which 
 
 you denounce war as the altenuitive of my remaining 
 
 in this position. .Vs I could not.undcrmy instructions, 
 
 recede from my position, I accepted tiie alteniative 
 
 you oHered me, and made all my dispositions to meet 
 
 it suitably." 
 
 Establishing a depot at Point Isabel, 
 General Taylor i)ursued his march up the 
 left bank of tlie liio Grande, and on the 
 : 28th of ISIarch planted the national flag 
 ; opposite JMatamoras, where he erected Fort 
 >; Brown. Hostilities were now lommenced 
 '■ by an attack on a reconnoitering party, and 
 it soon becoming evident that it was the in- 
 tention of the Mexicans to capture Point 
 I Isabel, (ieneral Taylor resolved on march- 
 ing to relieve it with his whole force, except 
 ! a small garrison left in the fort. This the 
 I Mexicans exulted over as a retreat. 
 \ On the evening of the 7th of May, Gen. 
 j Taylor set out from IViint Isal)el, at the 
 > head of twenty-one hundred men, wiih a 
 full determination to light the Mexicans, if 
 they opposed his return to Fort Brown, 
 j whose deep-mouthed cannon were heard at 
 J intervals, — 
 
 " OlvlnR proof throu^;h the night that our flag was 
 still there," 
 
 The troops bivouacked towards morning ; 
 : and resuming their march at sunrise, came 
 I in sight of Arista's line at nooi:, drawn up 
 ) in battle array, at the farther side of a prairie, 
 
I 
 
 LIFE OF GEN. ZACHARY TAYLOR. 
 
 11 
 
 behind wliicli rose a dwarfish woi)d, known 
 as El Palo Alto. After an hour's rest, Gen. 
 Taylor's forces advanced by columns to- 
 ward the enemy: — 
 
 " Firm paced and slow, a fearless front they form ; 
 Still as the breeze but dreadful as the storm." 
 
 When within about seven hundred yards, 
 the Mexican artillery opened their tire — 
 Duncan's and Ringgold's batteries returned 
 it — the cannonade became severe — the 
 Mexican lancers advanced in terrible array 
 — and after a fierce and sanguinary stnig- 
 gle, the American arms were crowned with 
 victory. Six hundred Mexicans remained 
 on the field, after their comrades had tied — 
 but they were dead or wounded — wliile the 
 American loss was lutt nine killed, and for- 
 ty-four wounded. Such was the result of 
 the first battle of the campaign — an action 
 ■which astonished the trained veterans of 
 Europe, and filled the heart of every true 
 American with joy. Whether the war was 
 just or unjust, Palo Alto's field proved that 
 Americans, led by a brave chieftain, are 
 capable of defending the " stars and stripes" 
 against a fearful odds ! 
 
 Sending his wounded back to Point Isa- 
 bel under a strong guard, General Taylor 
 advanced the next niurning in battle array, 
 and found the enetny awaiting him at La 
 llesaca de la Palma, a ravine crossing the 
 road at right angles, where they had thrown 
 t.p breastworks. It was a daring act, to 
 combat six thousand veterans, entrenched 
 in a chosen position, strongly defended with 
 artillerv, with about two thousand ; and 
 there was some hesitation, in a council of 
 war, about the ]iropriety of going on. Gen. 
 Taylor patiently heard what all had to say, 
 and then drily remarked : " I promised the 
 boys they should go to Fort Brown, and ihfij 
 must qoP He had written to the Depart- 
 ment, before leaving Point Isabel : " if the 
 enemy oppose my march, in whatever num- 
 bers, I shall fight him ; " and now laid his 
 plans for attack with cool sagacity. An 
 officer who had always been very prominent 
 on parade and in councils of war, was or- 
 dered to deploy his regiment on the enemy's 
 Hank. Not over-deligbtcd with the pros- 
 pect of iscojK'iii shots, the Colonel stam- 
 mered out a request to know what his men 
 should fall back on, if repulsed'? •'■ Theii 
 never will be repulsed," said General Tay- 
 lor; " and if //()« wish to T&trei\t, fall back on 
 Neiv Orleans ! " 
 
 The battle raged with intense fury ; and 
 loud above the sharp rattle of the musketry 
 and the deep din of the artillery, was heard 
 the loud cheering of the Americans, as Gen. 
 Taylor inspired them with fresh ardor, by 
 animated remarks and daring courage. 
 
 " It was a jrlnrious sight to see. 
 
 For one who had no friend, no brother there." 
 
 And the bold charges of Captain May, 
 whose dragoons dashed through the enemy's 
 ranks like the wing of the <lestroying angel, 
 decided the day. The Mexicans tied in 
 great disorder, leaving their camp equipa- 
 
 ges and equipments. Their los.s was esti- 
 mated at one thousand ; and General Vega, 
 their bravest leader, was captured, and 
 brought to General Taylor. Shaking his 
 captive's hand, the victor kindly said to 
 him : " I do assure you. General Vega, that 
 I regret this misfortune has f\illei>-npon you. 
 I regret it sincerely, and insist on returning 
 you the sword which you yielded up when 
 captured, after having this day wielded it 
 with so much gallantry." General Vega 
 was an inmate of the commander's tent, 
 until be was sent to New Orleans, carryinj^ 
 with him a letter of introduction to General 
 I Gaines from General Taylor, who also 
 ' added a letter of credit on bis banker. 
 ; While attentive to his own troops, Gen- 
 
 ■ eral Taylor ordered the surgeons to attend 
 j to tlie wounded Mexicans, abandoned to 
 ; die in lingering agony, saying: "Keep an 
 J account of all that you disburse for them, 
 • and of what medicine they have from the 
 
 army chests — if the War Department grum- 
 i hie, I'll foot the bills." He then returned to 
 ; Point Isabel, in order to arrange a combined 
 ; attack on Matamoras, with Commodore 
 I Cornier. Their interview is thus humor- 
 ; ously described : — 
 
 " The sintriilar simplicity that m.irks OeneralTay 
 ; lor's personal appearance an'i habits, has become a 
 ^ subject of universal tame. It is curinus that a soldier, 
 ' so ciniiieiit in all the (pinlities of di-eipliiie. shoul u 
 , be SI. citizeu-ldDkinj,' in lii^own appearanec. Commo- 
 dore Conner, on the eontrarv, is an olheer that is not 
 '; onlv strict in his dress, but has an extra nicety about 
 i it. He appears in full and splendid unifonn on all 
 -; public occasions — beint; the exact contrast, in this 
 
 particular, of Cenenil Tavlor. 
 
 > " At file proper time, Commodore Conner sent 
 
 ' word to General Ta^ lor that he wunUl come on shore 
 
 topav himavisitofcoremonv. This put 'Old Kough 
 
 : and Readv ' into a tremendous excitement. IfCom- 
 
 ■ modore Conner had quiellv come up to his tent, and 
 given him a sailor's Krip, and sat down on a camp 
 
 ' chest, and tallied over matters in an old fashioned 
 wav, (iiiieral Tavlor would have been prepared ; but 
 
 : to havi'tlirmiistcareliillv dressed otticerin ournavy, 
 eonmianclin<; the finest tleet, come in full unitonn — 
 surrounded bv all the <.'!itterinsr pomp of splendid 
 equiioiieiits— ■ til pav a visit of ceremony, was more 
 
 ■ than Ceneva! Tavlnrliad, without some efl'ort, nerve 
 I to go through with ; but, ever equal to all emenicn- 
 j cies, he detennined to compliment Commodore <- on- 
 
 < ner, and through him the navy, by aj>peanng w full 
 
 < uuijorm — a. tlihig his olllcers, associated with nun 
 '' for vears, had never witnessed. 
 
 i " In the meanwhile, C:-mmodore Conner was cogj- 
 ' tating liver the most proper wav to compliment t.en- 
 ■: eral 'lavlor. Ilavinu heard "f his peculiar disregard 
 ; of military dress, he cuncludcd he wuuld maliethe 
 visit in a manner comportin.; to Ceneral 1 avior s 
 : habits, and consequentlv eqiiipped himself m plain 
 : win e drilling, and. uiuntended, came ashore. 
 
 "The moment that Ceneral ■layhir heanl that 
 Connnodore Conner bad landed, he abandoned some 
 ; heavv work he was per.^oiially atteiidin« to iibout the 
 j camp, and precipitatelv rushed into his tent, delved 
 at the bottom of an old chest, and pulled out a uni- 
 form coat, that had peacefully slumbered loryeara 
 in undisturbed iiuietude. slipped lumsel; into it in 
 , his baste fastening it so that one si.le of the .standine 
 ; collar was three buitun ledes above the other, and 
 sat himself down as uncomfortalily as can well t>e 
 . imagined With quiet step, and unattended Ci>m- 
 ; modore Conner presented himself at General I ay- 
 ; lor's tent. The nobh- representatives of the anny 
 i and navv shook hands, both in exceeding astonlsb- 
 ! mentat'earb otier's peiMinal appearance. 
 i " The wags of the ariiiv say tliat the above contains 
 ! the onlv aulhenhc account of General laylor's ever 
 
 < being 'headed,' and that since tliat time, he hM 
 \ taken to linen roundabouts of the largest dimensions, 
 
 v\ith more pertinacity than ever." 
 
 Matamoras surrendered without a strug- 
 gle, and the regimental bands struck up 
 '• Yankee Doodle," as the '' stars and stripes" 
 
12 
 
 LIFE OF GEN. ZACHARY TAYLOR. 
 
 were rai-^cl upon Fort Paredcs. Had Gov- 
 ernment vupported the gallant hero who hjul 
 thus fought tW'O pitched hattles, and tcrmi- ; 
 nated a camiuiifrn in twelve days, he would ' 
 have continued his victorious march. But ; 
 Mr. Polk was lient on j:ivin<r "aid and com- 
 fort " to tiie enemy, hv placing Santa Anna 
 at their head, and affordinir them time to 
 recruit their strenjrth, by kecpinjr General 
 Taylor inactive. When the newly raised 
 volunteers did arrive, there were no means 
 of transportation, and General Taylor was '■ 
 obliged to wait patiently, encamped on the 
 river hank. 
 
 Samuel C. Reid, Esq. thus narrates a 
 morninjr call at head-quarters : — 
 
 " CalliriK on tho CoinmaTi(iing General soon after 
 our recovorv, to ascertain tlio chances of transporta- 
 tion, tie remarkeil, aftersomc pleasant conversation, 
 that he -was perfecllv clelutieil with letters, and tliat 
 much of his t ine was occupied in maltin^r replies.— 
 ' And sir," said General 'I'avlor, sniiliiiu'. as lie luuuled 
 us two letters, ' to show voii the ilivirsitv uf suliject-i 
 that I am called upon to respond to, vou mav look 
 at tl»«se.' One of the letters was from a bov, four- 
 teen vcars ofaj;c. uivinga sort of liistorv rf himself 
 andfainilv, Jiiid who desired to enlist in the service, 
 and ha/1 written to the General to ask his advice on 
 thesulijecl: The other was I'roin an Iri-h wmnan, 
 who wanted to know if her snn Mil:,' waf XiV/er/, as 
 she had not heard from him ^inie the late battles. 
 We feel sare that such letters would not have receiv- 
 ed attention at Washiiiftoii, but both of them were 
 answered by the (Jener.il, carrving out the maxim 
 that noUiitig it beneath lht> tiutice of a great man ; 
 and we l''ft him, impressed with the great goodness 
 of his heart." 
 
 Good Whiffs will take more interest in 
 reading Colonel Ilaskell's account of a visit 
 to the same tent, in wliicii General Taylor 
 boldly declared liis adhesion to those good 
 old Whijr princi[tles for which his father 
 fought in the Revolution. We give Colonel 
 IlaskelTs " unvarnished tale," as reported 
 from a speech he made in Georgetown, D.C. : 
 
 " I have seen General Taylor ;n storm and in sun- 
 fhlne. I have seen him at home and in a forei'.;n 
 land — under cvcrv variety of circumstance, and I 
 therefore know somethinf; about him. U has been 
 said tliat Gen. Tavlor is not a Whis; I know better. 
 And they know better. He is a Whip ; not an ultra 
 Whip. I wiuild rather he should he a uood, (ihtio. 
 Pimple, straight forward, rea.sonable Whin, than a 
 full ultra Whip. I recollect an incident on this 
 subject, which, with vour permission, t will be clad 
 to till vou. (Cries of Go on — Go on. I I joined as 
 a private in the American armvin the late Mexican 
 war, and was landed at Brazos Santiago. Well, 
 there heint' nothinp particular to do there, I thought 
 that I would not like to u'o home without seeing ol 1 
 Eou^'h and Keadv, and that I would like to be able 
 to five some account, in writini; home, of what kind 
 of a man he was — in fact, who he was — where he 
 was from — how old lie was — who he had married — 
 and w hat ^ as his politics. I set out. I went from 
 Point Isabel and passed over the Itattle tlelds of Kes- 
 aca and I'alo .Mto, now all umler water, submert-'ed. 
 I passed the bsllle (.'round and had my horse swlm- 
 mln;.'- and at length I reached the camp at .Mata- 
 moras. 
 
 " I bej.'an to look out for the tent of General Tay- 
 lor. Hut I must first state, from the mud and dirt — 
 from the impossibility of keeping clean in Mexico, 
 and the probability that I was the dirtiest white 
 man that was ever seen in that couiitrv, that I could 
 not expect much. I mention this to show what kind 
 of a man the (Ji-neral was. Iliad imai.ined the Did 
 Hero whose fame had spread abroad around the 
 country, to he surrounded with gome pomp and 
 Bplendbr, and with all parn:)heriialia of authority and 
 power. But I could see no sich marked distinction, 
 rresentlv, I saw a vouni; olllcer ride up on a full 
 blooded charter, and present with nuch for.n, a 
 Ke|iort to a plain, countrvlookinj; man, with an 
 honest, blunt face, 'rhls, said I. must be Old Zuch 
 himself. Sir, snld I, have I the honor to see tlen. 
 Tavlor? I oin Gen. Ta^ lor, said he. I ainaprivale, 
 sir. and I have i;reat pleasure in seeing you, and wish 
 to have a talk with you. I wish to know how old 
 
 you are ; where you were bom ; who did you mar- 
 ry ; and what are your politics ? I saw that he was 
 the correct individual, and I could talk ri(; lit straight 
 before him. He asked me to set down on the bench 
 before the door, lie said that he would tell nie all 
 that he knew, which, he said, woulil pass for very 
 little. And I asked him again to tell ine, and when 
 he pot through, says I, General, what is your poli- 
 tics ? And he laughed a kind of quiet laugh cut of 
 his little eyes, and he savs, I am A Whig and a 
 QrAKTER ovrb! Well now, I had been latelv all 
 over Tennessee, electioneering for Harry of the West, 
 and wlien I lizard of Palo Alto and Kesaca de la Pal- 
 ma, tlioui:lit that perhaps the Old Hero would l)ear 
 the stars and stripes to victory in the next civil, as 
 ho had done in the military contest. And when I 
 heard the old General come out in that i lain, blunt 
 wav, w hy, in relurn for it, I became a Zachary Tay- 
 lor man and a quarter over. " 
 
 Steamers had been brought from the U. 
 S., and General Taylor having occasion to 
 go down to Point Isabel in one, granted a 
 passage to a large number of discharged 
 sick and wounded, and while he had a tine 
 suite of state rooms, the\' were uncomforta- 
 bly stowed away on deck. It was cold ami 
 rainy, and General Taylor, finding that 
 " the boys " were suffering, ordered them to 
 be placed in his state rooms, while he put 
 on the "old brown coat," which used to be 
 famnus in Florida, and went strolling about 
 the lioat, unknown to the crew. The wind 
 blew high, and the firemen had raised a sail 
 in front of the boilers, to protect themselves 
 from the rain, to the leeward of which Gen. 
 Taylor lay down on an old mattress, brought 
 up from the bunks to air, and was soon fast 
 asleep. At supper time there was great 
 enquiry for the Commander-in-Chief, but no 
 one could tell where he was, until a waiter 
 asked a fireman. '• I haven't seen no Gen- 
 'ral," was the reply, "but there's a clever 
 old fellow asleep by the sail there." It was 
 the conquering General of the American 
 Army, sleeping in the open air, on the for- 
 ward deck of a steamer, while his berth and 
 room were occu]3iid by poor sick soldiers — 
 without rank, — hut receiving his considera- 
 tion because they had been disabled in the 
 service of his country 1 
 
 In September, General Taylor, (now full 
 Major General, by act of Congress.) set out 
 for Monterey, a city admiraldy ad.ipted to 
 defensive warfare. The streets being straight, 
 a few pieces of artillery can command their 
 entire length, while the stone walls of the 
 houses, rising above the roofs, they form 
 parapets for the protection of sharp shooters. 
 Each dwelling is thus a separate castle, and 
 with tlie extensive forts, form one grand 
 fortification, suggested by nature and con- 
 summated by art. Tliouoh utiprovided with 
 heavy artillery, General Taylor determined 
 to carry the place by storm, and advancing 
 boldly, came in sight of the town on the 
 I'Jih of September. The army, wrote a 
 young soldier, wer,- in fine spirits, each vol- 
 unteer's heart beating high with the assur- 
 ance of victory, and longing for tiie hour to 
 come which would crown them with distinc- 
 tion, or sacrifice them to their country. 
 Advancing in solid battalions, and moving 
 as it were like the ocean's swell, with the 
 sun's ravs glittering upon the iirms of the 
 ' dark and serried ranks, and the bri^rht artil- 
 ; lery flashing in the midst, they formed a 
 
LIFE OF GEN. ZACHAEY TAYLOR. 
 
 13 
 
 A 
 
 noble pa^reantry. As the army moved on, 
 General Taylor and stall" were seen advanc- 
 injj to the head of the column. A low mur- 
 mur of admiration rose in the ranks as the 
 General passed, bowing to both men and 
 offiecrs, who saluted him as he rode by. It 
 was reported that that invincii)le old man 
 was to lead them forth to battle, and while 
 all knew that there was a fearful preponder- 
 ance of immbers in the town, the prestige of 
 a victorious name inspired an indomitable 
 courage, which brought victory. 
 
 To describe the storming" of Monterey 
 would fill a volume, and then but an imper- 
 fect idea could be given of this desperate 
 and bloody conflict. Troops who had never 
 been in action before maintained a desperate 
 struggle against a secret and inaccessible 
 foe, burrowing their way through the thick 
 walls of the houses, planting batteries on 
 almost inaccessible heights, and forcing the 
 enemy to sue for a cessation of hostilities. 
 Throughout the fight " Old Zach " had been 
 in the most exposed situations, yet he was 
 as cool and as calm as ever, though his men 
 longed for the hour of revenge, and were at 
 first maddened with disappointment on hear- 
 ing that a capitulation had been granted. 
 But what thought General Taylor ? mark 
 well his words : " The result would have 
 been the escape of the body of the Mexican 
 force, with the destruction of its artillery 
 and magazines, our only advantage being 
 the capture of a few prisoners of war, at the 
 expense of valuable lives and much damage to 
 the city. The consideration of Humanity 
 was present to my mind during the confer- 
 ence which led to the convention, and out- 
 weighed in my judgment, the doubtful ad- 
 
 tion of being superseded was designed more 
 especially for General Taylor than for Gen- 
 eral Scott ; because Taylor was already in 
 the field, had won three glorious battles, 
 and was ready to go on with his campaign ; 
 whilst Scott was kept at Washington. With 
 the specific object, then, of degrading from 
 his well-earned rank the man whose won- 
 derful resources had alnujst iiiiracnlously 
 saved the arms of his country from disgrace 
 on three several occasions, this proposition 
 for the creation of a Lieut. General (who, it 
 afterwards appeared, was to be the famous 
 Thomas Hart Benton, of Missouri.) was 
 placed before Congress. It was sustained 
 in the Senate by Lewis Cass, who is now 
 presented as the antagonist of the man upon 
 whom he then sought to inflict the deepest 
 injury which can be visited upon a military 
 officer. Will not every lover of peace and 
 humanity, by voting for General Taylor, en- 
 dorse the capitulation of Monterey ! 
 
 We now come to the crowning victory of 
 Buena Vista. After General Taylor had 
 been deprived of the tried regulars who had 
 received his own impress, a council of war 
 was summoned, at which some said " go on," 
 others " turn back ;" but General Taylor 
 was aware that if he ordered his raw volun- 
 teers to retreat for protection to Monterey, 
 they would become panic-struck. So he 
 took the responsibility, and said, "/// not 
 turn back — Fll fight him — the Council is 
 adjourned until after the battle." The Mexi- 
 cans were twenty thousand strong, com- 
 manded by their favorite Santa Anna, who 
 had been graciously furnished by President 
 Polk for the occasion. But Taylor, the Peo- 
 ple's General, though he might be rough, 
 
 vantages to be gained by a resumption of ; proved himself ready for the President's 
 the attack unon the town." j General, and his brave five thousand men 
 
 Pre.-ident'PoIk formally disapproved of \ felt that the presence of "old Zach" was an 
 General Tavlor's humane capitulation, but ; army in itself. The 22d of February— im- 
 public opinion sustained him, and loudly ; mortalized by the birth of him whose glory 
 - - ■ ■ ■ - - ■ ■ ; is a heritage worthy bold defence — brought 
 
 I the armies in contact, and General Taylor 
 ^ was summoned to surrender. Head his re- 
 
 rebuked an iniquitous scheme for giving 
 some leading politician the supreme com- 
 mand over him. This was first announced 
 by President Polk, in his message of the 4th 
 of January, 1847, in which he told Con- 
 grees that the large number of inefficient 
 and incapable field officers bad already " pro- 
 duced serious injury to the public service ; 
 that, therefore, the number of officers 'in the 
 higher grades ' must be increased ; and es- 
 pecially, that the appointment of a general 
 officer to command the whole was indispen- 
 sable to an ' efficient organization of the 
 armv.' " These suggestions can import 
 nothing but a charge of incompetency, not 
 
 ply. 
 
 IlEAD-QCARTF.K.S, ARMV OF OCCCPATION, 
 
 Mcar But-na Vista, February 2'.', 1847. 
 
 Sir : In reply to vour note of this date, summonlnR 
 nie to surrender my forces at discretion. 1 beg leava 
 to say that 1 decline acceding to your request. 
 With high respect, I am, sir, 
 
 Vour obedient servant, 
 
 Z. TAYLOR, 
 Major General T". S. Array, coiuuiaiidiDg. 
 
 Scnor Gen. D. Antonio Lopez db Sasta ..UiSA, 
 Commander-in-chief, La Encaiitada. 
 
 The American army seemed endowed 
 with the real old Puritan spirit, and we arc 
 
 merely against a large number of the field - told of a Methodist clergyman, commanding 
 officers, but particularly against General ; a Mississippi company, who, when about to 
 Taylor and General Scott. The President's ! enter into action, halted his men, stretched 
 
 .'ayl 
 
 meaning was very distinctly disclosed in 
 the House, by two of his right hand support- 
 ers, Messrs. 'Ficklin and Jacob Thompson, 
 both of whom, in advocating the appoint- 
 ment of a Lieutenant General, assailed those 
 officers, as being unfit to conduct the war, 
 and certainly unfit to conduct it with advan- 
 tage to the Democratic party. The degrada- 
 
 forth his hands and jirayed : " O Lord, who 
 through thy servant Joshua commanded the 
 Sun to stand still upon Gibeon, and the 
 Jloon in the valley of Ajalon, so do thou 
 now be with us, thy servants, and enable us 
 to smite the greasers of Mexico, hip and 
 thigh. So mote it be. — Amen. — Company, 
 front face, forward march ! '' The Kentucky 
 
 \ 
 
14 
 
 LIFE OF GEN. ZACHARY TAYLOR. 
 
 volunteers, who had been promised a chance ; 
 '■ to (lance by tlieir own mu^ic," performed , 
 prodi<,'ies of valor, and three successive times 
 recovered their flatr when it was captured. ; 
 " That llai; went down to the titriit all gay , 
 and slittering in beauty, like a bride array- ' 
 ed for the wedding — but it came back to 
 Kentucky all tattered and soiled — like that 
 bride returning to her father's home a wid- , 
 ow, whose brow was wrinkled by years of ; 
 sorrow and corroding care in the rough jos- , 
 tie of life — but the more welcomed fur the ; 
 tria' endured." The Whig flag will yet [ 
 float in triumph over the Hero of Buena < 
 Vista, whose personal conduct during tiiat , 
 important struggle is thus described by ; 
 Lieutenant Corwin : — ; 
 
 " \t a time when the fortunes of the day seemed 
 extremely problematical — wlien many uf our .si.li; 
 even despaired of success — the General took his po- • 
 sition on a commanding height, overlooking the two , 
 armies. 'I his was about three or perhaps four o'clock • 
 in the aftenionn. The enemy, who had succeeded in i 
 gaining an advantageous position, made a fierce / 
 charge up"n our column, and fouylit with a despera- 
 tion that seemed for a time to insure success to their ', 
 arms. The slru^gle lasted for some time. All the ,: 
 while General lavlor was a silent spectator, his i 
 countenance e.xhil itin^ the most anxious solicitude, > 
 alternating between lunie and despondency. His 
 staff, perceiving his perilous .-.ituation, (for he was e.\- ; 
 posed to the fire of the enemy,) approached him and :■ 
 implored him to retire. He heeded them not. His > 
 thoughts were intent upon victory or defeat. He . 
 knew not at this moment what the result would be. ; 
 He felt that that engagement was to decide his fate. ; 
 He had given all his orders and selectc<l his position. ; 
 If the dav went against him lie was irretrievably ; 
 lost ; if for hiui, he could rejoice in common with > 
 his countrymen, at the triumphant success of our ) 
 arras. { 
 
 " Such seemed to be his thoughts — his determina- S 
 tlon. And when he saw the enemy give way and re- \ 
 trea: in the utmost confusion, he gave free vent to < 
 his pent-up feelings. His right leg was quickly dis- i 
 engaged from the pommel of the saddle, where it had j 
 remained during the whole of the tierce encounter— ; 
 his arms, which were calmlv folded over his breast, ' 
 relaxed their hold — his feet fairly danced in the stir- 
 rups, and his whole body was in motion. It w.i-i a 
 moment of the most exciting and intense intonst. 
 His face was sutfused with tears. The day was won , 
 — the victory complete— his little army saved from j 
 the disgrace of a defeat, and he could not refrain ^> 
 from weeping for joy at what had seemed to so many, > 
 but a moment betore, as an impossible result. Long j 
 may the noble and kind-hearted old hero live to en- j 
 joy the honors of his numerous and brilliant victo- ■> 
 rles, and many other honors that a grateful country j 
 ■will ere long bestow upon him." ( 
 
 Twice the sun rose and set on the contend- \ 
 ing armies, " ere the red field was won," and ; 
 the standard of the Republic waved triumph- \ 
 antly in North Mexico. Long will Buena ; 
 "Vista be remembered in the history of our ; 
 country, for on no page is as yet recorded ; 
 so deadly a struggle, fought against such j 
 fearful odds. Coining ages will muse upon \ 
 its important issues, its terrible changes, its \ 
 sickening slaughter, with astonishment and ; 
 awe — and the name of him wiio won it 1 
 will be inscribed higli upon the Temple ot ; 
 American Glory. We cannot close this , 
 imperfect account of his military life, in ; 
 words more felicitous and elo<[nent than are , 
 to be found in tiie following extract from , 
 a sermon, preached by the Uev. Burdct Hart, : 
 Pastor of the Congregational Church, in j 
 Fairhaven, Conn. : — ;. 
 
 " We have seen an officer, whose name was almost 
 unknown, who at the earlv age of eighteen entered 
 the armv of the Inilcd ,'<l»tes as a liiutcnant of 
 infanlrv, who in the war of ISl'2 ami In the Florida 
 cauipatguii displayed the qualities of heroic daring i 
 
 and soldierv science, which have since been matured 
 to a perfect development, taking the foremost posi- 
 tion among the Captains of this or any other age. — 
 llravc in the liour of danger, humane in the moment 
 of victorv, kind and courageous in the varied scenes 
 of his warrior-life, he possesses the gualities which 
 attract the attention, and demand the admiration 
 of mankind. I'lain, almost to an excess, in his man- 
 ners and costume, he still commands the homage and 
 coiitidence of his troop* Impressed with the senti- 
 ment of his own invincibility, they never waver in 
 the fiercest conflict-;, and under his guiding genius 
 fresh recruits bear to the battle-field the cool courage 
 and unawed spirit of veterans. In the battles of I'alo 
 Alto and Itesaca de la I'alma, along the lilazing lines 
 at the stonning of Monterei-. and amid the bloody 
 and terrible scenes of liucna Vi-^ta, he still displays 
 the same fruitfulness of resource and energy in action, 
 which distingui.-'h the great commander. His bril- 
 liant victories have been heralded through the land, 
 and the name, which nineteen months ago, was 
 hardly known and hardlv uttered, has been heard on 
 everv lip, and uttere<t with all the familiarity of a 
 household word. Already he has gained to his ad- 
 vocacy and support, a v;vit amount of influence and 
 worth for the highest |)osilioii in t lie gift of a free peo- 
 ple, and at times has seemed likelv to iinllc in harmo- 
 ny the conflicting elements which sunder the politi- 
 cal world. The warrior chieftains of Europe, dazzled 
 with his deeds and asloni-^hed at his succe-is, have 
 followed his victorious course with enthu-iiasm and 
 admiration, although in its originality and boldne-ss 
 it has overthrown their principles of warfare, and 
 demolished that science which ages of experience had 
 treasured." 
 
 We have now sketched the unobtrusive 
 career of General Taylor, up to the close of 
 his campaigns in Mexico, comprising near- 
 ly half a century of faithful public service, 
 during which he has imperceptibly mould- 
 ed himself into that character of which 
 Washington was the prototype. Upon our 
 wild Western frontiers, in the swamps of 
 Florida or the chapparals of Mexico, wherc- 
 ever the exigencies of the Republic have 
 called him, from boyhood to old age, his life 
 has been devoted to" his country — his only 
 reward has been the glory reflected from 
 her happiness and security. But when the 
 attention of the people was directed to- 
 wards him by h's crowning achievements ia 
 Mexico, they determined to bestow upon 
 him the highest ollice in their power-— not 
 merely as a reward for past good service — 
 but that his patriotism, integrity, and ca- 
 pacity qualilied him to lead them in an 
 attempt to relieve the Republic from that 
 maelstrom of ruin and corruption, into 
 which a disastrous administration has plung- 
 ed it, and thus fill the measure of his glory. 
 Had Washington never been \nvcsted with 
 civil office, his military virtues and achieve- 
 ments would, with few exceptions, have 
 been the only portions of his life treasured 
 in the memory of his countrymen ; and it 
 was thought that Taylor could conquer 
 General Misrule with as much ease .is he 
 vanquished General Santa Anna. A man 
 
 " Finn of word. 
 
 Speaking in deeds, and deedless In his tongue ;" 
 
 his past life was rich in promise that if 
 elected President of the United States, his 
 civil career would, by its exhibition of judg- 
 ment, wisdom and vigor, be a more imperish- 
 able monument than his military triumphs. 
 The mails whicii carried to Mexico news- 
 papers from every section of the Union, 
 filled with accounts of the brilliant victories 
 at Palo Alto, Resaca de la Palma, Monterey 
 and Buena Vista, were hurthened with hun- 
 dreds of letters to their hero, a very large 
 
LIFE OF GEN. ZACHARY TAYLOR. 
 
 15 
 
 proportion of them from persons unknown 
 to him or to his othcers. Some of tlie wri- 
 ters complimented the Generiil on his gal- 
 lant sokliership, others requested his auto- 
 graph, but most of them wished him to 
 become a candidate for the Presidency, and 
 tendered their su])port, often hintinjj that a 
 " consideration " would he demanded when 
 he was in the White House. These would- 
 be ofHcials were treated with the silent con- 
 tempt they deserved, and with that modesty 
 which ever accompanies true merit, it was 
 a long time before General Taylor would 
 even listen to tlie calls from hiylier sources. 
 " For the high honor and responsibilities of 
 the Presidency," he wrote on the 18th of 
 May, 1847, "I take occasion to say, I have 
 not the slightest aspiration ; a much more 
 tranquil and satisfactory life, after the ter- 
 mination of my present duties, awaits mc, I 
 trust, in the society of my family and par- 
 ticular friends, and in the occupations most 
 congenial to my wishes."' The striking 
 similarity of tone between this and one of 
 General Harrison's letters, when he was 
 first spoken of in connexion with the Presi- 
 dency, is also to be found in the subsequent 
 letters of each. Both were endeared to the 
 people, on account of their unimpeached 
 integrity and faithful public services — both 
 had given guarantees, by their past conduct, 
 that they would, if elected, use all the con- 
 stitutional means of the government to re- 
 store the paralyzed prosperity of the country 
 — and both, (as their letters published side 
 by side in the iiewspapers show,) entertained 
 the same Republican political views. 
 
 Far away from home, and surrounded by 
 political renegades and other creatures of 
 the President, who manifested a despicable 
 jealousy of his rising fame, General Taylor 
 was at first misled as to public opinion in 
 the United States. He was induced to be- 
 lieve that a political millenium was at hand, 
 and that the masses, weary of partizan strife, 
 wished to shake oft' all old associations, and 
 elect a People's President. If thus called to 
 the Chief Magistracy, General Taylor cher- 
 ished the idea that he could follow in the 
 footsteps of Washington, and (says that true 
 AVhig, Thurlow Weed,) there was much in 
 his character and much in his pursuits that 
 led him to entertain such aspirations. Like 
 Washington he had been trained to arms. 
 Like Washington, he is a man of lofty pat- 
 riotism, of mathematical integrity, and of 
 stainless virtue. 
 
 Neither would it have been well for the 
 General of an army, " serving in the field 
 against a common enemy," to have taken a 
 position in direct opposition to his com- 
 mander-in-chief. Fully occupied with his 
 responsible duties, and far removed from 
 the political arena, it is not at all strange 
 that General Taylor wished to do what he 
 was told he might do : " go into the office 
 untrammelled, and be the chief magistrate 
 of the nation, and not of a party.'' His 
 ideas at this time are clearly set forth, and 
 merit perusal : 
 
 ( " As rppjirds htlnj,- a candidate for the Prcsiikncy 
 
 ! at the comiiii; clci ti(in, I liiive no aspiratiuiis in ihiit 
 
 j way, anil ri-iiret llii' sulijiit lias hccn a;;itated at lids 
 
 f early ri-^y, and tliat U had nut hi on dolVricil untd tlie 
 close of this war, or until the end of the next session 
 
 j of Congress, especially If lam to he ini.xed up \vUli 
 
 \ it, as it is possible it may lead to llieinjurv of the 
 
 ( public service in this quarter, hy my opiraiions tie- 
 
 1 int; embarrassed, as well as produce uiurh txritemcnt 
 
 j in the country, growing out of the di-ciis-icn nf the 
 
 j merits, etc., ot the ditterent aspirants lor that high 
 
 \ olfice, which might have been very much allayed, if 
 
 j not prevented, had the subject been deferred, as I 
 
 j suggested ; besides, very many changes mav take 
 
 j place between now and 184H. so nmch so, as to make 
 
 < It desirable lur tlic intcn-st of the countrv, that some 
 
 ( other individual than myself, better qualillcd for the 
 
 ! situation, should be Bclected ; and could he be elect- 
 
 j ed, I would not only ac(iuiesce in such arrange- 
 ment, but would rejoice that the Itepublic had one 
 citizen, and no doubt there are thousands, more 
 deserving than I am, and better qualilled to discharge 
 
 ; the duties of said ofllce. If I have been named bv 
 
 ( others and considered a candidate for the l'residenc3- 
 
 ( it li.is been by no agency of mine in the matter ; and 
 
 j if the good pcph' think mc servi.es iiniiurtant in 
 
 ( that station, and elect me, I will feci bound to serve 
 
 j them, and all the pledges and explanations I can 
 
 * enter into and make, as regards this or that policy, 
 
 ) is that I will do so honestly and faithfullv, to the best 
 
 j of my abilities, strictly in conformance witli the 
 
 i Constitution." 
 
 1 Though he had been induced to believe 
 j that "old things had passed away " to such 
 an extent that a " no Party " President could 
 be elected, General Taylor never renounced 
 the Republican principles which he had ac- 
 \ quired in early youth. " 1 have no hcsita- 
 \ tion in stating," he wrote to Col. Mitchell, 
 \ " as I have stated on former occasions, that 
 I am a Whig, though not an ultra one ; and 
 that / have tio desire to conceal this fact from 
 any portion of the people of the United States." 
 And what better Whig doctrine can be found 
 than is embraced in the following compila- 
 tion from his letters ? — 
 
 "The power given by the constitution to the Ex- 
 ecutive, to interpose his veto, is a high conservative 
 power, which sliould never be exercised except in 
 casesof clear violation of the constitution, or manifest 
 S haste and want of consideration by Congress." 
 I " The personal opinions of the individual who may 
 j happen to occupy the Kxecutive chair, ought not to 
 ! control the action of Congre-ss upon questions of do- 
 ; mestic policy, nor ought his objections to be interpos- 
 \ ed where questions ot constitutional power have been 
 ^j settled by the various departments of government, 
 J and acquiesced in by the people." 
 I " Upon the sut)jects of the tariff, the currency, the 
 improvements <d' our great highwavs, rivers, lakes, 
 and harbors, the will of tlie people, as expressed 
 through their representatives in Congress, ought to 
 be respected, and carried out by the txccutive." 
 
 " War, at all times, and under all circumstances, 
 is a national calamity, to be avoided, if compatible 
 with national honor, i he principles of our govern- 
 ment, as well .IS its true policy, arc opposed to the 
 subjugation of other nations, and the dismemberment 
 of other countries by conquest, for, in the language 
 of the great Washington, ' why should we quit our 
 own, to stand on foreign ground? ' " 
 
 Returning to the United States, and freed 
 i from the restraint imposed upon him, Gen- 
 \ eral Taylor found that the political millen- 
 nium was yet a long way off, and that the 
 Administration was mustering its janizaries 
 for the coming campaign, scattering, in its 
 recruiting service, the jniblic treasure with a 
 prodigality unparalleled in the history of 
 the Republic. The country whose honor 
 he had so bravely defended, was in an em- 
 barrassed state, having spent, in prosecuting 
 the war to which he was opposed, one hun- 
 dreil and jive millions of dollars ! Manufac- 
 tures were depressed, confidence was shaken, 
 the arm of industry was paralyzed. And 
 \ why ? Had not the times arrived contem- 
 
LIBRftRY OF CONGRESS 
 
 16 
 
 LIFE OF GEN. ZACHARY TAYLOE 
 
 JMIIIMI 
 
 platctl in the following extract from Wash- ! ^yfi of them securei ^ ^l* 897 587 P 
 
 jton : — 
 
 "In a country like this, where equal liberty Is ; 
 enjiivecl, where every man may reap his own harvest, 
 which, t>v proi)cr attention, will aft'ord him much ; 
 more than is necessary for his own consumption, 
 and where there is soamplea llcM for mcrciintile and 
 mechanical exertion, if there cannot be found money 
 siifflcicMt f .r tlie torauiun purposes of life, not to ' 
 miMitioii tlic mcessary commercial circulation, it is ! 
 evident tliere is something amiss in the ruling politi- ; 
 cal power, which requires a steadv, regulating, encr- ; 
 getic, honest hand to correct and control. Kvery 
 man's experience will tell him when such a state of j 
 things e.xists ; the most melancholy and unequivocal / 
 proof of it being a general /all in the price vf prop- j 
 trty." > 
 
 This " ruling political power," with its 
 hireling legions, General Taylor evidently 
 saw could only be routed by the Whig par- 
 ty, that glorious band wiiicli defeated the 
 Tories in 1776, and the Locofocos in 1840. 
 We accordingly find him writing on the 20th 
 of May, 1848, to Messrs. Winchester and 
 Saunders, two of his neighbors and friends, 
 who were delegates to the Whig National 
 Convention, — " / cannot withdraw my own 
 name, for / did not place myself before the 
 people as a candidate. But my friends can 
 withdraw me, and in such withdrawal I , 
 shall cheerfully acquiesce." He stated that 
 he recognized' in the Loaisiana Delegation 
 friends who were authorized to withdraw 
 him. And in conclusion he expressed the 
 hope that his friends would go into the Whig 
 National Convention "pledged heart and , 
 soul " to the support of its nominee, adding ; 
 that the nominee would have his best wishes ; 
 for success. ? 
 
 This ])laced General Taylor before the 
 Whigs of the Union as a candidate for their ( 
 suffrages; and ;o the many, proofs of his > 
 true Whig principles, was added the testi- ^ 
 mony of the veneialilc Coi. John Johnston, 
 of Upper Piqua, Oliio, a delegate from IVIi- ; 
 ami county to the Whig Convention, as he 
 had been to Ilarrisburg, in 1840, and to Bal- , 
 timore in 1844. Intimately acquainted with 
 General Taylor for many years, he distinct- 
 ly stated, that he had lieard General Taylor 
 declare, with mucli force, that he regarded 
 slavery as a great evil to the country, and 
 express a strong hope that the time might 
 arrive when we coulil get rid of it altogetlier. 
 Col. Joiinston also declared his firmest con- 
 viction, that General Taylor "is the last man 
 to countenance its being extended to any 
 new territory that may be brought into the 
 Union." 
 
 The delegates to the Whig National Con- 
 vention were chosen by the Whig voters, 
 and no one can dispute their title to repre- 
 sent the Whig party. It appeared, on bal- 
 lolin;", that tliere were two hundred and ; 
 eighty votes ; and of these, one hundred and 
 sixty-ei(jhl — U-ing a dear majority of jipy-i^ix 
 votes ocer those cast by the Southern dcUi/atc.i, \ 
 and twenty-nine more than ivere tieccssary to 
 choose a candidate — were cast by Northern del- ; 
 eijatci. Tiiese Northern delegates wiiV/ZiMiave > 
 nominated Webster, Clay, Scott, Corwin,or > 
 McLean, as they " held the <;amc " in their ' 
 own hands ; but they refused to unite on ; 
 any one of these geutlcineu, and then sixty- , 
 
 Taylor. Nor were these votes from any 
 particular section of the Nortli. Maine 
 gave him 5: New- Hampshire, 2; Massa- 
 chusetts, 1 : Vermont, 2 ; Rhode-Island, 4 ; 
 Connecticut, 3 ; New- York, C ; New-Jersey, 
 4: Pennsylvania, 12; Ohio, 1; Indiana, 7; 
 Illinois, 8 ; Michigan, 2 : Iowa, 4 ; and Wis- 
 consin, 4. General Taylor is thus not only 
 the Whig candidate, but the candidate of the 
 Northern Whiys. 
 
 The position of the delegates at Phila- 
 delphia was one of high responsibility. — 
 Each man had doubtless his sectional pride 
 and personal feelings to influence him, hut 
 there was an overruling consideration. The 
 enemy was in possession of the capitol — 
 under whom could a change be effected 1 
 Wlio was there with pure integrity, tried 
 patriotism, high abilities and known princi- 
 ples, who could rally the Whig forces, and 
 inspire them with confidence ? As in 1840, 
 tlie Convention followed the example of the 
 ancient Romans, and sought an American 
 Cincinnatus, whose disinterested virtues, 
 simplicity of manners, and long public ser- 
 vices, had won for him a reputation, which, 
 in the hour of peril, filled the hearts of his 
 countrymen, and sent them to seek him in 
 his tranquil home, to offer him the chief 
 command of the Republic. They could say 
 of him as they did of Harrison — the history 
 of his life, as inscribed on the records of his 
 country, is his recommendation — we have 
 selected him because we know him by his 
 deeds — we feel positive that a civic wreath 
 will be added to the victorious crowns of 
 him who " never surrenders." 
 
 Such has been the life, (as far as we have 
 been hastily able to compile it,) of Z.^ciiary 
 Taylor, who, still enjoying his untarnished 
 fame, and occupying a position wliere the 
 shafts of envy and malice cannot reach him, 
 was nominated as the Whig Camlidate for 
 the Presidency — and recommended for the 
 cordial support of every Whig. Some few, 
 who had tlieir certificates of desertion read}-, 
 let who would be nominated, chose to leave 
 the party to whose generous confidence 
 they owed every thing; but, continuing to 
 follow the example of Arnold, they went 
 over to the enemy alone. The great Whig 
 army remain in tlie ranks where their fa- 
 thers conquered, despite of individual trea- 
 son, and hail the nomination with shouts 
 that reverberate from the rocky coast of 
 New England to the orange groves of Flor- 
 ida, mingle with the rushing sound of the 
 Mississippi's waters, and blend with every 
 breeze that sweeps over the western prairie*. 
 Shoulder to shoulder, the AVhigs of the 
 Union will march to the battle and the vic- 
 tory, under their star-spanglod banner — an 
 " Army of Occupation," bent on pl.-xcing 
 their leader in the White House on the 
 fourth of March next. Proudly docs that 
 flag wave, now that it is inscribed with the 
 name of Zachauy Taylor, for he has ever 
 sustained its glory. 
 
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