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 OF THE 
 
 LIFE, CHARACTER AND POLITICAL OPINiOKS 
 
 OP 
 
 ZACHARY TAYLOR. 
 
 BOSTON: 
 
 1848. 
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EEVIEAV. 
 
 Thr position which Zachary Taylor now occupies before the country as 
 a candidate for the Chief Magistracy of the Republic, excites a very natural 
 curiosity on all hands, with respect to his life, character, and opinions. 
 
 This interest which we find everywhere manifested for Gen. Tayloi-, exists 
 independently of his Presidential nomination, and has even a more solid founda- 
 tion than any civil distinction which he may have received. It rests upon those 
 higher qualities of personal character, which in all ranks of life, and all ages of 
 the world, have conferred dignity upon the man, the warrior, and the statesman, — 
 indomitable courage, moderation, and humanity. 
 
 The life of no public man of our own day, in any military or civil station, can 
 show so many instances of the exercise of these rare virtues as that of Gen. 
 Taylor. — Reared amidst the perils ^nd privations of a frontier settlement, and 
 necessitated, through the whole period of his early life, to the performance of 
 labors and hardships, incident to his situation, of no ordinary severity, his simple 
 habits, unaffected and modesi virtues, his courage and patience, are but a natural 
 and legitimate consequence. 
 
 It is not the design of these pages to go into any extended narrative of the 
 events of Gen. Taylor's life. Most authentic and reliable histories of his career, 
 have already been laid before the public. A deep conviction of his extraordi- 
 nary merit has long since found a place in the popular mind and heart ; and the 
 energies of all good men are now directed towards the best means of placing him 
 in that high position to which he seems to have been providentially called. 
 
 Gen. Taylor is of English ancestry, and was born in Virginia on the 24th of 
 December, 1790, and is now, therefore, in his 59th year. As far as we are in- 
 formed, his early advantages of education were limited, and only such as the va- 
 rying fortunes of his family, and the ordinary teachings of the school master of 
 that°day, in the backwoods, could confer. On the 3d of May, 1808, he received 
 from President Jefferson, a commission as First Lieutenant of the Seventh Reg- 
 iment of United States Infantry, and in 1812, as a reward for his activity and 
 faithfulness, a commission as Captain was conferred upon him by President 
 Madison, with an assignment as Commander of Fort Harrison. Here it \vas 
 that young Taylor displayed that presence of mind, capacity and resource, which 
 have since so remarkably distinguished him. i • i • 
 
 The defence of Fort Harrison, in view of all the circumstances under which it 
 was made, reflects the highest credit upon the youthful soldier, and if no other 
 success had attended his military career, would have justly entitled him to a 
 prominent place in the annals of his country. From this period down to the 
 Black Hawk war, in 1832, Gen. Taylor was employed in the ordinary routine of 
 garrison duty. For his gallantry at Fort Harrison, he received the brevet rank 
 of Maior, and subsequently, in 1819, a commission as Lieut. Colonel. In 1832 he 
 led a regiment in the battle of the "Bad Axe." From 1836 to 1840 he was 
 engaged in the Seminole war in Florida, and through the whole of this long 
 period of almost uninterrupted service evinced a wonderful exactness in the 
 discharge of his duties — a watchful guardianship of the interests intrusted to 
 Y^\s pjjre — and a most heroic patience and fortitude in every situation to which 
 he had been assigned. 
 
"With a character thus formed, Gen. Taylor entered upon an eventful era in 
 the history of his country. An era which, however much it may have been 
 overshadowed by a policy adopted and pursued by the administration, — a policy 
 of war, and invasive war, hitherto unknown in the working of our political 
 system — has been rendered brilliant by the successes of our arms, the promise and 
 visible presence of a man, in whose hands the olive branch shall hereafter be 
 even more potent than the sword. Gen. Taylor, obedient to the call of his coun- 
 try, notwithstanding that his own pi'ivate opinions with reference to the war 
 accorded with those of the Whig party of the country, in opposition to its mani- 
 fest designs and objects, assumed its responsibilities. For the purpose of show- 
 ing his exact position with reference to the war, and the important questions 
 involved in it, we propose to glance cursorily at his correspondence with the 
 Government, the succession of events in Mexico, and, more at large, at his recent 
 letters, which (in addition to his well known and established reputation) fix upon 
 his political character the indelible "Whig stamp. 
 
 During the negotiations for the admission of Texas into the Union, the deter- 
 mination of the JNIexican Government to resist the consummation of this mea- 
 sure, as evinced by the action of its Congress, in threatening to invade the 
 country, — made it necessary for the United States Government to place a mili- 
 tary force on the Mexican frontier, in order to repel any attack which might be 
 made upon Texas. This the Government, under the circumstances of the case, 
 felt bound to do, inasmuch as the proposition for annexation had passed Con- 
 gress, and only awaited the acceptance of the Governor and people of Texas to 
 become law. 
 
 In view of the urgency of the case, the President ordered Gen. Taylor with a 
 portion of tlie army to advance into Texas, and to occupy a position at Corpus 
 Christi. The date of this occupation was August 8, 1845. Corpus Christi is 
 situated at the mouth of the river Nueces, the ancient boundary of the depart- 
 ment of Texas, on its western border, and was believed to be the outermost lim- 
 its to which the jurisdiction of the new Republic of Texas had ever extended; 
 although it is known that Texas had asserted her claim to the whole territory 
 between the Nueces and the Rio Grande, without, however, being able to 
 maintain, or extend her laws over it. The territory between these two rivers 
 had formed originally the departments of Tamaulipas and Coahuila, comprising, 
 according to the best authorities, settlements for 500 miles in the lower,' and 
 500 in the upper portion, extending across 12 degrees of latitude. 
 
 After remaining six months at Corpus Christi, during which time Gen. Tay- 
 lor was constantly and actively employed in drilling his troops, a disposition be- 
 came manifest on the part of the Government, that Gen. Taylor should make a 
 movement towards the Rio Grande. Notwithstanding the rumors of gathering 
 armius on the Mexican side, no hostile demonstrations had as yet been made. 
 The administration were growing impatient. Intimations had already been 
 thrown out to the General that the banks of the Rio Grande were his " ultimate 
 destination." But as yet, the old man, full of that noble sentiment, '■'■ I look upon 
 war at all times, and under all circumstances, as a national calamity, to he 
 avoided if compatible with national honor ;" unwilling to take any step which 
 should provoke hostilities, and himself satisfied of the impolicy and injustice of 
 assuming an offensive attitude towards the Mexican nation, declined to move an 
 inch beyond the position originally taken, without the peremptory orders of the 
 Government. 
 
 Nothing can be more conclusive of the pacific character and disposition of 
 Gen. Taylor, and nothing places him higher upon "Whig ground, than his official 
 correspondence at Corpus Christi. 
 
 It was evidently the design and determination of the Administration, that he 
 should embroil himself with the Mexican forces, and that a war which had been 
 undertaken as a "defence from foreign invasion" should be changed into one of 
 invasion and conquest. 
 
"In case of war, (wrote Mr. Secretary Marcy on the 30th Aug. 1845) either 
 (ledared or made manifest by hostile acts, your main object will be the protec- 
 tion of Texas, but the pursuit of this object will not necessarily conline your 
 action within the Territory of Texas." Not so thought Gen. Taylor. In his re- 
 ply to the letter of the Secretary of War, of Oct. 1 G, he said, '' The position 
 now occupied by the troops, may perhaps be the best while negotiations are 
 pending, or, at any rate, until a disposition shall be raanilested by Mexico to 
 protract them unreasonably. Under the supposition that such may be the view 
 of the De[)artment, I shall make no movement from this point, except for the 
 purpose of examining the country, until further instructions are received." On 
 the 13th January, Gen. Taylor received definite instructions from the War De- 
 partment, to break up his camp at Corpus Christi, and move forward towards 
 the Rio Grande ; this was accomplished on the 1 1th March. 
 
 The whole force then under his command did not exceed 4,000 men, and con- 
 sisted of a part of the 2d dragoons under Col. Twiggs, detachments from the 
 four regiments of artillery, formed into a battalion under Col. Childs, jind also 
 detachments from the 3d, 4th, 5th, 7th and 8th regiments of infantry, wilh Dun- 
 can's and Ringgold's batteries of light artillery, and a small number of engineer 
 and ordnance otTicers. On account of the scarcity of provisions in his camp, 
 and the desert character of the route along which he was to pass, making it 
 difHcult to find sufficient water and forage, the army was separated into de- 
 tachments, with an interval of days between some of them, and thus proceeded, 
 on the sea shore for the moat part, across a country covered with morasses, and 
 chapjiaral, — in all respects the worst for the oi)crations of an army, that could 
 be imagined. 
 
 The distance between Corpus Christi, and the Rio Grande, is 780 miles. 
 Small parties of Mexican cavalry were occasionally met, as they approached the 
 Arroyo Colorado, a fordable river, where it was expected the passage of the 
 army would be resisted. The river was crossed in the most admirable order, 
 under cover of a battery placed upon the bank, in a position to protect the 
 crossing, the troops evincing the greatest alacrity and precision of movement. 
 A Mexican cor[)S of observation appeared upon the opposite bank, but made no 
 show of resistance. In this manner the march was accomplished, and Gen. 
 Taylor arrived at Point Isabel, without accident and in good order Leaving 
 at this place, which had been set on fire on its evacuation by the Mexicans, a 
 sufficient garrison, and a part of his train and stores, Gen. Taylor set out for 
 Matamoras, following up the Rio Grande on its left bank until he had ariived 
 at a point o])posite, and overlooking the town. As yet no act of open hostility 
 had proceeded from either of the parties, (unless it is conceded that the occupa- 
 tion of the Rio Grande by the troops of the United States, was an occupation of 
 Mexican territory, and then, by the law of nations, it was an act of war on the 
 part of the United States.) Otherwise Gen. Taylor had advanced to this [)osi- 
 tion upon the river without conflict, and without any opposition, more than the 
 protest of the provincial authorities of Taraaulipas. 
 
 Gen. Taylor with great activity proceeded to protect his position, and from its ele- 
 vated and commanding situation he was enabled to bring his "guns to bear," (to 
 use his own words) directly upon the public square of INIatamoras, and within 
 frood range for demolishing the town. Matamoras was then occupied by the 
 Mexican Gen. Arista, who had succeeded Gen. Ampudia in the chief com- 
 mand, with about 3,000 troops, deriving their provision from the sea. Gen. 
 Taylor ordered a blockade of the river, and thereby cut ofl* any further supplies 
 from that quarter. As yet no overt act had been committed on either side. 
 It should be stated, however, that Col. Cross and Lieut. Porter had been_ killed, 
 as was supposed, by parties of rancheros ; at any rate without the recognition or 
 authority of the Mexican General. 
 
 Aj)prehending a design on the part of Arista, to cross the river, and place 
 
himself between Fort Brown and Point Isabel, where the great bulk of the 
 army supplies had been left, Capt. Thornton was sent out with a detachment of 
 50 or GO men on the 24th of April to reconnoitre, and coming suddenly upon 
 a body of Mexicans, attacked them without estimating their numbers, or 
 selecting a favorable point of attack, and was overpowered, and his men either 
 killed or taken prisoners. This engagement, although comparatively trifling 
 and unimportant in itself, involved the great issue of war. 
 
 It was considered by Gen. Taylor, that war had commenced, that the dispo- 
 sition of Mexico could not be mistaken, and with this conviction he immediately 
 made his first requisition for volunteers upon the Governors of Texas and Lou- 
 isiana. On the 3d May, Gen. Taylor, with the greater part of his force, left 
 Fort Brown for Point Isabel, for the purpose of bringing up his supplies from 
 that place. He reached the Fort without meeting with any obstruction, and 
 set out on his return on the 7th May, and had advanced about 12 miles, when he 
 learned that a considerable Mexican force had crossed the river, and now lay 
 directly before him. On the next day, the 8th of May, at about 2 o'clock, the 
 battle of Palo Alto commenced, and continuing from five to six hours, during 
 which time the American troops, officers and men, under every variety of cir- 
 cumstance, and considerable disadvantage, fought with great gallantry and reso- 
 lution, — resulted in the most decided success. The numbers engaged were, on 
 the Mexican side, 6000, and on the American side about 2200. The Mexican 
 forces had received a tremendous check ; but being re-inforced from Matamo- 
 ras, they still lay in front of the American Camp, determined to dispute its 
 further progress. 
 
 The morning of the 9th dawned upon the wearied soldiers; but nothing daunt- 
 ed by the preponderating force again arrayed against them, they renewed the 
 attack, and had the satisfaction, not long delayed to them, of seeing the entire 
 rout of the Mexican army, in the battle of Eesaca de la Palma ; the remnant of 
 which, crossing the Rio Grande in great haste and terror, shut themselves up in 
 Matamoras. 
 
 The town, after having suffered a heavy cannonading, on the failure of Arista 
 to come to an agreement with Gen. Taylor, by which he should continue to 
 hold it, was evacuated by him, and occupied by Gen. Taylor on the morning of 
 the 18th. Down to this point, the war had been carried on by regular troops. 
 From this time, new ideas began to be entertained by the Government in re- 
 gard to its management, and new plans began to develope themselves ; a war 
 which had been commenced for a purpose of defence and security, against the 
 anticipated attack of an invading force, was now assuming an offensive and 
 vindictive character. The Government had become excited, and the country 
 alarmed. 
 
 The call for large levies of volunteers had been responded to with the great- 
 est degree of enthusiasm in the South, among the States upon whom the requi- 
 sitions had been levied ; and everywhere throughout the Union, in the first mo- 
 ments of elation })roduced by the brilliant successes of the 8th and 9tli of May, 
 the complete rout of the Mexican forces, and the occupation by the American 
 General of the City of Matamoras, no ordinary amount of sympathy and interest 
 was attracted towards every movement of the army. 
 
 A force of twenty thousand men was soon drawn together under the lead of 
 Gen. Taylor. Tlu; various towns on the river were successively taken, and gar- 
 risoned, and ultimately the city of Monterey, an important and strongly fortified 
 place, was assaulted with considerable loss of life on the American side, but with 
 great skill and bravery, and by terms of capitulation yielded up to our arras, and 
 immediately occupied. 
 
 It is scarcely to be wondered at that the great success of Gen. Taylor at 
 Monterey, should have excited throughout the whole country a feeling of pride 
 and exultation. He had beleaguered a fortified city containing a population of 
 
Iifteen thousancl, and a garrison of 10,000 soldiers, and with his GOOO men, a mere 
 handful, and made up in part of volunteers, many of whom had never partici- 
 pated in any regular engagement, had fought gallantly, and reduced it to terms 
 of capitulation. It is not surprising, in view of the just reputation gained by 
 Gen. Taylor, by this successful action, that the administration itself should have 
 trembled for its own security. And we find that, however much the people 
 themselves may have appreciated the gallantry and success of Gen. Taylor, 
 the unscrupulous adherents of the administration in Congress were prepared to 
 nullify a vote of thanks to the deliverer of the army of the Rio Grande, and 
 to the victor of IMonterey, by a proviso censuring the capitulation granted to tliat 
 city. This attempt recoiled upon its authors. Gen. Taylor was known to the • 
 administration to be a Whig, and on this account obnoxious to men who had 
 nothin"^ to expect from him, and hated by those in power, as a rival, with 
 whom they might one day have to cope. The humanity displayed in tlie terms 
 of capitulation granted to the city of Monterey, redounded more to the glory of 
 Gen. Taylor, than all the brilliant successes which had thus far distinguished 
 the campaign. 
 
 The determination of the administration to break down the popularity of Gen. 
 Taylor showed itself openly, and in the most dishonorable and insulting manner. 
 Every body remembers the action of the democratic members of Congress upon 
 the resolution of thanks. These resolutions were introduced into the House, by 
 Mr. Cocke of Tennessee, on the 30th January, 1847, and were substantially to 
 this effect : " That the thanks of Congress are due and are hereby presented to 
 Major General Zachary Taylor, and through him to the brave officers and sol- 
 diers, both of the regular army, and of the volunteers under his command, for 
 their courage, skill, fortitude and good conduct in storming the city of Monterey, 
 defended as it was by a force more than double their numbers, and protected by 
 the strongest fortifications, which resulted in a most brilliant victory to our ar- 
 my and reflected imperishable honor upon our arms." After a suspension of 
 the rules to admit the Resolutions, against which, Bowlin, Dromgoole, Hamlin, 
 and Charles J. Ingersoll voted ; Jacob Thompson offered the following amend- 
 ment : " Provided, That nothing, herein contained ehall be construed into an ap- 
 probation of the terms of the capitulation of Monterey," The vote on the 
 amendment was taken by yeas and nays, and was carried, 110 hi the affirmative 
 and 70 in the negative. The administration members voted in a body for the 
 resolution of censure. On the subject of this resolution, Mr. Ashmun said 
 in his place, that it was "part and parcel of a course of proceedings com- 
 menced by the Department and its friends, in that House, against Gen. Jaylor. 
 The policy seemed to be to suppress all discussion ; to get a partial, one-sided 
 statement of facts. In this way Gen. Taylor was to be put down." The action 
 of the friends of the administration in the Senate was of the same character. 
 On a motion of Mr. Speight to strike out the Proviso, in the House resolutions, 
 the yeas and nays were taken, and resulted in its rejection. Every whig in the 
 Senate voted in the affirmative with a few democrats, 33 in all, and 15 m the 
 negative ; among whom were Gen. Cass, Dix, Hannegan, Niles, and Sevier. 
 In addition to this attempted censure of the conduct of Gen. Taylor, in the 
 capitulation of Monterey, Mr. Marcy in his letter of Oct. 13, thus writes : 
 
 The government is fullv persuaded that if you had been aware of the special reasons 
 disclosed in the despatch of the 22d ultimo, and the intentions of the government stiil en- 
 tertained, vou would not have acceded to the suspension of hostilities for even the limited 
 period specified in the articles of capitulation ; but as its continuance depends upon the 
 orders of your government, you are instructed to give the requisite notice that the armistice 
 ,s to cease at once, and that each party is at liberty to resume and prosecute hosUlities 
 without restriction. 
 
 In reply to this communication of the War Department, Gen. Taylor writes, 
 
8 
 
 under date of November 8, 1846, in defence of the capitulation, as follows : No 
 one can read this letter without applauding the wisdom, moderation and human- 
 ity, wliich breathe through the wliole of it. After specifying the points em- 
 braced in the convention, he says: 
 
 Althougli the main communication with tlie interior was in our possession, yet one 
 route was ojien to tiie Mexicans tiiroughout tiie operations, and could not he closed, as 
 were also other minor tracks and passes through the mountains Had we, therefore, in- 
 sisted on more rigorous terms tlian those granted, the result would have heen the escape of 
 the hody of the Mexican force, witJi 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. Tlic consideration of humanity was present to my mind 
 during tlic conference loldch led to the convention, and outweighed in my judgment the doubt- 
 ful ailvant'iges to be gained by a resumption of the attack upon the town. 'J'his conclusion 
 has been fully confirmed by an inspection of the enemy's position and means since tfie 
 surrender. It was discovered that his principal magazine, containing an immense amount 
 of powder, was in the cathedral, completely exposed to our shells from two directions. 
 The exfdosion of this mass of powder, which nmst Jiave ultimately resulted from a contin- 
 uance of tile bombardment, would have been infinitely disastrous, involving the destruction 
 not only of the Mexican troops, but of non-combatants, and even our own people, had we 
 pressed the attack. 
 
 It has been aiy purpose in this communication not so much to defend the convention 
 from the censure which 1 deeply regret to find implied in the i*" ecretary's letter, as to show 
 that it was not adopted without cogent reasons, most f)f whicii occur of themselves to the 
 minds of all who are acquainted with the condition of things here. To that end I beg that 
 it may be laid before the general-in-(-hief and the Secretary of War. 
 
 i am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 
 
 Z. TAYLOR. 
 
 On the day after the date of this letter, Gen. Taylor wrote confidentially to 
 Gen. Gaines, He refers to the conduct of the Government in reference to the 
 capitulation, and distinctly announces his private feelings and opinions on the 
 subject of the war generally. The letter is a long one. We select only such 
 parts as have a bearing upon the present discussion : — 
 
 I do not believe tiiat the authorities at Washington are at all satisfied with my conduct in 
 regard to the terms of the capitulation entered into with the Mexican commander, which 
 you no doubt have seen, as tliey have been made public through the official organ, and 
 copied into various other newspapers. I have this moment received an answer (to my de- 
 spatch announcing the surrender of Monterey, and the circumstances attending the same,) 
 from the t?e<-retary of W^^r, stating that "it was regretted by the President that it was not 
 deemed advisable to insist on the terms I liad proposed in my first communication to the 
 Mexican comtnander, in regard to giving up the city," adding that " the circumstances 
 whicli'dictnted, no doubt justified the change " 
 
 Although the terms of capitulation may he considered too liberal on our part by the 
 President and his advisers, as well as by many others at a distance, particularly by those 
 who do not Uiiderstand the position which we occupied, (otherwise they might come to a 
 different conclusion in regard to the matter,) yet on due reflection I see nothing to induce 
 me to regret the course I pursued. The proposition on the part of Gen Ampudia, whicli 
 had much to do in determining my course in the matter, was based on the ground that our 
 government had proposed to his to settle the existing difficulties by negotiations, (which I 
 knew was tlie (-ase, without knowing the result,) which was then under consideration by 
 the proper auth ^rilies, and which he, ((ien. Ampudia,) had no doubt would result favorably, 
 as tlie whole of" his people were in favor of peace. Jf so, I considered the fuither efl'usion 
 of blood not only unnecessary, but improper 
 
 Their force was also considerably larger than ours, and from the size and position of the 
 place, we could not completely invest it; so that the greater portion of their troops, if not 
 the whole, had they been disposed to do so, could, any night, have abandoned the city, at 
 once entered the mountain passes, and effected their retreat, do what we cmild. Had we 
 been put to the allcrnatire if tnhiiig the place hi/ storm, (which there is no doubt irr, should 
 have succeeded in doing,) we should, in nil probability, have lost fifty or one hundrid men 
 killed, besides the wounded, which I wished to avoid, as there appeared, to be a prospect of 
 peace, even if a distant one. 1 also wished to avoid the destruction of toomen and children, 
 which must hare been very great, had the storming process been resorted to. Besides, they 
 had a very large and strong fortification a short distance from the city, which, if carried 
 
with the bayonet, must have been taken at great gncrifice of life ; and, with our limited 
 train ni heavy or battering artillery, it would iiave required twenty or twenty-five days to 
 take it by regular approaches 
 
 If we are, (in the language of Mr. Folk and General Scott,) under the necessity of 
 .*' conquering a peace," and that by taking the capitol of the country, — we must go to Vera 
 Cruz, tike that place, and then march on the city of Mexico To do so in any oilier direc- 
 tion I consider out of the question. But admitting that we conquer a peace by doing so, 
 
 say at the end of the next tsvelve months — will the amount of blood and treasure whiek 
 must be expended in doing so, be compensated by llic same? I think not, — especially if the 
 country we subdue is to be given vp ; and I imagine there are but few individuals in our 
 country icho think of annexing Mexico to the United Ulates.^' 
 
 This letter, it is manifest from its confidential character, was never in- 
 tended for publication, but it found its way into the newspapers, and afforded a 
 timely apology to the administration for further persecutions. Only two days 
 after the date of its publication, Mr. Marcy says : 
 
 The disclosure of your views as to the future operations of our forces, accompanied as it 
 is, with your opinion that the fruits of the war, if completely successful, will be of little 
 worth to us, will, it is greatly to be feared, not only embarrass our Subsequent movements, 
 but disincline the enemy to enter into negotiations for peace. With particular reference to 
 these eftects, the publication is most deeply to be regretted. 
 
 The 650th paragraph of the General Regulations for the army, published March 1, 1825, 
 declares that " Private letters or reports, relative to military marches and operations, are 
 frequently mischievous in design, and always disgraceful to the army. They are, there- 
 fore, strictly forbidden ; and any ofiicer found guilty of making such report for publication, 
 without special permission, or of placing the writing beyond his control, so that it finds its 
 way to the press, within one month after the termination ol the campaign to which it re- 
 lates, shall he dismissed from the service." 
 
 To this grossly insulting despatch (in which an obsolete and ridiculous army 
 regulation is revived, and the terms " mischievotis " and " disgraceful " used 
 to apply to the Gaines letter.) Gen. Taylor wrote the famous ^sop letter, which 
 we do not hesitate to copy entire. 
 
 HEAD-Q.tjARTEKS, ArMV OF OcCUPATIO.V, 
 
 Augxia JVueca, March 3, 1847. 
 
 Sm : — 1 have had the honor to receive your communication of January 27, enclosing a 
 newspaper slip, and expressing the regret of the Department that the letter copied in that 
 slip, and which was addressed by myself to Major General Gaines, should have been pub- 
 lished. 
 
 Although your letter does not convey the direct censure of the Department or the Presi- 
 dent, yet, when it is taken in connexion witii the revival of a paragraph in the regulations 
 of 1825, touching the publication of private letters concerning operations in the fit-Id, I am 
 not permitted to doubt that I liave become the subject of executive disapprobation. To any 
 expression of it, coming with the authority of the President, I am bound by my duty, and 
 by my respect for his high otBce, patiently to submit; but, lest my silence should be con- 
 strued into a tacit admission of the grounds and c(mclusions set torth in your communica-- 
 tion, I deem it a duty which I owe to myself, to submit a few remarks in reply. I shall 
 be pardoned for speaking plainly. 
 
 In the tirst place, the publisli.-d letter bears upon its fac- the most conclusive evidence 
 that it Wis intended only f)r private perusal, and not at all for publication. It was pub- 
 lished without my knowledge, and contrary to my wishes. Surely I need not say that I 
 am not in the habit of writing for the newspapers. The letter was a familiar one, written 
 to an old military friend, with whom I have for many years interchanged opinions on pro- 
 fessional subjects. That he should think proper, under any circumstances, to publish it, 
 could not have been foreseen by me. 
 
 In the absence of proof that the publication was made with my authority or knowledge, 
 I may be permitted to say, that the quotation in your letter of the 65(ttJi paragraph of the 
 superseded regulations of 1825, in which the terms " mischievous" and " disgraceful are 
 employed to characterize certain letters or reports, conveys, though not openly, a measure 
 of rebuke, which, to say the least, is rather harsh, and which many may think not warrant- 
 ed bj' the premises. j ■ k • • u 
 
 Again, I have carefully examined the letter in question, and I do not admit that it is ob- 
 
10 
 
 noxious to the objections urged in your communication, I see nothing in it, which, under 
 the same circumstances, I would not write again. To suppose that it will give the enemy 
 valuable information touching our past or prospective line of operations, is to know very little 
 of the Mexican sources of information, or of their extraordinary sagacity and facilities m 
 keeping constantly apprised of our movements. As to my particular views in regard to the 
 general policy to be pursued towards Mexico, I perceive, from the public journals, that they 
 are shared bij many distinguished statesmen, and also, in part, by a conspicuous officer of 
 the navy, the publication of whose opinions is not, perhaps, obstructed by any regulations 
 of his department. It is difficult, then, to imagine that the dilTusion of mine can lender 
 any peculiar aid to the enemy or specially to disincline him "to enter into negotiations for 
 peace." 
 
 In conclusion, I would say, that it has given me great pain to be brought into the position 
 in which I now find myself with regard to the Department of War and ihe government. 
 It has not been of my own seeking. To the extent of my ability and the means placed at 
 my disposal, I have sought fliithfully to serve the country by carrying out the wishes and 
 instructions of the I'Zxecutive But it cannot be concealed that, since the capitulation of 
 Monterey, the confidence of the department, and 1 too much fear, of the Pre.sident, has been 
 withdrawn, and my consideration and usefulness correspondingly diminished. The ap- 
 parent determination of the department to place me in an attitude antagonistical to the gov- 
 ernment, has an apt illustration in the well known fable of ^sop But T ask no favor, 
 and I t^hrink from no responsibility. While entrusted with the command in this quarter, I 
 shall continue to devote all my energies to the public good, looking for my reward to the 
 consciousness of pure motives, and to the final verdict of impartial history. 
 
 I am. Sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, ; 
 
 Z. TAYLOR, 
 Major General U. S. .1., Commanding. 
 
 Hon. W. L. M.^Rcv, 
 
 Secretary of War, Washington, D. C. 
 
 But if any proof were yet \v:uiting of the courage, resource and determination 
 of the brave old chief, it is to be found upon the lield of Buena Vista. Despoiled 
 as he had been by the Government, of the most efficient portion of his army, 
 to swell the train of Gen. Scott, in the new campaign which had been projected 
 upon Vera Cruz and the City of Mexico, he was left to his own resources, and 
 the chance of war. Under serious disadvantages, and with a force greatly dis- 
 proportioncd to that of the enemy, he engaged and defeated the INIexican army, 
 in one of the most hotly contested and summary battles to be found anywhere 
 in modern history. The victory of Buena Vista closed the brilliant career of 
 Gen. Taylor in Mexico. Fi-om this time the attention of the administration 
 (and to some extent of the people of the country) was attracted towards Gen. 
 Scott and the devious path that lay before him to the Halls of Montezuma. 
 But as far as any acquisition of territory or indemnity obtained, was concerned, 
 the war was virtually closed. 
 
 As a result of the war, and the treaty since ratified with the Mexican govern- 
 ment, California and New Mexico have become the property of the United 
 States ; we have acquired a territory of more than 500,000 square miles, and a 
 population of nearlv an hundnnl thousand, independently of Texas, whose terri- 
 tory covers an area of upward of oOO,()UO square miles, and is capable of making 
 nearly fifty states of the size of Massachusetts. 
 
 What is to be the fate of tliis immense country ? Is it to liecome a part of 
 this "■reat I 'nion of States, to add to its moral and physical wealth by the contri- 
 butions of an intelligent, industrious, and free population ? Shall the great prin- 
 ciple of human freedom, the jirecept of religion and humanity, prevail in the 
 National Legislature, and the law be written in imperishable characters, that no 
 slave shall tread upon its .soil ? If this could be assured to us, and to the world, 
 a destiny might be marked out for this, as yet, almost tininhabited and undevel- 
 oped country, that would thrill with joy the heart of every friend of the human 
 race. That the country on the western slope of the Rocky mountains, embrac- 
 in'' Oregon and California, and extending across many parellels of latitude, with 
 hundreds of miles of coast upon the Pacific ocean, indented with good harbors, 
 fertilized by great rivers, — the Columbia and Willamette in Oregon, and the 
 
11 
 
 Sacramento and Colorado in California ; with a temperate climate, and a soil in 
 many parts of great agricultural resources, and lying as it does, separated from 
 the centre of the American Union, by a formidable barrier of mountains, and by 
 great lakes and deserts ; that such a country should retain its political attach- 
 ment to us, for any length of time, is extremely doubtful. It will unquestion- 
 ably become a magnificent transalpine American Republic ; and, while there is 
 no ground for the apprehension, that the institution of slavery will ever be estab- 
 lished within its limits, (that question having been settled with regard to Oregon 
 by Congress,) the whole territory being admirably adapted to the uses of a free 
 population, there is no reason why the laurel which was snatched from the 
 brow of the immortal discoverer of this Western Continent should not, in the 
 course of tine, be replaced by this new State in the adoption of the appropri- 
 ate and most honorable title of Columbia. Opening as it does upon the islands 
 of the Pacific, and upon the ports of the Eastern nations, with unsurpassed com- 
 mercial advantages, it is inevitable that the surplus population of the Atlantic 
 States, and the increasing tides of foreign emigration, should flow into it, and 
 make it a great nation. 
 
 Far otherwise may be the destiny of the territory acquired in the South. "We 
 mean that lying be*tween the Rio Grande and the Nueces, and New Mexico. 
 If the spirit of the South remains what it is now ; if there shall be no modifi- 
 cation of its opinions and its action, in regard to the institution of slavery, and 
 its perpetuation not only in the States where it has already been incorporated, 
 but in the territories which the fortune of war has placed in our possession ; if 
 the influence of the free States in the Congress of the Union shall not be suffi- 
 cient to enforce the compromises of the Constitution, and to restrict the further 
 extension of slavery in such territories and States as may hereafter come into 
 our actual possession, and under the laws of the United States ; — then the ef- 
 fect of these accessions must be of a character destructive to the Constitution, to 
 republican liberty, and to humanity ; a new population, foreign to the people 
 of this country, in its language, in its principles of social and political order, in 
 its general civilization, will be brought into the enjoyment of rights and immu- 
 nities for which they can have no just appreciation. 
 
 The power of the South, strengthened by these, accessions, (as in the case 
 of Texas, which by its incorporation into the Union, not only brought in with it 
 a slave constitution, but a representation to defend and extend this power by 
 their influence and votes) must ultimately become so preponderating, in the na- 
 tional councils, that the endeavors of all wise and good men, to vindicate the 
 great principle of universal liberty, will be frustrated and for ever. These are 
 some of the questions engendered by the Mexican "War, and upon which the 
 issues of the present political canvass are in a great measure based. The opin- 
 ions of Gen, Taylor upon the question of extension of slavery in the new Ter- 
 ritories, are perfectly well known, and accordant with those entertained by the 
 Whigs of the North and South, in regard to the incorporation of new territory 
 into the Union. 
 
 The power of the Congress of the United States to admit new States under 
 the Constitution, has always been questioned ; but the right and the propriety of 
 its admitting any Territory or State, without the slave restriction, have always 
 been resolutely opposed by all the free States. It was opposed in 1810 and '11 
 during the debate upon the admission of Orleans as a Territory. It was 
 opposed in 1820, in the debate upon the admission of Missouri. It was oppos- 
 ed, with what zeal we all know, in the discussions upon the admission of Texas. 
 By the act of Congress of 1804, which erected the Territory of Orleans, the 
 introduction into it of slaves from abroad was not only interdicted, but the 
 law expressly forbade the introduction of any slaves from the old States, 
 which had been imported after May 1798 ; and also of any slaves directly or 
 indirectly, except by a citizen of the United States removing into the ter- 
 
12 
 
 ritory for settlement, and being at the time of his removal a bona fide owner of 
 such slave, or slaves ; otherwise the slave to be restored to his freedom. In re- 
 gard to the constitutionality of admitting new States at all, not formed of the 
 territory originally belonging to the old States, we have the authority of Mr. 
 JetFerson. lie says, 
 
 " VVlien I consider that the limits of tlie United States are precisely fixed by the Trea- 
 ty of 1783, and that the Constitution expressly declares itself lo be made for the United 
 States, I cannot help believing the intention was not to perniit Congress to admit into the 
 Union, new States, wliich sliould be formed out of the teintory for which, and under 
 whose authority alone, they were ihen acting. I do not believe it was meant that they 
 might receive England, Ireland, Holland," tfcc. 
 
 Before the close of the war, and during the pendency of these exciting ques- 
 tions with reference to the acquisition of new territories, and the rights of the 
 South in these acquisitions. Gen. Taylor began to receive nominations for the Pres- 
 idency. Dazzled by his brilliant successes in Mexico, the fruits of a high or- 
 der of military talent, his correspondence with the Government, which alone 
 would have rendered any civilian conspicuous, and entertaining a profound re- 
 spect for his character for hotiesty, moderation and hutnanity, persons and par- 
 ties, of widely diftcrent opinions in all parts of the country, solicited his accept- 
 ance of their nominations for the Presidency. Gen. Taylor being but little ac- 
 quainted with the organization of parties, and observing that these nominations 
 were confined to neither of the great political parties, exclusively, conceived it 
 possible, and desired if his name were to be used in connection with the Presi- 
 dency at all, that his nomination >hould come directly from the people without 
 the aid of party conventions. With this view, he used the following language 
 in his letter to Peter Sken Smith : 
 
 1 do not desire the Presidency, and only yield thus far my assent, to be considered a 
 candidate in the same proportion in which it is desired by the people, irrespective of party. 
 
 This was a position entirely consistent with the independent character of Gen. 
 Taylor. It is. however, to be understood, that the General had always been 
 known as a Whig, and that long before his letter to Mr. Smith, he had so declar- 
 ed himself in his letter to Mr. W. E. Russell, which follows. 
 
 Hkad-Quarteks, Akmv ok Occupation : ) 
 Matamoras, July '21, l!:i4G. J 
 
 Dear Sir :— By yesterday's mail I received your letter of the 17th June, and liave giv- 
 en the subject to whi<-h you refer, much serious reflection and consideration. 1 feel very 
 grateful to you. Sir, and to my fellow-cilizeus who with you have expressed the very flat- 
 tering desire to |)lace my ti.tme in nomination for the Piesidency, but it becomes me sin- 
 cerely and frankly to acknowledge to you that for that otrue I have no aspirations what- 
 ever Although no politician, hriving held myself aloof from the clamors of j^arty politics, 
 I AM A Wmo, (ind shall c.rcr be. drooted in individual opiniini to lite prinriphs of thai, party. 
 
 Even if the subject wliich you have in your letter opened to me were acceptable at any 
 time to me, I have not the leisure to attend to it now ; the vigorous prosecution of the war 
 with Mexico, so important to the interests "f the country, dismands every moment of my 
 piesent time, and that is my great object to bring it to a specilij and lionorabic termination 
 
 With my best wishes for your lie;illh and prosperity, 1 -im, most sincerely vours, 
 W.M. E. KussKLi., Esq Z TAYLOR, iMaj. Gen. U. S. A. 
 
 That Gen. Taylor's opinions with reference lo a popular nomination, became 
 essentially modified in the course of his subsequent correspotidence, is every- 
 where ay)|)arent. 
 
 All his personal and i)olitical affinities were with the Whig party; and finding 
 that his idea of the fusion of the two great parties and their reorganization upon 
 a basis like that of Gen. Washington's administration, could not be realized, he 
 readily and properly yielded himself to the wishes of his Whig friends, and thus 
 became the nominee of the National Convention at Philadelphia. Before how- 
 
13 
 
 ever, receiving that nomination, he had declared his opinions frankly, in his let- 
 ter to Capt. Alison, which we append. 
 
 Baton Rouge, April 22, 1848. 
 
 Dear Sir — My opinions have recently been so often misconceived and misrepresented, 
 that I deem it due to myself, if not to my friends, to make a brief exposition of them upon 
 the topics to which you have called my attention. 
 
 1 have consented to the use of my name as a candidate for the Presidency. I have 
 frankly avowed my own distrust of my fitness for that high station ; hut having, at the so- 
 licitation of many of my countrymen, taken my position as a candidate, I do not feel at 
 liberty to surrender that p(,sition until my friends manifest a wish that I should retire from 
 it. I will then most gladly do so. I have no priv te purposes to accomplish, no party 
 purposes to build up, no enemies to punish — nothing to serve but my coimtry. 
 
 I have been very often addressed by letter, and my opinions have been asked upon al- 
 most every question that might occur to the writers as affecting the interests of their 
 country or their party. 1 have not always responded to tliCKe inquiries, for various reasons. 
 
 I confes**, whilst 1 have great cardinal principles which will tegiilate my political life, I 
 am not sufficiently familiar with all the minute details of political legislation, to give sol- 
 emn pledges to exert my influence, if I were President, to carry out this or defeat that 
 measure. I have no concealment. I hold no opinion which 1 would not readily proclaim 
 to my assembled countrymen ; but crude impressions upon matters of policy, whiih may 
 be right to-day and wrong to-morrow, are, perhaps, mt the best test of fitness for (ffice. 
 One who cannot be trusted without pledges, cannot be confided in merely on account of 
 them. I will proceed, however, now to respond to your inquiries 
 
 First — I reiierate what I have often said — I am a Whig, but not an ultra Whig. If 
 elected I would not be the mere President of a party. I would endeavor to act indepen- 
 dent of party domination. I should feel bound to administer the Government untram- 
 melled by party schemes. 
 
 Second — The veto power. — The power given by the constitution to the Executive to 
 interpose his veto, is a high conservative power; but in my opinion should never be ex- 
 ercised except in cases of clear violation of the constitution, or manifest haste and want of 
 consideration by Congress. Indeed, I have thought that for many years past, the known 
 opinions and wishes of the Executive have exercised undue and injurious influence upon 
 the legislative department of the government ; and for this cause I have thought our sys- 
 tem was in danger of undergoing a great change from its true tlienry. The personal 
 opinions of the individual who may happen to o<cupy the Executive chair, ought not to 
 control the action of Congress upon questions of domestic policy; nor ought his objection 
 to be interposed where questions of constitutional power have been settled by the various 
 departments of government and acquiesced in by the people. 
 
 Third — Upon the subject of the tariff, the currency, the improvement of our great 
 highways, rivers, lakes, and harbors, the will of the people, as expressed through their 
 representativesin Congress, ought to be respected and cariied out by the Executive 
 
 Fourth ^The Mexican War. I sincerely rejoice at the prospect of peace. My life has 
 been devoted to arms, yet 1 look upon war at all times and under all circumstances as a 
 national calamity, to be avoided if compatible with natiofial honor. The principles of our 
 government as well as its true policy are opposed to the subjugation of other nations, and 
 the dismemberment of other countries by conquest. In the language of the great Wash- 
 ington, " Why should we quit our own to stand on foreign ground ?" In the Mexican 
 War our national honor has been vindicated, amply vindicated, and in dictating terms of 
 peace we may well afford to be forbeaiing and even magnanimou-' to our fallen foe. 
 
 These are my opinions upon the subjects referred to by you ; and any repoits or publi- 
 cations, written or verbal, from any source, ditiering in any essential particular from what 
 is here written, are unauthorized and untrue 
 
 I do not know that I shall again write upon the subject of national politics. I shall 
 engage in no schemes, no combinations, no intrigues. If the American people have not 
 confidence in me they ought not to give me their suffrages 1/ they do not, you know me 
 well enough to believe me whf n I declare I shall be content. I am too old a soldier to 
 murmur against such high authority. 
 
 Z. TAYLOR. 
 
 To Capt. J. S. Alison. 
 
 In this letter he declares himself to be a " Whig, hut not an ultra Whig ;" 
 that he is in favor of a restriction of the Veto power. Upon the Mexican War 
 and all wars, that he regards them under all circumstances as national calami- 
 ties. Upon the subject of the Tariff, Currency, Highways, and the improve- 
 ment of Rivers and Harbors, that the will of the people should be the law ; and 
 upon the principle of the ordinance of 1787, or the Wilmot Proviso, he has said, 
 
u 
 
 "that it is an object (its application to the new territories) too high and perma- 
 nent to be baffled by Presidential Vetoes." These are Whig sentiments, and 
 nothing else ; they are the distinctive principles of the Whig party ; and whether 
 affirmed by Mr. Webster, or Gen. Taylor, are nevertheless the property of the 
 Whigs of the Union. If any doubt exists in the mind of any conscientious 
 Whig, that doubt is removed by his second letter to Capt. Alison, which we 
 here subjoin, — The letter is a connected narrative of the series of circumstances 
 which resulted in his becoming a candidate. It presents, in a compact form, all 
 the matters bearing upon the subject, and exhibits Gen. Taylor in his proper 
 character — true to himself, to his friends, and to his country. 
 
 East Pascagoula, Sept. 4, 1848. 
 
 Dear Sir : — Oh the 22d day of May last, I addressed you a letter, explaining my viewa 
 in regard to various matters of public policy, lest my fellow citizens might be misled by 
 the many contradictory and conflicting statements in respect to them which appeared in 
 the journals of the day, and were circulated throughout the country. I now find myself 
 misrepresented and misunderstood upon another point, of such importance to myself per- 
 sonally, if not to the country at large, as to claim from me a candid and connected exposi- 
 tion of my relations to the public in regard to the pending Presidential cai vass. 
 
 The utmost ingenuity has been expended upon several letters and detached sentences of 
 letters, which have recently appeared over my signature, to show thai I occupy an equiv- 
 ocal attitude towards the various parties into which the people are divided, and especially 
 toward the Whig party, as represented by the Nntional Convention, which assembled in 
 Philadelphia, in June last. Had these letteis and scraps of letters been published or con- 
 strued in connection with what I have heretofore said upon this subject, I should not now 
 have to complain of the speed with which my answers to isolated questions have been 
 given up to the captious criticism of those who have been made my enemies by a nomina- 
 tion which has been tendered to me without solicitation or arrangement of mine ; or of the 
 manner in which selected passages in some of my letters, written in the freedom and care- 
 lessness of a confidential correspondence, have been communicated to the public press. 
 But riven from the context, and separated from a series of explanatory facts and circum- 
 stances which are, in so far as this canvass is concerned, historical, they are as deceptive 
 as though they were positive fabrications. I address you this letter to correct the injustice 
 that has been done me, and the public, to the extent that I am an object of interest to them, 
 by this illiberal process. 
 
 I shall not weary you by an elaborate recital of every incident connected with the first 
 presentation of my name as a candidate for the Presidency- I was then at the head of the 
 American army in the valley of the Rio Grande. I was surrounded by Whigs and Dem- 
 ocrats, who had stood by me in the trying hours of my life, and whom it was my destiny 
 to coni'uct through scenes of still greater trial. My duty to that army, and to the Republic 
 whose battles we were waging, forbade my assuming a position of seeming hostility to any 
 portion of the brave men under my command, all of whom knew I was a Whig in princi- 
 ple, for I made no concealment of my political sentiments or predilections. 
 
 Such had been the violence of party struggles during our late Presidential elections, 
 that the acceptance of a nomination, under the various interpretations given to the obliga- 
 tions of a candidate, presented to the public with a formulary of political principles, was 
 equivalent almost to a declaration of uncompromising enmity to all who did not subscribe 
 to its tenets. I was unwilling to hazard the t ifect of such relationship toward any of the 
 soldiers under my command, when in front of an enemy common to us all. It would have 
 been unjust in itself, and it was as repugnant to my own feelings as it was to my duty I 
 wanted unity in the army, and forebore any act that might sow the seeds of distrust and 
 discord in its ranks. 1 have not my letters written at the time before me, but they are all 
 of one import, and in conformity with the views herein expressed. 
 
 Meanwhile I was solicited by my personal friends and by strangers, by Whigs and 
 Democrats, to consent to become a c-indidate. 1 was nomitiated by the jjeople in primary 
 assemblies — by Whigs, Democrats, and IS'afives, in separate and mixed meetings. I re- 
 sisted them all, and continued to do so till led to believe that my opposition was assuming 
 the aspect of a defiance of the popular wishes. I yielded only when it looked like pre- 
 sumption to resist longer; and «ven then I should not have done so, had not the nomination 
 been presented to me in a fiirm unlikely to awaken acrimony or reproduce the bitterness 
 of feeling which attends pojjular elections. 1 say it in sincerity and truth, that a part of 
 the inducement to my consent was the hope that by going into the canvass it would be 
 conducted with candor if not with kindness. It has been no fault of mine that this antici- 
 pation has proved a vain one. 
 
 After I permitted myself to be announced for the Presidency, under the circumstances 
 above noticed, I accepted nomination after nomination, in the spirit in which they were 
 
15 
 
 tendered. They were made irrespective of parties, and so acknowledged. No one who 
 joined in those nominations could have been deceived as to my political views. From the 
 beginning till now I have declared myself to be a Whig on all proper occasions. With 
 this distinct avowal published to the world, I did not think that 1 had a right to repel 
 nominations from political opponents, any more than I had a right to refuse the vote of a 
 Democrat at the polls; and 1 proclaimed it abroad that I should not reject the proffered 
 support of any body of my fellow citizens This was my position when, in November last, 
 I returned to the United States; long before either of the great divisions of the people had 
 held a National Convention, and when it was thought doubtful if one of them would hold 
 any. 
 
 Matters stood in this attitude till Spring, when there were so many statements in circu- 
 lation, concerning ray views upon questions of national policy, that I felt constrained to 
 correct the errors into which the public mind was falling, by a more explicit enunciation 
 of principles, which I did to you in my letter in April last. That letter, and the facts 
 which I have detailed as briefly as a proper understanding of them would permit, devel- 
 oped my whole position in relation to the Presidency at the time. 
 
 The Democratic Convention met in iVIay, and composed their ticket to suit them. This 
 they had a right to do. The National Whig Convention met in June, and selected me as 
 their candidate. I accepted the nomination with gratitude and with pride. I was proud 
 of the confidence of such a body of men, representing such a constituency as the Whig 
 party of the United States, a manifestation the more grateful because it was not cumbered 
 with exactions incompatible with the dignity of the Presidential office, and the responsi- 
 bilities of its incumbent to the whole people of the nation. And I may add that these 
 emotions were increased by associating my name with that of the distinguished citizen of 
 New York, whose acknowledged abilities and sound conservative opinions might have 
 ,ustly entitled him to the first place on the ticket. 
 
 The Convention adopted me as it found me — a Whig — decided but not ultra in my 
 opinions ; and I should be without excuse, if I were to shift the relationships which subsist- 
 ed at the time. They took me with the declaration of principles I had published to the 
 world, and I should be without defence, if I were to say, or do any thing to impair the force 
 of that declaration. 
 
 I have said that I would accept a nomination from Democrats ; but in so doing I would 
 not abate one jot or tittle of my opinions as written down. Such a nomination, as indica- 
 ting a coincidence of opinion on the part of those making it, should not be regarded with 
 disfavor by those who think with me ; as a compliment personal to myself, it should not 
 be expected that I would repulse them with insult. I shall not modify my views to entice 
 them to my side ; I shall not reject their aid when they join my friends voluntarily. 
 
 I have said I was not a party candidate, nor am I, in that straitened and sectarian 
 sense which would prevent my being the President of the whole people in case of my 
 election. I did not regard myself as one before the Convention met, and that body did not 
 seek to make me different from what I was ; they did not fetter me down to a series of 
 pledges which were to be an iron rule of action, in all, and in despite of all, the contin- 
 gencies that might arise in the course of a Presidential term. I am not engaged to lay 
 violent hands indiscriminately upon public officers, good or bad, who may differ in opin- 
 ion with me. I am not expected to force Congress, by the coercion of the veto, to pass 
 laws to suit me, or pass none. This is what I mean by not being a party candidate. And 
 I understand this is good Whig doctrine. I would not be a partisan President, and 
 hence should not be a party candidate, in the sense that would make one. This is the 
 sum and substance of my meaning, and this is the purport of the facts and circumstances 
 attending my nomination, when considered in their connection with, and dependence upon 
 one another. 
 
 I refer all persons who are anxious on the subject, to this statement, for the proper un- 
 derstanding of my position toward the Presidency and the people. If it is not intelligible, 
 I cannot make it so, and shall cease to attempt it. 
 
 In taking leave of the subject, I have only to add, that my two letters to you embrace 
 all the topics I design to speak of pending this canvass. If I am elected, I shall do all 
 that an honest zeal may effect to cement the bonds of our Union, and establish the happi- 
 ness of my countrymen upon an enduring basis. Z. TAYLOR. 
 To Capt. J. S. Alison. 
 
 "We have thus in a hasty and imperfect manner gone over the principal events 
 in the life of Gen. Taylor, and particularly of that part embraced within the pe- 
 riod of the Mexican war. We have examined his position with reference to the 
 war, and the designs of the administration, quoting liberally from his published 
 letters and despatches. "We believe we have made it clear, from the evidence 
 
16 
 
 embodied in the-e pages, that the administration in Congress, conceived and pros- 
 ecuted a design lo destroy the just reputation which Gen. Taylor had acquired 
 in the war, from two circumstances ; first, because he was a Whig, and opposed 
 to the war and confjuest j)olicy of the Government, and second, because that 
 fact, joined with the hiurels which he had won in Mexico, were likely to become 
 the means of prostrating its own power. That these apprehensions were well 
 justified, subsequent events have conclusively shown. No lover of his country, 
 and no sincere friend of peace who reads the correspondence of Gen. Taylor 
 with the War Department, can fail to yield to him the high characteristics ol 
 wisdom, prudence, and humanity. During the whole period of his military ser- 
 vice, while he has held the sword, he has been emphatically a man of peace. In 
 the midst of conflicts imposed upon him by duty and necessity, he feels that 
 " peace hath her victories more glorious than war." 
 
 For many months he held his position at Corpus Christi, patiently hoping 
 and expecting, that peaceful counsels, and negotiations would avert the horrors ol 
 war, and result in the establishment of peace. Driven at last to assume an 
 offensive attitude towards the Mexican nation by the imperative orders of Gov- 
 ernment, his battles became monuments of firmness and courage, and his victo- 
 ries of moderation and humanity. That he is an old fashioned conservative 
 "Whig, all his former associations and his published letters testify. That he will 
 be elected President of the United States, no reasonable man can doubt. When 
 placed in the Executive Chair, we have the strongest guaranties that he will 
 form an administration which will preserve peace and amity with all nations, 
 promote the industry and happiness of the people, and accomplish the true glory 
 of the Rej)ublic. 
 
 W46 
 

 
 
 
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