Page:The Biographical Dictionary of America, vol. 10.djvu/126

 TAYLOR

TAYLOR

1816-23, because of his wouiuls; was stationed in the Mediterranean, iy'24-i?C, at the Boston Navy Yard, 1827-2'^. and on the Brazil Station, 182ft-30. lie was jiromoted niaster-couiniandant, March 3, 1831. and captain. Sept. 8, 1841. He com- manded the receiving-sliip Columbus, the War- ren, Erie and Concord, successively, and in 1846 w;is ordered to the Ohio, engaging on the coast of Mexico, 1846—47. He was honorably discharged in ISo.") and spent the rest of liis life in New- IK)rt, R.I., where he died, Feb. 11, 1858.

TAYLOR, Zachary, twelfth President of the United States, was born near Orange C.II., Orange county, Va., Nov. 24, 1784; son of Col. Richard (1744-1826) and Sarah (Strother) Taylor, and a descendant of James Taylor, who emigrated from England in 1G82. and settled in Soutliern Virginia. Zachary Taylor had few educational ad- vantages outside the home circle and a tutor, Elisha Ayers, who kept a school in the neighborhood. His home was en- livened by guests, drawn by the hospi- tality of Colonel Tay- lor, from the best families of Virginia, induced to settle in Kentucky by the grants of wild lands given by that state to lier soldiers, tlien just returned from the eight years of hardship incident to the Revolution. Colonel Taylor's home was the most pretentious of the houses in the settlement and was built of logs in the form of a stockade and made capable of being easily defended against the attacks of the Indians. Here his sons mingled largely with military men, whose stories told round the fireside aroused a martial spirit that led all but one to adopt the profession of arms. Zacharj' was com- mi.ssioned 1st lieutenant in the 7th U.S. infantry in 1808. On June 18, 1810, he was married to Mar- garet, daughter of Major Walter Smith, U.S.A., a planter of Calvert county, Md., and liis wife lived with him on the frontier where the army was engaged in defending the settlers against the Shawnee Indians. He was promoted captain, Nov. 30, 1810, and in April, 1812, was onlered to Fort Harrison above Vincennes, where liis com- pany of fifty men strengthened the stockade in preparation for an Indian assault. The attack was made on Sept. 4-.',. 1812, by a large force of warriors who, witlj small loss to the garrison, were repelled so effectively as to discourage them, and in October, Captain Taylor was re-inforced by

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General Hopkins. He was brevetted major for his gallant defence of the place, and given com- mand of a battalion with which to join General Hopkins in an expedition against an Indian camp at the head waters of the Wabash. In 1814 he was commissioned major and his battalion made a suc- cessful demonstration against the Indians, sun- ported by Britisli troops at Rock river, which put an end to hostilities in that section. Peace having been declared, thearmy was reduced to 10,000 men and Major Taylor was offered a captain's com- mission, which he declined, and his resignation was accepted. Soon after he was reinstated as major and again took up military life. He was promoted lieutenant-colonel of the 1st infantry in 1819, and was given command of Fort Snelling. the extreme northwestern post. He built Fort Jes- up. La., 1822, and served in the southwest until 1824, when he was sent to Louisville on recruit- ing service, and to Washington, D.C., as a mem- ber of the board of officers of which Winfield Scott was chairman, to determine the organization and uniformity of the state militia. He was in the soutli west with headquarters at Baton Rouge, La., 1827-28, and at Fort Snelling, 1829-32. He was l>romoted colonel, April 4, 1832, and transferred to the 1st infantrj^ and assigned to the command of Fort Crawford, Prairie du Chien, Wis., which he completed, and soon after joined General Atkinson in his campaign against Black Hawk, resulting in the battle of the Bad Axe, which closed the Indian troubles, Black Hawk soon after surrendering to Colonel Taylor. In 1836 Colonel Taylor was ordered to Florida, and on Dec. 25, 1837, fought the battle of Okeechobee, defeating the Cherokees and receiving the brevet of brig- adier-general. In 1838 he was given command of the army in Florida and in 1840 of the Southern division of the Western department. He re- moved his family to a plantation near Baton Rouge, La., and was inactive until July 4, 1845, wlien it became necessary to defend Texas against the threatened invasion of the Mexicans, and he thereujion marched with his whole available force of 1500 men to Corpus Christi, reaching that place the same month. His orders from Wash- ington being to maintain the Rio Grande as the boundary, he awaited reinforcements, and on March 8, 1846, he advanced to the bank of the river opposite Matamoras and established Fort Brown. Besides defending the fort he had a skir- mish near Matamoras, April 19; fought the bat- tles of Palo Alto, May 8, and Resaca de la Palma, May 9; had a second skirmish before taking pos- session of Matamoras, May 18; was brevetted major-general. May 28, and commissioned, June 29; fought the battle of Monterey, September 21- 23; receiving the capitulation of the place on the 24th, and granting an armistice of eight weeks, for