Zachary Taylor Born in Virginia

Summary

Zachary Taylor was born on November 24, 1784, in Orange County, Virginia, and grew up near Louisville, Kentucky. He entered the U.S. Army in 1808 and spent roughly four decades as a career officer, serving in the War of 1812, Black Hawk War, Second Seminole War, and other frontier assignments. Taylor became nationally famous during the Mexican-American War after victories at Palo Alto, Resaca de la Palma, Monterrey, and Buena Vista. Despite limited previous involvement in party politics, the Whig Party nominated the celebrated general for president in 1848, and he won the election. Taylor became the twelfth president in March 1849. A slaveholder himself, he nevertheless resisted efforts by some Southern political leaders to carry slavery into newly acquired western territories and opposed threats of secession. His presidency was dominated by the intensifying sectional crisis. Taylor became seriously ill after July Fourth celebrations in Washington and died on July 9, 1850.