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r 4♦ »;*«feSSfc|P3;r4ii*jas•a/;“ft*! «P1L-*w.%Acm®rzaci*ssstwMjjprttfRJarr ZAVZSNeglected Grave ofGen. Zachary TayloriIs to he RestnredIr|i a•SK?* 'ir rrr/fnv^«■*By JOHN DICKINSON SHERMANftHE United States Is about to take over the care of the buriaj ground of Gen. Zachary Taylor, twelfth President. He died in the White House July 9, 1850, after giving his country more than forty years of service. If It be admitted that It Is the duty of the nation to see that the burial places of its .Presidents are cared for, congress has longfcegleeted this duty in the -case of“Old Rough and Ready.”Upon the death of President Taylor his remains were interred in the Congressional burial, ground (Christ Church cemetery), Washington. In accordance with his wish,... they - were transferred, to the old* Taylor homestead near Louisville, Ky; The State of Kentucky erected., years ago, a handsome .memorial’’'near the burial vault But no provision has ever been made for the, adequate and permanent care of the'grounds. Long ago thehomestead...passed.. .9.1the Taylor family. The State of Kentucky now holds title, with some private interest, in five acres about the burial vault.“ The ^oWds~ 1 leHttear the; Browns* boro road, an Important .thoroughfareof Jefferson county; A halfrmile-roadway leads to them; It has been recently improved by the county. TheLouisville Outdoor league purposes to plant this roadway and make it .a “Zachary Taylor Memorial lane.”The last congress passed *a resolution appropriating $10,000 for %the care, maintenance and Improvement of the burial grounds and directingthe secretary of war. to establishthereon a national cemetery. The precedent for the latter is the Andrew Johnson National cemetery of fifteen acres, established by. congress ln~l906. So we shall? have the Zachary Taylor National cemetery, maintained by the United States government.Zachary Taylor deserved well of hiscountry. He was born in Orangecounty, Va. His father was Col. Richard Taylor, an officer in the Revolution. He was a descendant of Elder William Brewster of Mayflower and Plymouth famer The Taylors moved to Kentucky in 1785. In 1S0S at theage of twenty-four Zachary was commissioned a first lieutenant In the Seventh infantry, a new regiment in 1812, as major, he defended Fort Harrison (near Terre Haute, Ind.) against Indians * and was breveted major. In 1815, when the army was reduced to 10,000 meh^ he resigned Major Taylor was, however, Induced to return to the army as {lieutenant colonel in command of Fort Snelling. The Black Hawk Indian war of 1832 found him In command of Fort Crawford at Prairie du Chien, WIs. In cl- dentally, it was to Colonel Taylor that Black Hawk surrendered after the' second campaign. . *JTh^ Black... Huyk war; wtya, only . a. sVcalled war, but it has an interest all Its own In that it brought together historic personages. Gen.''Winfield Scott took command. At Fort Cra\v:. ford with Colonel Tay’for. was Lieut, jefferson Davis. And in Col. SamuelV V; : wA. Vi . • v. ... . C t • * */. - '' v'K-*' -i VuV' t n ». * /*Thompson’s regiment of Illinois volunteers was Capt. Abraham Lincoln.Jefferson Davis (1808-89) was a West Point graduate of 1828. After the close of the Black Hawk hostilities he eloped from Fort Crawford with Sarah, the oldest daughter of Colonel Taylor. A little later he, as an engineer, made a survey of the Chicago qnd CafUmet rivers, the federal government having decided to establish a harbor , on the west shore for the fast-growing schooner traffic of Lake Michigan. Davis recommended CalUmet, his. chief reason Toeing that Lake Calumet could be made a land-locked harbor for the mainte-..naucfi.r.of.-ra fleet...fa..bemused...against.Canada. No, you will not find this in the histories. And. the trick by which Chicago finally won over* Calumet Is still another story.“ Davis left tlie army in 1835 to become a cotton .planter in Mississippi. In 1845 fie was elected to congress, but resigned to get Into the {dexlcan war as colonel of a Mississippi regiment. He fought under General Taylor at Monterey at * Bueno Vista; in the latter battle be displayed great gallantry and was -wounded. Frflan 1847 to 1851 Davis was in the senate. Then he served as secretary of»war under President Pierce. *The year 1857 found him back In the senate and in 1881 he resigned to go witlii the South and to become president of the Confederacy.Abraham Lincoln was twenty-three when the Black Hawk war broke out.* He responded to the call for volunteers by the governor of Illinois. The “boys” insisted upon electing him captain and away be marched. You have, of course, read of his amusing experiences. But did you know that' once he was under arrest for firing off his pistol, contrary to regulations? And did you know that he had to wear a wooden sword for twp .^aya,. while under arrest because some of hfs men stoior^hlsky an%d got drunk. And did you^know that he saved the life of an old - Indian, who surrendered, from a .crowd of bloodthirsty soldiers? And did you know that he demanded the same food for. Ids men that the regulars got and bluffed the army officers into giving it?And herb’s another thing that you will not find In all the histories. After -Captain Lincoln’s company had been dlslranded :at Dttawa, Il!;r Lln--“ coin enlisted as a private in the “Independent Spy company.” Just what services *he rendered as n spy Is* unknown to this writer. Re was. how-discharged*• at - *WhIte . Water.*• VVls. A thief stole, his horse, ile had to make an inglorious return to New Salem by foot, by canoe and by timber raft.Colonel HTaylor, after the Black Hawk war, took command of ourrtwforces in Florida, where the Seminole war was on. He wound up that war by defeating the Indians at the Battle of Okeechobee. In 1840 he was put in command of the southern division of the array andv moved (his. home to Baton Rouge, La.In 1846, upon the breaking out of the Mexican war; BrigadierGeneral Taylor was ordered to * the Rio Grande. On two successive days, he fought arid won the battles of Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma and-d^ared the lower valley of thq Rio Grande. Next he marched to Nueve Leon and fought a series of battles, ending, in the same year, with the.captur.e..,af....Munter.ey. .Notwithstand.-.,ing the fact that, under orders from hfs government, he had sent his bep troops to reinforce General Scott, who was invading Mexico by the way ot Vera Cruz, he pursued Santa Ana and, with a much inferior force, defeated that Mexican commander at the Battle of Buena Vista May 23, 1847, This important victory was followed, by the Mexican campaign of Genera! Scott which ended with the capture of thei.City of Mexico September 14, 1847i which virtually ended the war. Peace between the two countries was declared February 2, 1848. This war .confirmed the annexation of Texas and also brought into the Unitedi . .. • . vStates California and Nevada, most of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah and a part of Colorado.General Taylor’s way of ‘Treatin’ ’em rough”, and his readiness to fight the Mexicans under any and ail conditions earned hipi the title of “Old Rough and Ready.”. His brilliant victories made him a popular hero. There was an insistent demand foi him for the Presidency. Taylor him self was not enthusiastic. He said: “If the people want me to. be President, I shall, serve, but I shall do nothing to get the office.” He was elected by the Whigs over the Democrat, Lewis Cass of Michigan,, _•Taylor married Slargaret. Smith In1810, when he was a young captain She was ever his companion and' helpmeet wherever he was stationed;• • • •When he was' elected President she said it-was “a pint to depri ve her of her, husband’s society and to shorten bis life by unnecessary care.” She had no social aspirations. She refused to take any part In the social life oi; House and - turned the duties of hostess over to her youngs est daughter, the wjfe of Maj. W. W S. BJifis. “Mi^s Betty” was the youngest hostess the White House ever saw.- As*for-*MrsrTaylorr-she ^ufgas’ln'theWhite * House and kept, everything spick and span. She reserved for herself o few rooms out* of the way. Svhere she couid Unit and amok© her corncob pipe in peace and think up things for the comfort,of her husband.Twlt; last couple •prove In elt; tliat i signal Sets t faithfiout a best f er ra Prol tube ’ tortioi traine Why i Tubes ever oqe t well i Is so ford flve-ttcult iThe I amplli era tec regtiU couple The tubes last s Dlsi causei stray the w oftentoday,ployecpense,parall the loftubehavepluggievenhavequalltwithTheaudiospienctrois.ThewhichIs no.distarducehetercsitivecive..• As may I enstin• * — ^ iIf onCQnnecase.The as poneutri.signalgrouph©terlt;
Newspaper Details
Vian American
Vian, Oklahoma, US
Fri, Jun 26, 1925
Page 6
Full Page
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Misty C.
NA, 10 Feb 2022
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Vian American
