Zachary Taylor As A National Hero
In 1808, James Madison, the Secretary of State and a second cousin of Zachary Taylor, managed to get an appointment for Zachary in the Seventh Infantry Regiment. He joined as a first lieutenant. Zachary Taylor was then sent to Indiana Territory, and in 1810, he was promoted to a captain. Later, he took over the command of Fort Knox after the commandant deserted, and remained in that position until 1814. |
During the War of 1812, Taylor was successful in defending Fort Harrison in Indiana Territory after being attacked by Native Americans, who were led by Shawnee chief Tecumseh. This earned Taylor a temporary rank of Major. When the war ended 1814, his rank was again reduced to that of captain. He left the army after than only to rejoin a year later when he was commission as a major. In 1819, he was promoted to a lieutenant colonel and then in 1832, he became a full colonel.
In 1832, Taylor commanded the First Infantry Regiment in the Black Hawk War. He was the person who accepted the surrender of Chief Black Hawk. Then in 1837, he took part in the Seminole War, defeating the Seminole Indians. Thereafter, he was promoted to a brigadier general and given the command of all the troops based in Florida. In 1841, he was made the commander of the southern division of the US army.
In 1845, when Texas became a state in the Union, President James K. Polk asked Taylor to take his troops to the Texas Mexican border and defend Texas against any attacks from Mexico. However, Taylor's troops were attacked by the Mexican army near Rio Grande River and this prompted Polk to request permission from the Congress to start a war against Mexico. The permission was given and Taylor marshaled his troops in the Battle of Palo Alto defending the Mexican army. Then later in the year 1846, Taylor also won the Battle of Monterrey. Taylor was then asked to join General Winfield Scott to help take over Veracruz. However, Mexican General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna found out that Taylor had only 6,000 soldiers who were not regular soldiers, and so he decided to attack him with 20,000 men. This started the Battle of Buena Vista in February 1847. However, Taylor's troops won the battle and the Mexican general ran away from the battle field. This made Taylor into a hero and he was compared to the likes of George Washington and Andrew Jackson.
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