Zachary Taylor letters, 1846-1848

Printable guide [HTML]
Request items

Summary

Creators:
Taylor, Zachary, 1784-1850
Abstract:
This collection consists of letters sent by Zachary Taylor while serving in the U.S. Army during the Mexican-American War from 1846 to 1848, primarily to his brother-in-law, U.S. Army surgeon Robert Crooke Wood.
Extent:
2.34 Linear Feet (2 flat boxes)
Language:
Materials are in English.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item]. Zachary Taylor letters, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Background

Scope and content:

This collection consists of letters sent by Zachary Taylor while serving in the U.S. Army during the Mexican-American War from 1846 to 1848, primarily to his brother-in-law, U.S. Army surgeon Robert Crooke Wood (1800?-1869). Letters concern war logistics and strategies; army life; troops movements and health; supplies; General Winfield Scott; the progress of and future projections of the war; and some reportage of battles, especially of the battle of Monterrey in September 1846. Letters also discuss Taylor's presidential prospects and potential nomination in the 1848 race; politics; health; and family, particularly his daughter Ann and her children. All items are autograph letters signed unless noted otherwise.

Biographical / historical:

Zachary Taylor (November 24, 1784-July 9, 1850), the twelfth president of the United States, was born in Orange County, Virginia, the son of a planter and enslaver, and raised in Kentucky. He joined the U.S. Army in 1808 and was made a brevet major in 1812 following a successful defense of Fort Harrison, Indiana against a Native American attack led by the Shawnee chief Tecumseh. Taylor fought in the Black Hawk War in 1832 and against the Seminole Nation in Florida from 1837 to 1838; he commanded Fort Smith in Arkansas from 1841 to 1844. In 1845, Taylor was sent to Texas by President James K. Polk, anticipating conflict with Mexico over the U.S. annexation of Texas and disputes over national boundaries. During the Mexican-American War that followed, Taylor led troops in battles at Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma, May 1846; Monterrey, September 1846; and Buena Vista, February 1847. He was made a major general during the war, which ended in a U.S. victory with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in February 1848.

Taylor was elected president in 1848 as a Whig candidate. The potential expansion of slavery into the new U.S. territories acquired from the war was a primary issue of Taylor's presidency, which included statehood questions for California and New Mexico. The failure of sectional compromise marked Taylor's short administration.

Taylor owned cotton plantations in Louisiana and enslaved around 300 laborers over several decades. In 1810, he married Margaret Mackall Smith; the couple had six children. Taylor died in office of gastroenteritis at age 65.

Acquisition information:
Letters to Robert Crooke Wood were purchased from William K. Bixby, 1918. The letter to Edward Kent (1848 July 27) was purchased from George D. Smith, approximately 1920.
Processing information:

This collection was reprocessed in 2021 by Melissa Haley as part of the American Presidential Papers Project. The items had been assembled physically and arranged chronologically by Huntington Library staff in early- or mid-20th century; material was rehoused during reprocessing. Previously assigned item-level call numbers have been retained. The number of pages for each item is noted in parentheses in item-level Scope and Contents notes. Page count for letters does not include envelopes or addressed covers unless noted otherwise.

Arrangement:

This collection is arranged chronologically.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more information.

Terms of access:

The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item]. Zachary Taylor letters, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Location of this collection:
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108, US
Contact:
(626) 405-2191
reference@huntington.org
Website