Zachary Taylor was the twelfth president of the United States. Born in Orange County, Va., and raised on the Kentucky frontier, Taylor had a 40-year military career in the U.S. Army, serving in the War of 1812, the Black Hawk War, and Second Seminole War before achieving fame leading U.S. troops to victory at several critical battles of the Mexican-American War. A slaveholder himself, Taylor opposed the spread of slavery to the territories. Largely uninterested in politics, he was recruited by the Whig party to become its nominee in the 1848 presidential election and was the first president never to have held any previous elected office. He died of acute gastroenteritis just 16 months into his term.
From the description of Zachary Taylor family genealogy, 1901. (Louisiana State University). WorldCat record id: 391837291
