Had he completed his entire term, our nation’s twelfth President Zachary Taylor might have proven to be one of our weakest due to his complete lack of political involvement before running for the highest office in the land. Because of the fame derived from battlefield victories under his leadership in several major wars including the War of 1812, ‘Old Rough and Ready’, as he was known, became the victor in the 1848 Presidential election. Unfortunatly, President Taylor died just 16 months into his term under rather mysterious circumstances. The consensus was that he passed away from dysentery, but some claim that he may have been poisoned.
I have not had the opportunity to yet visit Taylor’s final resting place in Louisville (which I intend to in the near future), but I did get the chance to see his birthsite during my Virginia tour during the Summer of 2007.
Friday, August 10, 2007 - Zachary Taylor Birthplace - Zachary Taylor was born on November 27, 1784 on a plantation known as Montebello in the region of Barboursville, Virginia. It is purported that he was born in a log cabin that no longer stands. The current house on the property boasts that the land was established in 1750. It is not open to the public.
Me and the Montebello sign
The house that now stands on the plantation
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