Civil War Confederate Lieutenant General. He was the son of President Zachary Taylor, nephew of Union Brigadier General Joseph Pannell Taylor and brother-in-law of Confederate President Jefferson Davis. During the Mexican War, he served as a military secretary to his father and after President Taylor's death in July 1850, he inherited the family's Louisiana sugar plantation and became one of the richest men in Louisiana. In 1855, he was elected to the Louisiana Senate and served until the outbreak of the Civil War, when Jefferson Davis who was married to his sister Sarah before her death, appointed him Colonel in command of the 9th Louisiana Infantry. He fought at the Battle of Bull Run and was promoted Brigadier General in October 1861. He commanded a Louisiana Brigade in the Shenandoah Valley Campaign, Seven Days Battle and was promoted the youngest Major General in the Confederate Army in July 1862. For the next two years, he participated in conflicts to include Siege of Vicksburg, plus the battles of Red River, Mansfield and Pleasant Hill. In April 1864, he was promoted Lieutenant General commanding the Army of Tennessee, in campaigns until he surrendered his corps to Union General Edward Canby in Mississippi, on May 8, 1865. After the war, he wrote his memoirs which is one of the most credited reports of the Civil War and was active in Democratic Party politics.
Civil War Confederate Lieutenant General. He was the son of President Zachary Taylor, nephew of Union Brigadier General Joseph Pannell Taylor and brother-in-law of Confederate President Jefferson Davis. During the Mexican War, he served as a military secretary to his father and after President Taylor's death in July 1850, he inherited the family's Louisiana sugar plantation and became one of the richest men in Louisiana. In 1855, he was elected to the Louisiana Senate and served until the outbreak of the Civil War, when Jefferson Davis who was married to his sister Sarah before her death, appointed him Colonel in command of the 9th Louisiana Infantry. He fought at the Battle of Bull Run and was promoted Brigadier General in October 1861. He commanded a Louisiana Brigade in the Shenandoah Valley Campaign, Seven Days Battle and was promoted the youngest Major General in the Confederate Army in July 1862. For the next two years, he participated in conflicts to include Siege of Vicksburg, plus the battles of Red River, Mansfield and Pleasant Hill. In April 1864, he was promoted Lieutenant General commanding the Army of Tennessee, in campaigns until he surrendered his corps to Union General Edward Canby in Mississippi, on May 8, 1865. After the war, he wrote his memoirs which is one of the most credited reports of the Civil War and was active in Democratic Party politics.
Bio by: John "J-Cat" Griffith
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