General Zachary Taylor was, of all who have filled the Presidential chair by the choice of the people, the man least competent to perform its duties. He had been placed before his countrymen as a candidate in spite of his repeated avowals of incapacity, inexperience, and repugnance to all civil duties. Although sixty- four years of age, he had never exercised the right of suffrage, and he was well aware that he was elected solely because of his military prowess. But no sooner did he learn that he had been chosen President than he displayed the same invincible courage, practical sense, and indomitable energy in the discharge of his new and arduous civil duties which had characterized his military career.
The President-elect was fortunate in having as a companion, counselor, and friend Colonel William Wallace Bliss, who had served as his chief of staff in the Mexican campaign, and who became the husband of his favorite daughter, Miss Betty. Colonel Bliss was the son of Captain Bliss, of the regular army, and after having been reared in the State of New York he was graduated at West Point, where he served afterward as acting professor of mathematics.
On his way to Washington from his Louisiana plantation, General Taylor visited Frankfort, and personally invited Mr. John J. Crittenden, then Governor of Kentucky, to become his Secretary of State. Governor Crittenden declined, and General Taylor then telegraphed to Mr. John M. Clayton, of Delaware, tendering him the position, which that gentleman promptly accepted.
Mr. Abbott Lawrence, of Boston, solicited the appointment of the
Secretary of the Treasury, and was offered the Navy Department,
which he declined. Mr. Robert Toombs, supported by Representative
Stephens and Senator Dawson, succeeded in having Mr. George W.
Crawford, of Georgia, appointed Secretary of War.
Mr. William M. Meredith, of Pennsylvania, was rather forced upon General Taylor as Secretary of the Treasury by Mr. Clayton and other Whigs, partly on account of his acknowledged talents, but chiefly to exclude objectionable Pennsylvanians, among them Mr. Josiah Randall, who, more than any other, had contributed to the nomination and election of the General. A contest between Messrs. Corwin and Vinton, of Ohio, for a seat in the Cabinet was settled by the appointment of Mr. Thomas Ewing, of that State, as Secretary of the Interior. Mr. Jacob Collamer, of Vermont, who had been an unsuccessful competitor with Mr. Upham for a seat in the Senate, and had been recommended by the Legislature of his state as Attorney- General, was made Postmaster-General.
General Taylor came to Washington impressed with the idea that he was politically indebted to George Lunt, of Massachusetts, and William Ballard Preston, of Virginia. He appointed Mr. Lunt District Attorney for the district of Massachusetts, and it was soon understood that he proposed to invite Mr. Preston to a seat in his Cabinet as Attorney-General. The Whig Senators remonstrated, urging Preston's lack of great legal ability and learning, but all to no purpose. Finally Senator Archer, of Virginia, called and asked if there was any foundation for the report that his friend Preston was to be made Attorney-General. "Yes!" answered General Taylor, "I have determined on that appointment." "Are you aware, General," said the Senator, "that the Attorney-General must represent the Government in the Supreme Court?" "Of course!" responded the General. "But did you know that he must there meet Daniel Webster, Reverdy Johnson, and other leading lawyers?" "Certainly. What of it?" "Nothing, General, except that they will make a blank fool of your Attorney- General." The Virginia Senator then took his leave, and the next morning's papers contained the announcement that the President had decided to appoint Mr. Preston Secretary of the Navy, and Mr. Reverdy Johnson Attorney-General.
Mrs. Taylor regretted the election of her husband, and came to Washington with a heavy heart. She was a native of Calvert County, Maryland, and was born on the estate where the father of Mrs. John Quincy Adams had formerly resided. Her father, Mr. Walter Smith, was a highly respectable farmer, and her brother, Major Richard Smith, of the Marine Corps, was well remembered at Washington for his gallant bearing and his social qualities. The eldest daughter of General Taylor had married Mr. Jefferson Davis. A second daughter was the wife of Dr. Wood, of the army, who was at that time stationed at Baltimore, as was General Taylor's brother, Colonel Taylor. Mrs. Taylor, with her younger daughter, Mrs. Bliss, went directly from Louisiana to Baltimore some weeks prior to the inauguration. They broke up housekeeping at Baton Rouge, and took with them William Oldham, a faithful colored man, who had been the body- servant of General Taylor for many years, the parade horse, "Old Whitey," which he had ridden in the Mexican campaign, and a favorite dog.
General Taylor was inaugurated on Monday, March 5th. He was escorted from Willard's Hotel by an imposing procession, headed by twelve volunteer companies. The President-elect rode in an open carriage drawn by four gray horses, and he was joined at the Irving House by President Polk, who sat at his right hand. One hundred young gentlemen, residents of the District of Columbia, mounted on spirited horses, formed a body-guard, and kept the crowd from pressing around the President's carriage. Then came the "Rough-and-Ready" clubs of Washington, Georgetown, Alexandria, and Baltimore, with banners, badges, and music, while the students of the Georgetown College brought up the rear.
The personal appearance of General Taylor as he read his inaugural address from a platform erected in front of the eastern portico of the Capitol was not imposing. His figure was somewhat portly, and his legs were short; his thin, gray hair was unbrushed; his whiskers were of the military cut then prescribed; his features were weather- bronzed and care-furrowed; and he read almost inaudibly. It was evident, however, that he was a popular favorite, and when he had concluded the vociferous cheering of the assembled thousands was answered by the firing of cannon and the music of the bands. His praises were on all lips, and his soubriquets of "Rough and Ready" and "Old Zach." were sounded with all honor.
The inaugural message showed that General Taylor regarded the Union as in danger, and that he intended to use every possible exertion for its preservation. Mr. Calhoun had requested, through Mr. Clayton, that nothing should be said in the inaugural on this subject, which had prompted the addition of a paragraph, in which the incoming President declared that a dissolution of the Union would be the greatest of calamities, and went on to say: "Whatever dangers may threaten it, I shall stand by it, and maintain it in its integrity, to the full extent of the obligations imposed and the power conferred upon me by the Constitution."