Erik Visits an American Grave, Part 339

This is the grave of Richard Taylor.

Born in 1744 in Orange County, Virginia, Taylor graduated from William and Mary College. He was very interested in westward expansion and exploration and engaged in a 1769 exploratory trip of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. By the time the American Revolution began in 1775, he was back in Virginia and joined the Patriot cause as a second lieutenant. During the war, he fought at major battles including Trenton, White Plains, Brandywine, and Monmouth. By the time it ended in 1781, he was a lieutenant colonel. In the aftermath, he remained committed to military action to conquer the northwestern part of the new nation and crush Native resistance, fighting in the Northwest Indian War, which was a series of small wars that culminated in the Battle of Fallen Timbers in 1794. Taylor was nearly killed in a 1792 battle near what is today Fort St. Clair, Ohio. He purchased land in Kentucky for a plantation during the 1770s and in 1783, moved his family there, which soon included his son, the future president Zachary Taylor. He was involved in Kentucky politics for most of his long life, although never serving in high office. He died in 1829, at the age of 84.

Richard Taylor is buried at Zachary Taylor National Cemetery, Louisville, Kentucky.

This grave visit was covered by LGM reader contributions. For these, I am tremendously grateful. If you would like this series to visit the graves of more presidential fathers, you can donate to cover the required expenses here. A lovely man named Fred Trump is in Queens. And you know damn well you want to read that post, so make it happen. Previous posts in this series are archived here.