Zachary Taylor National Cemetery

Zachary Taylor National Cemetery is located in Jefferson County, KY, in northeast Louisville. The cemetery was established in 1928 by an act of Congress initiated by the Taylor family to have the government take title to the family burial site where President Zachary Taylor was interred. Two donations of land from the state of Kentucky increased the original half-acre Taylor plot to the national cemetery's present size of 16 acres. Although the Taylor family plot, which includes a tomb and mausoleum, is encompassed within the walled cemetery, it does not belong to the United States. Despite the best efforts of the Taylor family, the Army judge advocate general decided against federal possession. The Taylor family burial ground is, however, cared for and maintained by the National Cemetery Administration.

Before his tenure as president, Zachary Taylor was the most popular man in America, a hero of the Mexican-American War. He was born November 24, 1784, to a wealthy planter family. By 1800 his family owned 10,000 acres in Kentucky and a number of slaves. In 1808, he received his first commission as commander of the garrison at Fort Pickering, the site of what is now Memphis, TN. From there he transferred from one frontier post to another. In 1810, he married Margaret Mackall Smith, daughter of a prominent Maryland family. She followed him from post to post as their four daughters were born. Taylor won fame as an "Indian fighter" on the frontier. The family finally settled in Louisiana, where Taylor assumed command of the fort at Baton Rouge.

In 1845 Texas was granted statehood. Mexico disputed lands along the new state border, and President James K. Polk ordered Taylor and his troops into the contested area. After winning two decisive encounters, Taylor triumphed over overwhelming odds in a battle against the Mexican Gen. Santa Anna at Buena Vista. "Old Rough and Ready" as Taylor was known, became a national hero.

After his victory, clubs sprang to support his presidential candidacy. By then, Taylor was a wealthy slave-owner and the South hoped he would support states' rights and the expansion of slavery into the new areas won from Mexico. The North pointed to his service on the nation's behalf and hoped he would side with the Union. At its 1848 nominating convention, the Whigs named Taylor a candidate for president, and he won the election that November. On July 4, 1850, after attending celebrations in Washington, Taylor contracted a virulent stomach ailment that may have been cholera or typhoid fever, and he died five days later. More than 100,000 people lined the funeral route to see their hero laid to rest.

The president's remains, and those of his wife, who died in 1852, were initially interred in the Taylor family burying ground. In 1883, the state of Kentucky erected a granite shaft surmounted by a life-size figure of Taylor. The United States erected a new limestone neoclassical-style building with a marble interior 43 years later. Over double glass-paneled bronze doors is the inscription "1784 Zachary Taylor 1850." Each year on November 24 — Taylor's birth date — military personnel from Fort Knox conduct a wreath-laying ceremony there. Zachary Taylor National Cemetery was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.

Monuments and Memorials
A 50-foot granite monument topped with the life-size figure of former president Zachary Taylor was erected by the state of Kentucky in 1883. Taylor died July 9, 1850.

A memorial sundial was installed in 1930.

Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor is the highest award for valor in action against an enemy force that can be bestowed upon an individual serving in the Armed Services of the United States. Recipients receive the Medal of Honor from the President on behalf of Congress. It was first awarded during the Civil War and the eligibility criteria, medal design, and recognition on a recipients' grave marker have all evolved over time. There are 435 Medal of Honor recipients interred at VA national cemeteries including 6 double recipients.

» Medal of Honor recipients interred or memorialized here:

Sergeant John C. Squires (World War II). Squires received the Medal of Honor posthumously for service in the U.S. Army, Company A, 30th Infantry, in recognition of actions near Padiglione, Italy, April 23–24, 1944. He was killed on May 23 in a subsequent action. Squires is buried in Section A, Site 1359.

Other Burials
PVT Robley Henry Rex (World War I) Born on May 2nd, 1901 in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, Robley enlisted in the U.S. Army in May 1919. He was the last Kentucky World War I era veteran, serving in the Intelligence Unit. He enlisted in the 5th Infantry Division and later served in the 28th Infantry Division. While overseas he served in Andernach, and Coblenz, Germany. After being discharged from the Army with the rank of PFC in August 1922, Rex returned to Louisville, Kentucky, where he became a postal worker and an ordained Methodist minister. In 1986, Rex turned to volunteerism, lending support to fellow Veterans at the Louisville Veteran's Administration Medical Center. Rex logged more than 14,000 hours of volunteer time while at the center. He continued to volunteer there three days a week, even at age 105. For his 107th birthday, Rex was presented with the Kentucky Governor's Award for Outstanding Volunteer Service. He was also honored in 2005 by the National Veterans of Foreign Wars as National Volunteer of the Year. Rex died at the Louisville VA Medical Center, four days before his 108th birthday. His family requested a private funeral. He was buried on May 6th, 2009, at Zachary Taylor National Cemetery. The Louisville VA Medical Center was renamed the Robley Rex VA Medical Center in his honor in April 2010. He is interred in Section D Site 2191.

President Zachary Taylor (12th President of the U.S.) Born November 24th, 1784, on the Montebello Plantation near Gordonsville, Virginia, Zachary Taylor was the 12th president of the United States (1849–1850). Elected on the ticket of the Whig Party as a hero of the Mexican American War (1846–1848), he died only 16 months after taking office. The cemetery began as the Taylor family cemetery and holds the graves of the president's parents, Richard Taylor, a colonel in the American Revolutionary War, and Sarah Strother Taylor, and other family members. On November 1, 1850, Zachary Taylor was buried in his family's burial ground. His remains were moved there from the Congressional Cemetery in Washington, D.C. where he was interred temporarily from July 13 to October 25, 1850. The Taylor family in the 1920s initiated the effort to turn the Taylor burial grounds into a national cemetery. The commonwealth of Kentucky donated two adjacent parcels of land for the project, turning the half-acre Taylor family cemetery into 16 acres, creating Zachary Taylor National Cemetery. The mausoleum and adjacent Taylor family graves lie within the boundaries of the national cemetery but are not owned by the United States government. However, the National Cemetery Administration maintains the Taylor graves as it does the rest of the national cemetery. President Taylor's Mausoleum is located at Section ZT Site 1.