Taylor Camp Site, 1846

Taylor had spent thirty years on the frontier before he camped here. He first drew notice in 1812 defending Fort Harrison, fought in the Black Hawk War of 1832 and commanded in Florida during the Seminole War, where his plain manner earned him the name Old Rough and Ready. Elected president as a Whig in 1848, he was a southerner and a slaveowner but opposed carrying slavery into the territories and resisted Texas's claim to the country around Santa Fe. His death in July 1850 removed a major obstacle to the Compromise of 1850.

What the plaque says

Taylor Camp Site, 1846 In 1846 Zachary Taylor's army marched from Corpus Christi to the Rio Grande. On March 10,11, 12, 13, the four regiments in succession camped at this spot on Santa Gertrudis Creek. War with Mexico over the boundary of Texas began soon. The first battles -- Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma -- occurred near present Brownsville. General Mariano Arista led the Mexican army. The results of the war: the boundary of Texas was fixed at the Rio Grande; the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo gave the United States New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, and California; a notable group of men got training for later public service. Of the 251 officers camped here, many rose to national fame. The Honor Roll Twelve leaders in the Texas battles gave name to United States forts in Texas: Wm. G. Belknap, Jacob Brown, J. E. Blake, W. W. S. Bliss, Theodore L. Chadbourne, James Duncan, Clinton R. Gates, Zebulon P. M. Inge, George T. Mason, J. B. McIntosh, Samuel Ringgold, William Jenkins Worth. Many who camped here became commanders of great armies in the Civil War. Among them: Augur, Bee, Bragg, Kirby Smith, Longstreet, Meade, Pemberton, Reynolds, Twiggs, Whistler. Two of them -- Zachary Taylor and Ulysses Simpson Grant -- became President of the United States. Kleberg County Historical Survey Committee 1964 (1964)

Where it stands

More markers nearby

• Uriah Lott — 2.0 mi
• First Presbyterian Church of Kingsville — 2.0 mi
• U.S. Naval Auxiliary Air Station - Kingsville — 2.2 mi
• Presbyterian Pan American School — 2.5 mi