Presidential Shenanigans: Was Zachary Taylor Murdered?
Zachary Taylor, the 12th President of the United States, was buried in Louisville, Kentucky. Twice. Taylor was the second president to die while holding the office of President. When Taylor died, rumors began that his death may have not been from the causes attributed, and that he was actually the victim of foul play. These rumors persisted for over a century, well into the latter part of the 20th century, and likely they continue in some circles to this day. They gained so much strength that in 1991, Taylor's body was exhumed and an examination was performed by the Kentucky state medical examiner to determine whether or not Taylor had been poisoned.
On Independence Day, the fourth of July in 1850, Taylor attended some of the holiday celebrations in Washington. While there, he consumed raw fruit and iced milk after attending holiday celebrations. He was attending a fund-raising event at the Washington Monument, which was then under construction. Over the course of the next several days, he became severely ill, suffering from an unknown digestive ailment. His doctor diagnosed the illness as "cholera morbus", which was a mid-nineteenth-century term for a number of different intestinal ailments. There was nothing suspicious about this at the time because several of his cabinet members had come down with similar illnesses.
Taylor developed a fever that concerned his attending physicians. Even Taylor himself was not optimistic about his chances of recovery as he began to feel worse. On July 8th, Taylor told one of his medical attendants, "I should not be surprised if this were to terminate in my death. I did not expect to encounter what has beset me since my elevation to the Presidency. God knows I have endeavored to fulfill what I conceived to be an honest duty. But I have been mistaken. My motives have been misconstrued, and my feelings most grossly outraged."
Taylor's condition worsened and finally he died at 10:35 p.m. on July 9, 1850. He was 65 years old.
Taylor was interred in the Public Vault of the Congressional Cemetery in Washington, D.C. for just over three months, from July 13, 1850 to October 25, 1850. This was always understood to be a temporary resting place for Taylor. In late October of 1850 his body was transported to the Taylor Family plot where his parents were buried, on the old Taylor homestead plantation known as 'Springfield' in Louisville, Kentucky. Today this sight is known as the Zachary Taylor National Cemetery.
Almost immediately after his death, rumors began to circulate that Taylor was poisoned by pro-slavery Southerners. Despite being a slaveholder himself during his life, as well as a southerner, Taylor was opposed to the spread of slavery in the territories obtained from Mexico during the Mexican War. Nothing much was done to follow up on these theories, but in the latter part of the 20th century, conspiracy theories began to gain traction again, perhaps because of distrust of governments in the wake of Watergate.
In 1978, Hamilton Smith wrote a scholarly article in the Journal of the Forensic Science Society, theorizing that Taylor had been assassinated. Smith based his assassination theory on the timing of drugs, the lack of confirmed cholera outbreaks, and other reasons.
In the late 1980s, Clara Rising, a former professor at University of Florida, persuaded 84 year old John McIlhenny of Baton Rouge Louisiana, then Taylor's closest living relative, to agree to an exhumation of Taylor's body so that his remains could be tested for possible arsenic poisoning. She was able to obtain the necessary consents and court order and on June 17, 1991, Taylor's remains were exhumed and transported to the Office of the Kentucky Chief Medical Examiner. Samples of Taylor's hair, fingernail, and other tissues were removed, and radiological studies were conducted. The remains were returned to the cemetery and reinterred, with appropriate honors, in the mausoleum shown in the photo above.
Neutron activation analysis tests were conducted at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. These tests failed to find any evidence of poisoning. The tests concluded that Taylor's arsenic levels were too low to support proof of poisoning. The analysis concluded Taylor had contracted "cholera morbus, or acute gastroenteritis". At the time of Taylor's death, Washington had open sewers, and his food or drink may have been unsanitary. Unfortunately, any potential for Taylor's recovery was frustrated by the state of medical science at the time. His doctors treated him with ipecac, calomel, opium and quinine. They also bled him, another erroneous medical treatment then in use.
In 2007, Clara Rising's book The Taylor File: The Mysterious Death of a President was published. While Professor Rising maintains her belief that Taylor was poisoned in order that Millard Fillmore, a man more sympathetic to the plight of the slaver power, would become president, many more historians and forensic scientists disagree with this conclusion.
An interesting Cspan video about Taylor's exhumation can be found here.
On Independence Day, the fourth of July in 1850, Taylor attended some of the holiday celebrations in Washington. While there, he consumed raw fruit and iced milk after attending holiday celebrations. He was attending a fund-raising event at the Washington Monument, which was then under construction. Over the course of the next several days, he became severely ill, suffering from an unknown digestive ailment. His doctor diagnosed the illness as "cholera morbus", which was a mid-nineteenth-century term for a number of different intestinal ailments. There was nothing suspicious about this at the time because several of his cabinet members had come down with similar illnesses.
Taylor developed a fever that concerned his attending physicians. Even Taylor himself was not optimistic about his chances of recovery as he began to feel worse. On July 8th, Taylor told one of his medical attendants, "I should not be surprised if this were to terminate in my death. I did not expect to encounter what has beset me since my elevation to the Presidency. God knows I have endeavored to fulfill what I conceived to be an honest duty. But I have been mistaken. My motives have been misconstrued, and my feelings most grossly outraged."
Taylor's condition worsened and finally he died at 10:35 p.m. on July 9, 1850. He was 65 years old.
Taylor was interred in the Public Vault of the Congressional Cemetery in Washington, D.C. for just over three months, from July 13, 1850 to October 25, 1850. This was always understood to be a temporary resting place for Taylor. In late October of 1850 his body was transported to the Taylor Family plot where his parents were buried, on the old Taylor homestead plantation known as 'Springfield' in Louisville, Kentucky. Today this sight is known as the Zachary Taylor National Cemetery.
Almost immediately after his death, rumors began to circulate that Taylor was poisoned by pro-slavery Southerners. Despite being a slaveholder himself during his life, as well as a southerner, Taylor was opposed to the spread of slavery in the territories obtained from Mexico during the Mexican War. Nothing much was done to follow up on these theories, but in the latter part of the 20th century, conspiracy theories began to gain traction again, perhaps because of distrust of governments in the wake of Watergate.
In 1978, Hamilton Smith wrote a scholarly article in the Journal of the Forensic Science Society, theorizing that Taylor had been assassinated. Smith based his assassination theory on the timing of drugs, the lack of confirmed cholera outbreaks, and other reasons.
In the late 1980s, Clara Rising, a former professor at University of Florida, persuaded 84 year old John McIlhenny of Baton Rouge Louisiana, then Taylor's closest living relative, to agree to an exhumation of Taylor's body so that his remains could be tested for possible arsenic poisoning. She was able to obtain the necessary consents and court order and on June 17, 1991, Taylor's remains were exhumed and transported to the Office of the Kentucky Chief Medical Examiner. Samples of Taylor's hair, fingernail, and other tissues were removed, and radiological studies were conducted. The remains were returned to the cemetery and reinterred, with appropriate honors, in the mausoleum shown in the photo above.
Neutron activation analysis tests were conducted at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. These tests failed to find any evidence of poisoning. The tests concluded that Taylor's arsenic levels were too low to support proof of poisoning. The analysis concluded Taylor had contracted "cholera morbus, or acute gastroenteritis". At the time of Taylor's death, Washington had open sewers, and his food or drink may have been unsanitary. Unfortunately, any potential for Taylor's recovery was frustrated by the state of medical science at the time. His doctors treated him with ipecac, calomel, opium and quinine. They also bled him, another erroneous medical treatment then in use.
In 2007, Clara Rising's book The Taylor File: The Mysterious Death of a President was published. While Professor Rising maintains her belief that Taylor was poisoned in order that Millard Fillmore, a man more sympathetic to the plight of the slaver power, would become president, many more historians and forensic scientists disagree with this conclusion.
An interesting Cspan video about Taylor's exhumation can be found here.