— Ch. 1 · Frontier Son And Elite Student —
Richard Taylor (Confederate general).
~5 min read · Ch. 1 of 6
Richard Taylor was born on the 27th of January, 1826 at Springfield. This plantation sat near Louisville in Kentucky as his family home. His father Zachary Taylor served as a lieutenant colonel in the United States Army during that time. The young boy spent much of his early life moving between frontier forts with his parents and five sisters. Three of those sisters lived to adulthood while two died in childhood before Richard arrived. He attended private schools in both Kentucky and Massachusetts during his youth. Later he began college studies at Harvard College in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He finished his education at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut where he graduated in 1845. He joined Skull and Bones, Yale's exclusive social club. He received no academic honors because he spent most of his time reading classical and military history books instead.
Plantation Wealth And Political Rise
In 1850 Taylor persuaded his father to purchase Fashion. This large sugar cane plantation lay within St. Charles Parish in Louisiana. After his father died suddenly in July 1850 Taylor inherited the property. On the 10th of February, 1851 he married Louise Marie Myrthe Bringier from Louisiana. She was the daughter of wealthy French Creole matriarch Aglae Bringier. Steadily Taylor added acreage to the plantation and improved its sugar works at considerable expense. He also expanded its enslaved labor force to nearly 200 people. He became one of the wealthiest men in Louisiana for these holdings. The freeze of 1856 ruined his crop and forced him into debt with a large mortgage on the plantation. His mother-in-law Aglae Bringier financially aided Taylor and his wife. In 1855 Taylor entered local politics as an elected member of the Louisiana State Senate. He served there until 1861 while shifting political affiliations from Whig Party to American Party and finally to Democratic Party.