The Last White House Slaves

Zachary Taylor was the 12th president and the last slave owner to be elected.  Born in Virginia in 1784 and raised in Kentucky, Taylor joined the military in 1808.  One feature of the US Army in the era was that officers could apply for additional pay to hire a servant; this was to give officers the appearance of gentlemen with valets, cooks, etc.  Slave owning officers could keep the pay for themselves.  Yeah, that's not going to be abused.  Taylor first applied for the additional pay in 1817 when he was a major posted in Green Bay, Illinois Territory (yes, Illinois, not Wisconsin).  Of course, in 1817, slavery was illegal in the territories.  Nonetheless, despite spending decades stationed at forts in the western territories, Taylor took his slaves with him.   When Taylor moved from Baton Rouge, LA, to Washington DC, he brought at least one - and probably several - slaves with him.  His chief slave, Charles Porter, whom he inherited from his father, died at the White House in July 1849.  The presence of other slaves is unclear but highly likely.  

The book is most concerned with the life of Jane, who is first documented as Taylor's slave in 1820. Jane - a mulatto slave - was listed on his reimbursement form while he was posted in Louisiana.  She was last listed on his reimbursement form in 1849.  Depending on rank, officers had a limit to how many "servants" they could claim for reimbursement; for reasons of propriety, female slaves were often omitted.  When Jane is listed, she is usually the last name on the form.  It was an open secret that female slaves were often concubines for their male owners.  Considering that, it is of note that Jane had two children, a son named William and a daughter named Caroline.  Each of them - also listed as mulattos, appear on Taylor's or his son-in-law's reimbursement forms.  In 1862, Lincoln proposed reimbursing slave owners rather than outright emancipation.  The plan was instituted in Washington DC.  Among those for whom freedom was purchased by the government were Jane and her daughter, Caroline; Taylor's daughter was still living in DC and had inherited the two in 1852.  Jane's son, William, had relocated to Canada in advance of Taylor's inauguration as president.  Bachman posits that William looked so much like Old Zach that it would be highly embarrassing to have him around.  In the final chapter, Bachman details the account of Bill Taylor (1944-2013) who stated that his ancestor, William Taylor, had been Zachary Taylor's son and slave.

The book is short but provides insight into the antebellum military in general and the Taylor family in particular.  Recommended.