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Richard Scott "Dick" Taylor (January 27, 1826 – April 12, 1879) was an American planter, politician, military historian, and Confederate general during the American Civil War. He was the son of Zachary Taylor, a general in the United States Army and later President of the United States, and his wife Margaret Mackall Smith Taylor. Following the outbreak of the Civil War, Taylor joined the Confederate States Army, serving first as a brigade commander in Virginia, and later as an army commander in the Trans-Mississippi Theater. ==Antebellum era== Richard Taylor was born at ''Springfield'', the family's plantation near Louisville, Kentucky. He was named after his paternal grandfather, Richard Lee Taylor, a Virginian who had served in the American Revolutionary War. Dick Taylor had three older sisters, whose given names were Ann Mackall, Sarah Knox, and Mary Elizabeth. (Two other girls died in childhood before Richard was born.) Much of his early life was spent on the American frontier, as his father was a career military officer and commanded several forts; and the family lived with him. As a youth, Richard was sent to private schools in Kentucky and Massachusetts. After starting college studies at Harvard College, Taylor completed them at Yale, where he graduated in 1845. He was a member of Skull and Bones, a social club.〔 "This list is compiled from material from the Order of Skull and Bones membership books at Sterling Library, Yale University and other public records. The latest books available are the 1971 ''Living members'' and the 1973 ''Deceased Members'' books. The last year the members were published in the ''Yale Banner'' is 1969."〕 He received no scholastic honors, but he spent the majority of his time reading books on classical and military history. During the Mexican-American War, Taylor served as military secretary to his father. Having to leave the war because of rheumatoid arthritis, Richard Taylor agreed to manage the family cotton plantation in Jefferson County, Mississippi. In 1850, he persuaded his father (then President after being elected in 1848) to purchase "Fashion," a large sugar cane plantation in St. Charles Parish, Louisiana. After his father's death in July 1850, Taylor inherited ''Fashion''. On February 10, 1851, Richard Taylor married Louise Marie Myrthe Bringier (d. 1875), a native of Louisiana and daughter of a wealthy French Creole matriarch Aglae Bringier. Richard and Marie had five children, two sons and three daughters: Richard, Zachary, Louise, Elizabeth, and Myrthe. Their two sons died of scarlet fever during the American Civil War, for which both parents suffered deeply. Steadily Taylor added acreage to the plantation. He improved its sugar works (at considerable expense) and expanded its labor force to nearly 200 slaves. He became one of the wealthiest men in Louisiana for his holdings. Then the freeze of 1856 ruined his crop, forcing him into heavy debt with a large mortgage on the plantation. His mother-in-law Aglae Bringier aided Taylor and his wife at the time. In 1855, Taylor entered local politics; he was elected to the Louisiana Senate, in which he served until 1861. First affiliated with the Whig Party, he shifted to the American (Know Nothing) Party, and finally joined the Democratic Party. He was sent to the Democratic Convention of 1860 in Charleston, South Carolina, as a state delegate and witnessed the splintering of the Democrats. While in Charleston, he tried to work out a compromise between the two Democratic factions, but his attempts failed. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Richard Taylor (general)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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