Sarah Knox Taylor

Sarah Knox Davis (née Taylor) was born on March 6, 1814, in Vincennes, Indiana. She was the second child of Zachary Taylor, who would become the 12th President of the United States, and his wife, Margaret Taylor. Her family had a military background, and she spent part of her childhood living on military installations due to her father's service. Her mother primarily provided her education during her early years.

During the early 1830s, her father commanded Fort Crawford at Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, and was involved in military actions during the Black Hawk War. At that time, her family lived at the fort. Sarah was given the nickname "Knoxie," derived from her middle name and her birthplace at Fort Knox II in Vincennes.

In 1832, while living at Fort Crawford, Sarah met Jefferson Davis, born in 1808, a recent graduate of the United States Military Academy and a newly commissioned Army lieutenant. Davis was serving under her father at the fort. Their relationship developed during this period, and at age 17, Sarah fell in love with Davis. Pursuing his military career, Davis was transferred to St. Louis in 1833 but maintained contact with Sarah, whom he wished to marry.

Zachary Taylor admired Davis for his military skills but opposed the idea of their marriage due to the hardships associated with military life. The Taylors had already sent their eldest daughter to marry Army surgeon Robert Crooke Wood, and they were concerned about the difficulties of a military lifestyle. After discussions with Davis's brother, Joseph Emory Davis, Davis resigned from the Army to marry Sarah. He returned to Mississippi to develop Brierfield Plantation near his brother's Hurricane Plantation. The land for Brierfield was given to him by Joseph Davis.

Sarah Knox Taylor and Jefferson Davis were married on June 17, 1835, at the home of her aunt near Louisville, Kentucky. Shortly after their wedding, during a summer visit to Davis's sister, Anna Davis Smith, in St. Francisville, Louisiana, both contracted either malaria or yellow fever. Sarah became ill and died three months into her marriage on September 15, 1835, at the age of 21. She was staying at her sister-in-law’s Locust Grove Plantation at the time of her death. Her remains were interred in the cemetery on the Locust Grove site, which has been preserved as the Locust Grove State Historic Site in Louisiana.

The death of Sarah Knox Davis had a significant emotional impact on Jefferson Davis and her family. Her passing caused tension between Davis and Zachary Taylor, as Taylor believed Davis should have avoided visiting Louisiana during the "fever season." The two men encountered each other unexpectedly in 1845 on a Mississippi steamboat, leading to a reconciliation.

Following her death, Jefferson Davis left Louisiana, traveling to Havana and then to New York City. In 1836, he returned to his Brierfield Plantation in Mississippi and engaged in cotton cultivation. Davis later entered politics, serving in Congress, and was elected President of the Confederate States of America after the start of the Civil War. He remarried Varina Banks Howell on February 26, 1845, and they had six children together.

Jefferson Davis honored Sarah's memory; during his honeymoon with Varina, he insisted they visit her grave. Davis served in the Mexican–American War as a colonel under General Zachary Taylor, notably participating in the Battle of Buena Vista in 1847. During the battle, he was shot in the foot and had to be evacuated, an event that drew praise from Taylor.