Knoxie: The Woman Who Was Loved by Zachary Taylor & Jefferson Davis

Sarah Knox Taylor (nicknamed 'Knoxie') was the daughter of Zachary Taylor. Knoxie met Jefferson Davis while living at Fort Crawford during the Black Hawk War in 1832. They married in 1835 and she died three months later of malaria. Knoxie's death caused years of ill will between Davis and Taylor. The men met by chance in 1845 on a Mississippi steamboat and achieved reconciliation. During the Mexican-American War and especially afterward, the two men developed a deep mutual trust. While serving as a U.S. senator, Davis provided then-President Taylor with sound political advice. A few years after President Taylor died in office, Davis resigned his senate seat and became President of the Confederacy. Following the South's loss in the Civil War, Davis was literally 'a man without a country'. His popularity rose during the 'Lost Cause' movement and then waned during the 'Cancel Culture' movement. A larger-than-life carving of Jefferson Davis is etched into Stone Mountain in Georgia along with Confederate generals Robert E. Lee and Thomas 'Stonewall' Jackson.

Raymond C. Wilson is a military historian, filmmaker, and amateur genealogist. During his military career as an enlisted soldier, warrant officer, and commissioned officer in the U.S. Army for twenty-one years, Wilson served in a number of interesting assignments both stateside and overseas. He had the honor of serving as Administrative Assistant to Brigadier General George S. Patton (son of famed WWII general) at the Armor School; Administrative Assistant to General of the Army Omar Nelson Bradley at the Pentagon; and Military Assistant to the Civilian Aide to the Secretary of the Army at the Pentagon. In 1984, Wilson was nominated by the U.S. Army Adjutant General Branch to serve as a White House Fellow in Washington, D.C.
While on active duty, Wilson authored numerous Army regulations as well as articles for professional journals including 1775 (Adjutant General Corps Regimental Association magazine), Program Manager (Journal of the Defense Systems Management College), and Army Trainer magazine. He also wrote, directed, and produced three training films for Army-wide distribution. He is an associate member of the Military Writers Society of America.
Following his retirement from the U.S. Army in 1992, Wilson made a career change to the education field. He served as Vice President of Admissions and Development at Florida Air Academy; Vice President of Admissions and Community Relations at Oak Ridge Military Academy; Adjunct Professor of Corresponding Studies at U.S. Army Command and General Staff College; and Senior Academic Advisor at Eastern Florida State College.
While working at Florida Air Academy, Wilson wrote articles for several popular publications including the Vincent Curtis Educational Register and the South Florida Parenting Magazine. At Oak Ridge Military Academy, Wilson co-wrote and co-directed two teen reality shows that appeared on national television (Nickelodeon & ABC Family Channel). As an Adjunct Professor at U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, Wilson taught effective communications and military history for eighteen years. At Eastern Florida State College, Wilson wrote, directed, and produced a documentary entitled "Wounded Warriors - Their Struggle for Independence" for the Chi Nu chapter of Phi Theta Kappa.
Since retiring from Eastern Florida State College, Wilson has devoted countless hours working on book manuscripts.