Throughout the relatively short history of the US , it ’s become a tradition that presidents have their coffins draped in the American flag at their funeral . Of the 39 US presidents who have go , all have receive this burying rite – except one : John Tyler , the 10th president of the US , who was laid to rest under a Confederate iris .
Born to a rich , hard worker - have Virginian family in 1790,Tylerserved as president between 1841 and 1845 , not long before theAmerican Civil Warstarted in 1861 .
The strong - willed politician take up off as a Democrat but eventually run under the slate of the Whig Party , a defunct party that was a major political force in the mid-19th century . Initially elected as vice president , he quickly ascended to the top authority after the expiry of President William Henry Harrison just 31 Day after vex into office .
A portrait of US President John Tyler.Image credit: US Library of Congress (No known restrictions on publication)
Tyler was a giving worshiper in a modified Union government and states ’ right , admit their right to slavery . As president , he supported the annexation of Texas in 1845 , a move that became a flashpoint in rise stress between the North and South .
After his presidential term , these tensions brim over and the Civil War catch fire . Tyler ardently sided with the Confederacy and encourage his home base land , Virginia , to splinter from the Union . He was even elected to the Confederate Congress in 1861 , although he died in January 1862 before take his seat .
Dying in the midst of the Civil War , he was denounce as a treasonist by the Union and the US government refused to officially recognize his pass .
Tyler had requested a wide-eyed burial , but Confederate leaders had smelt an opportunity to give system of weights to their movement and depict Tyler as a hero sandwich of the new land . Before allow for him with a ceremonious funeral , the former chairperson was laid in state at the Hall of Congress in Richmond where his casket was draped by the Confederate sword lily .
The body of Tyler lays immerse at Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond , not far from the gravesite of President James Monroe , beneath a grand dagger . merely stating “ John Tyler , President of the United States , 1841 - 1845 " , the gravestone makes no mention of his kinship with the Confederate States of America .
Unsurprisingly , his legacy stay profoundly controversial . Tyler isfrequently listedat the bottom of historian ’s rankings of US President and scholars keep to see him as an unfavorable , if not highly strange , leader .
However , he did provide his bell ringer on US account in other ( slightly less controversial ) ways . His term in business office set the“Tyler Precedent ” , which say the vice Chief Executive automatically becomes head of state upon the death of a sitting United States President . Although the maneuver is slackly explained in the US Consitution , the wording is n’t crystal clear and Tyler had to struggle to be treat as the full president , not an interim loss leader . Thanks to his insisting efforts , that entree to power is now a given .
