Richard Taylor, who lived in Louisiana, served in the Confederate army during the Civil War, rising to the level of major general. In 1855, he won a seat in the Louisiana Senate. He began his political career, like his father, as a Whig. But he later switched to the Know Nothing Party, and then the Democratic Party. He achieved several military victories with smaller forces than his Union counterparts, winning the Battle of Mansfield and the Battle of Pleasant Hill during the Red River campaign. He was the last Confederate general to surrender.