General Zachary Taylor defeated the Mexican General Santa Ana at Buenavista in February 1847, helping to secure Texas, and gain California, for the United States.  He became President of the USA after the war with Mexico, but died after only a short term in office.  A.L. Lloyd thought that this shanty probably dates from around 1850, though many of the elements in it (the ritual funeral, the references to the semi-mythical "Stormy" or "Stormalong"), are older.

Malcolm