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WINFIELD SCOTT was born on the family
estate near Petersburg, Virginia, on 13 June 1786; attended William and Mary College briefly and studied law in the office
of David Robinson; enlisted in Petersburg's cavalry troop, 1807, and became a captain in the regular service, May 1808; received
a one-year suspension for open criticism of General James Wilkinson, 1810; served in New Orleans on General Wade Hampton's
staff, 1811-1812; was promoted to lieutenant colonel, July 1812, and colonel, March 1813; served on the Niagara front in the
War of 1812, was captured and paroled, then participated in the actions at Fort George, where he was wounded, and Uphold's
Creek; was promoted to brigadier general, March 1814; as a brigade commander, was largely instrumental in American successes
in the battles of Chippewa and Lundy's Lane (where he was seriously wounded); for his valor, was brevetted major general,
July 1814; supervised the preparation of the Army's first standard drill regulations and headed a postwar officer retention
selection board, 1815; visited Europe to study French military methods, 1815-1816; held regional command in the Division of
the North, 1816; married Maria D. Mayo, 1817; was president of the Board of Tactics, 1815, 1821, 1824, and 1826; commanded
the Eastern Department, 1825; his resignation at being passed over for Army command refused, 1828; again visited Europe, then
resumed command of the Eastern Department, 1829; his field command of the Black Hawk War forces forestalled by cholera among
his reinforcing troops, 1832; was an effective presidential emissary to South Carolina during nullification troubles; commanded
the field forces in the Second Seminole and Creek Wars, 1836; was cleared by a court of inquiry on his handling of both operations;
assumed command of the Eastern Division, 1837; was dispatched to maintain order on the Canadian border where American patriots
were aiding Canadian rebels seeking an end to British rule; supervised removal of the Cherokees to the trans-Mississippi region
("Trail of Tears"), 1838; negotiated a peaceful resolution to the boundary dispute between Maine and New Brunswick, 1839;
was promoted to major general, June 1841; was commanding general of the United States Army, 5 July 1841-1 November 1861; led
American forces in the decisive campaign of the Mexican-American War from the Vera Cruz landings to the capture of Mexico City, 1847; was the unsuccessful Whig candidate for president, 1852;
received the brevet of lieutenant general by special act of Congress, 1855, retroactive to the date of Vera Cruz; settled
the Anglo-American dispute over San Juan Island in Puget Sound, 1859; retired from active service, November 1861; died in
West Point, New York, on 29 May 1866.
Source: army.mil
Advance to:
Recommended Reading:
Agent Of Destiny: The Life And Times Of General Winfield Scott (Hardcover). Description:
It's about time somebody wrote a biography of Winfield Scott, and reading this fascinating account by accomplished military
historian John S. D. Eisenhower, you'll wonder why nobody did it sooner. Scott's career spanned an astonishing 54 years and
he spent most of it as a general. He was one of the few American heroes to emerge from the War of 1812; he launched a daring
and successful invasion of Mexico in 1847; and he defended a vulnerable Washington, D.C., during the first months of the Lincoln
administration in 1861. Continued below...
Scott was a profoundly courageous man with a flair for the organizational side of military life. Yet an
unseemly amount of ambition and vanity marred his character, even as these qualities help make him an interesting subject
for Eisenhower (who is, you guessed it, the son of Ike). Agent of Destiny is a skilled portrait of a man who is often
overshadowed by the generation of Civil War leaders following him. Eisenhower deserves our thanks for writing this magnificent
book about a vital figure.
Recommended
Reading: Winfield Scott: The Quest
for Military Glory (Hardcover). Description: One of the most important public figures in antebellum America, Winfield Scott is known today more for his swagger
than his sword. "Old Fuss and Feathers" was a brilliant military commander whose tactics and strategy were innovative adaptations
from European military theory; yet he was often underappreciated by his contemporaries and until recently overlooked by historians.
Although John Eisenhower's recently published Agent of Destiny provides a solid summary of Scott's remarkable life, Timothy
D. Johnson's much deeper critical exploration of this flawed genius will become the standard work. Thoroughly grounded in
an essential understanding of nineteenth-century military professionalism, Johnson's work draws extensively on unpublished
sources to reveal neglected aspects of Scott's life, present a complete view of his career, and accurately balance criticism
and praise. Continued below…
Johnson dramatically
relates the key features of Scott's career: how he led troops to victory in the War of 1812 and the Mexican War, fought against
the Seminoles and Creeks, and was instrumental in professionalizing the U.S. Army, which he commanded for two decades. He
also tells how Scott tried to introduce French methods into army tactical manuals, and how he applied his study of the Napoleonic
Wars during the Mexico City campaign but found European strategy of little use against Indians. Johnson further suggests that
Scott's creation of an officer corps that boasted Grant, Lee, McClellan, and other veterans of the Mexican War raises important
questions about his influence on Civil War generalship. More than a military history, this book explains how Scott's
aristocratic pretensions were out of place with emerging notions of equality in Jacksonian America and made him an unappealing
political candidate in his bid for the presidency. Johnson recounts the details of Scott's personality that alienated nearly
everyone who knew him, as well as the unsavory methods Scott used to promote his career and the scandalous ways he attempted
to alleviate his lifelong financial troubles. Although Scott's legendary vanity has tarnished his place among American
military leaders, he also possessed great talent and courage. Johnson's biography offers the most balanced portrait available
of Scott by never losing sight of the whole man.
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