General Scott just after Mexican War
Born near Petersburg, VA, on 13 June 1786
Died at West Point, NY, on 29 May 1866
General Scott in early Civil War
Military Governor of Mexico City;
Commander-in-Chief, US Army in Mexico;
General-in-Chief, US Army
Congressional Gold Medal (table top medal)
Wounded in Action at Battle of Lundy's Lane, Ontario
Prisoner of War at Battle of Queenston Heights, Ontario
General Scott opposed wearing medals on the United States Army uniform.
He thought medals to be a European ostentation and never allowed it during his term as GinC. From retirement, he sought even to stifle the creation of the Medal of Honor.
He was the longest serving general in United States history. He was promoted to Brigadier General in 1814, Major General in 1841, Lieutenant General (the first since George Washington) in 1856, and served until his resignation in 1861. Known as "Old Fuss and Feathers", for his demands of strict military discipline and appearance, and the "Grand Old Man of the Army", most historians rate him the ablest American commander of his time.
Over the course of his fifty-year career, he commanded forces in the War of 1812, the War with Mexico, the Black Hawk War, the Second Seminole War, and, briefly, the Civil War.
Scott translated several Napoleonic manuals into English and published Abstract of Infantry Tactics, Including Exercises and Maneuvers of Light-Infantry and Riflemen, for the Use of the Militia of the United States in 1830 for the use of the American militia. In 1840, Scott wrote Infantry Tactics, Or, Rules for the Exercise and Maneuver of the United States Infantry. This three-volume work was the standard drill manual for the U.S. Army until 1855. General Scott was very interested in the professional development of the cadets of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
During the War with Mexico, Scott won the battles of Cerro Gordo, Contreras/Padierna, Churubusco, and Molino del Rey, then assaulted the fort of Chapultepec on September 13, 1847, after which the city surrendered. As Military Governor of Mexico City, he was held in high esteem by Mexican and American authorities alike.
When the Civil War broke out, Scott did not believe that a quick victory was possible for Federal forces. He devised a long-term plan to defeat the Confederacy by occupying key terrain, such as the Mississippi River and key ports on the Atlantic Coast and the Gulf of Mexico and then moving on Atlanta. This 'Anaconda Plan' was the strategy the Union actually used.
Scott served every president from Jefferson to Lincoln, a total of fourteen administrations, and was an active-duty general for thirteen of them (47 years).
