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Winfield Scott Hall Biography & Facts

Winfield Scott (June 13, 1786 – May 29, 1866) was an American military commander and political candidate. He served as Commanding General of the United States Army from 1841 to 1861, having taken part in the War of 1812, the Mexican–American War, the early stages of the American Civil War serving the union, and also in the American Indians wars earlier in his career. Scott was the Whig Party's presidential nominee in the 1852 election, but was defeated by Democrat Franklin Pierce. He was known as Old Fuss and Feathers for his insistence on proper military etiquette, as well as the Grand Old Man of the Army for his many years of service. Scott was born near Petersburg, Virginia, in 1786. After training as a lawyer and brief militia service, he joined the army in 1808 as a captain of the light artillery. In the War of 1812, Scott served on the Canadian front, taking part in the Battle of Queenston Heights and the Battle of Fort George, and was promoted to brigadier general in early 1814. He served with distinction in the Battle of Chippawa, but was badly wounded in the subsequent Battle of Lundy's Lane. After the conclusion of the war, Scott was assigned to command army forces in a district containing much of the Northeastern United States, and he and his family made their home near New York City. During the 1830s, Scott negotiated an end to the Black Hawk War, took part in the Second Seminole War and the Creek War of 1836, and presided over the forced removal of the Cherokee. Scott also helped to avert war with Great Britain, defusing tensions arising from the Patriot War and the Aroostook War. In 1841, Scott became the Commanding General of the United States Army, beating out his rival Edmund P. Gaines for the position. After the outbreak of the Mexican–American War in 1846, Scott was relegated to an administrative role, but in 1847 he led a campaign against the Mexican capital of Mexico City. After capturing the port city of Veracruz, he defeated Mexican General Antonio López de Santa Anna's armies at the Battles of Cerro Gordo, Contreras, and Churubusco. He then captured Mexico City, after which he maintained order in the Mexican capital and indirectly helped envoy Nicholas Trist negotiate the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which brought an end to the war. Scott unsuccessfully sought the Whig presidential nomination three times, in 1840, 1844, and 1848. He finally won it in 1852, when the party was already dying off. The Whigs were badly divided over the Compromise of 1850, and Franklin Pierce won a decisive victory over his former commander. Nonetheless, Scott remained popular among the public, and in 1855 he received a brevet promotion to the rank of lieutenant general, becoming the first U.S. Army officer to hold that rank since George Washington. In 1859 he peacefully solved the conflict of the Pig War, ending the last in a long series of British-American border conflicts. Despite being a Virginia native, Scott stayed loyal to the Union when the Civil War broke out and served as an important adviser to President Abraham Lincoln during the opening stages of the war. He developed a strategy known as the Anaconda Plan, but retired in late 1861 after Lincoln increasingly relied on General George B. McClellan for military advice and leadership. In retirement, he lived in West Point, New York, where he died on May 29, 1866. Scott's military talent was highly regarded by contemporaries, and historians generally consider him to be one of the most accomplished generals in U.S. history. Early life Scott was born on June 13, 1786, the fifth child of Ann (Mason) Scott and William Scott, a planter, veteran of the American Revolutionary War, and officer in the Dinwiddie County militia. At the time, the Scott family resided at Laurel Hill, a plantation near Petersburg, Virginia. Ann Mason Scott was the daughter of Daniel Mason and Elizabeth Winfield, and Scott's parents chose his maternal grandmother's surname for his first name. Scott's paternal grandfather, James Scott, had migrated from Scotland after the defeat of Charles Edward Stuart's forces in the Battle of Culloden. Scott's father died when Scott was six years old; his mother did not remarry. She raised Scott, his older brother James, and their sisters Mary, Rebecca, Elizabeth, and Martha until her death in 1803. Although Scott's family held considerable wealth, most of the family fortune went to James, who inherited the plantation. At six feet, five inches tall and 230 pounds, with a hardy constitution, in his prime Scott was a physically large and imposing figure. Scott's education included attendance at schools run by James Hargrave and James Ogilvie. In 1805, Scott began attending the College of William and Mary, but he soon left in order to study law in the office of attorney David Robinson. His contemporaries in Robinson's office included Thomas Ruffin. While apprenticing under Robinson, Scott attended the trial of Aaron Burr, who had been accused of treason for his role in events now known as the Burr conspiracy. During the trial, Scott developed a negative opinion of the Senior Officer of the United States Army, General James Wilkinson, as the result of Wilkinson's efforts to minimize his complicity in Burr's actions by providing forged evidence and false, self-serving testimony. Scott was admitted to the bar in 1806, and practiced in Dinwiddie. In 1807, Scott gained his initial military experience as a corporal of cavalry in the Virginia Militia, serving in the midst of the Chesapeake–Leopard affair. Scott led a detachment that captured eight British sailors who had attempted to land in order to purchase provisions. Virginia authorities did not approve of this action, fearing it might spark a wider conflict, and they soon ordered the release of the prisoners. Later that year, Scott attempted to establish a legal practice in South Carolina, but was unable to obtain a law license because he did not meet the state's one-year residency requirement. Early career, 1807–1815 First years in the army In early 1808, President Thomas Jefferson asked Congress to authorize an expansion of the United States Army after the British announced an escalation of their naval blockade of France, thereby threatening American shipping. Scott convinced U.S. Senator William Branch Giles, a family friend, to help him obtain a commission in the newly expanded army. In May 1808, shortly before his twenty-second birthday, Scott was commissioned as a captain in the light artillery. Tasked with recruiting a company, he raised his troops from the Petersburg and Richmond areas, and then traveled with his unit to New Orleans to join their regiment. Scott was deeply disturbed by what he viewed as the unprofessionalism of the army, which at the time consisted of just 2,700 officers and men. He later wrote that "the old officers had, very generally, sunk into either sloth, ignorance, or habits of intemperate drinking." He soon clashed .... Discover the Winfield Scott Hall popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Winfield Scott Hall books.