Scott, Winfield, 1786-1866

Commanding general of the U.S. Army.

American army officer. Commissioned a captain of light artillery in May 1808, lieutenant colonel 1812, promoted to brigadier general for service in War of 1812; general-in-chief of U.S. Army 1841-1861.

Charles Nicoll Bancker was a merchant and financier.

Brigadier-general in the War of 1812; commanded troops on the Niagara Frontier.

A career military man, Scott served in the War of 1812, led the campaign against Mexico City during the Mexican War, and resigned as commander of the U.S. Army, due to health and age, in 1861.

American army officer.

Army officer.

Winfield Scott was born near Petersburg, VA on June 13, 1786. After brilliant service in the War of 1812 he was made a Major-General, and became the general-in-chief of the United States Army in 1841. In 1847, after a five-month campaign, he captured Mexico City with a force of only 12,000 men. In 1852 Scott was the unsuccessful Whig candidate for President of the United States, and retired from military service shortly after the beginning of the Civil War. He died in West Point, NY on May 29, 1866.

Soldier; general in the War of 1812 and the Mexican War.

Soldier, 1852 Whig presidential candidate.

Brigadier-general in the War of 1812; commanded troops on the Niagara Frontier. Scott distinquished himself during the Mexican War, and commanded the Union army in the early days of the Civil War, retiring in Nov. 1861 at age 75.

Union general.

Army officer and presidential candidate; once a resident of Elizabeth, N.J.

United States Army general.

Soldier.

General-in-chief of the U.S. army (1841-1861); resigned Nov. 1861.

Scott (1786-1866) was a general, hero, statesman, philanthropist, best known for his battle at sea on the battleship Niagara in the War of 1812 and his actions in the Mexican War.

Career U.S. Army officer, served throughout War of 1812, Indian Wars, War with Mexico, and the Civil War; presidential nominee for the Whig party in 1852.

Winfield Scott was born on June 13, 1786, near Petersburg, Virginia. After studying law at the College of William and Mary he embarked upon a military career. During the War of 1812 he was captured by the British. Following an exchange of prisoners, Scott fought again, was injured in the battle of Lundy's Lane, and emerged from the war a national hero. After the war Scott earned the reputation of a peacemaker by helping to ease the Nullification Crisis in 1832 and settling border disputes with Canada. In 1838 Scott supervised the removal of the Cherokee from Georgia and other southern states to reservations west of the Mississippi River.

Scott was appointed commanding general of the U.S. Army in 1841. During the Mexican-American War Scott commanded a seaborne invasion that led, after a string of victories, to the conquest of Mexico City in 1847. Scott was honored with an appointment to the brevet rank of lieutenant general for his service during the war. Riding an unprecedented wave of popularity, Scott won the Whig Party presidential nomination in 1852, but lost in the general election to Democrat Franklin Pierce.

When the Civil War broke out in 1861, Scott was 75 years old and still commander in chief of the U.S. Army. His proposed strategy to strangle Confederate forces, called the Anaconda Plan, was criticized sharply by many. Scott retired from military service, wrote his memoirs, traveled through Europe, and lived to see his Anaconda Plan, in its essential form, effectively employed to help bring an end to the Civil War. He died in West Point, New York, on May 29, 1866.