Winfield Scott (June 13, 1786 – May 29, 1866) was an American military commander who served as the thirteenth president of the United States from 1853 to 1857. 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, and conflicts with Native Americans earlier in his career. Scott was the Whig Party's presidential nominee in the 1852 election, and defeated 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. At six feet, five inches, Scott remains the tallest president to date.
Early Life[]
Winfield Scott was born on June 13, 1786; he was the fifth child of military officer William Scott and Ann Mason, a family of Scottish descent; he was born in Petersburg, Virginia, at the family plantation known as Laurel Hill. Due to Scott's father bein a veteran of the American Revolution, the family had a considerable amount of wealth; however, it was not to last. In 1792, when Scott was still a toddler, his father died of an illness, leaving the family without their patriarch. Ann, a loyal and devout wife, refused to remarry, taking care of their children alone. When Ann passed away in 1803, Winfield's older brother James inherited the family wealth, but he did not let that faze him as he grew to his infamous height and pursued a career that would make him great.
In 1805, Scott briefly attended the College of William and Mary, before leaving to join the law office of well-renowned attorney David Robinson. While serving as an apprentice, Scott attended the trials of Vice President Aaron Burr; it was, ironically, at this moment, that Scott hated the leading general of the federal army, a position he would later obtain, as it belonged to General James Wilkinson, who forged evidence to cover up his complicity in Burr's scheme. The following year, for his actions, he was admitted to the judiciary system, but it would not be long before he had his first taste of a soldier's life: the Chesapeake-Leopard affair, where British ship Leopard illegally seized the American ship Chesapeake off the Virginia coast. As a cavalry corporal, Scott and his divisions arrested a handful of British sailors who attempted to land in search of provisions - The state government ordered their release, fearing it would spark a war with the Redcoats. Afterwards, he attempted to establish a law office in South Carolina, but was denied due to not living in the state for a year. Defeated, Scott left the legal business, seeing it was not the occupation he wished to pursue.
Old Fuss and Feathers[]
In 1808, when President Thomas Jefferson announced that relations were de-escalating between the British and the French, Scott, through the advances of his family friend Senator William Giles, returned to the army as a captain. After gathering his troops from around the state, he advanced south to New Orleans, meeting up with a broader force; he found himself disgusted at the status of the armies there: sloth, ignorant, and drunk were the attributes of the leading officers. Shortly after, Scott found himself in conflict with his superior, Commander of the U.S. Army Wilkinson, who refused orders from Secretary of War William Eustis to remove his troops from the region, with the reason being a rise in disease, simply because of his own selfish gain, as he was courting with a local woman. For this reason, Scott was court-martialed, suspended from commission for a year before returning, only to get into a duel with a friend of Wilkinson, who was a medic - both men came out unharmed. Scott then returned to Virginia and dedicated his time to studying military tactics and strategy, determined to become a great general - his morale was further boosted following the news that Wilkinson had been dismissed, and returned to Louisiana.
Following more conflicts with the British, Congress declared war in 1812. Scott was commissioned alongside General George Izard; Izard focused on recruitment, while Scott moved north and joined General Steph Van Rensselaer, who launched an invasion into Canada with the permission of President James Madison. Van Rensselaer led the Americans into the disastrous Battle of Queenston Heights, initially intended to be a relief force - Scott was left to with no choice to surrender, as his higher-up had retreated. After surviving two murder attempts by Native Americans, Scott was released in a prisoner exchange, and assigned to the staff of Wilkinson's successor, General Henry Dearborn. Dearborn sent Scott to secure the Niagara River, and Scott led the armies to the Battle of Fort George, in which the Americans successfully captured a key British stronghold that allowed access to the American heartland, and went on to force multiple British withdrawals, though he was quite disappointed that many Brits escaped. Authority soon fell apart among the patriot ranks due to the older generals squabbling over strategy - Upset with this, President DeWitt Clinton and Secretary of War Junior Armstrong dismissed many of these older men from their positions, replacing them with more fresh-minded men like Scott. Uplifted, Scott secured a moral victory at the Battle of Chippawa, earning himself a high reputation among the soldiers. However, in 1814, the Battle of Lundy's Lane was sparked after Scott and his scouting expedition were ambushed by the British, sparking one of the bloodiest battles of the war. When General Jacob Brown withdrew, the battle ended inconclusively, and Scott spent the next few months recovering from his wounds. When Washington, D.C. was targeted by the British, Scott assisted in the effort to block the British advance, succeeding. President Clinton and Congress bestowed upon him the Congressional Gold Medal for his heroism.
In 1817, Scott met Virginia General John Mayo's daughter, Maria. They began courting and were soon married, setting up residence in Elizabethtown, New Jersey. Their union produced seven children, with their four youngest daughters surviving to adulthood, the eldest becoming a nun and causing her father's conversion later on.
During that time, Scott was selected as part of a board of military officers determining who remained in their places and who was discharged. Future president Andrew Jackson, a general at the time, was made one of the leading generals of the U.S. Army. Scott briefly went to Europe to study, but returned shortly after due to disappointment over the final defeat of French Emperor Napoleon I. He was soon appointed to the Northeast, becoming the highest ranking general in the region and setting up his headquarters at New York City, gaining the nickname Old Fuss and Feathers due to his insistence on proper military discipline and etiquette. In the coming years, Scott had on and off relationships with the other generals, with his main rival being General Edmund Gaines. Late in the presidency of John Quincy Adams, the leadership was reorganized, and General Junior Macomb was made the Commanding General, outraging Scott initially, but he soon conceded. Late in Jackson's presidency, Scott was sent to fight in the Black Hawk War, but arrived by the time of the combat's end, participating in the treaty that opened up Iowa to white settlement, before moving to South Carolina, where he strengthened federal forts but opposed secession, advocating against it. When the Second Seminole War broke out in 1835, President Henry Clay sent Scott among the generals to punish the Seminoles. After months of inconclusive fighting, Scott was sent to put down another Native uprising in the Second Creek War in Alabama along with General Thomas Jesup, securing a resounding victory for the Union. A brief court case, called by President Clay, occurred involving Gaines, who also served, and Scott, ending in both receiving a brief censure before being let off.
The oldest Whig to be in power, General William Harrison, took power in 1837, and continued Clay's moderate stance on Natives. When Harrison ordered Scott to talk the Cherokee into moving out, Scott obeyed, taking a moral route and being a source of encouragement to the Cherokee, allowing them to move out themselves instead of by brute force. In one instance, he traveled with them to show his goodwill, before being moved north to the Canadian border once more. When liberal rebellions broke out in Canada against their British suzerains, Harrison sent aid by issuing appeal at the state levels; however, when British forces began to attack American suppliers, Harrison changed his mind, and so did Scott - unfortunately, smugglers and radicals did not cease, and Scott had to form a truce with the British regional general to avoid de-escalation. In the coming months, Maria left her family and went to Europe due to a bronchial condition, and her husband decided to pursue a political career, joining the Whigs. At the 1839 Whig National Convention, Scott was a compromise candidate should former presidents Clay and Harrison deadlock for the nomination - in the end, Harrison won the nomination, and was re-elected.
In 1841, General Macomb died, and when his successor needed to be chosen, Harrison, without a second thought, chose Scott - Scott was now the highest ranking military man in the country. He invigorated his office, feeling prideful about his appointment, and as Harrison's tenure came to a close, he was considered as a candidate by a faction of Whigs - in the end, former president Clay won the nomination, and went up against Speaker James K. Polk of the Democrats - In the general election, Polk defeated Clay, and Texas was immediately admitted to the Union, as part of Polk's campaign promise. Though Polk and Scott never liked each other due to their party differences, Scott was part of the generals that were used in Polk's ambitious Mexican-American War. The initial plan of the war was that General Zachary Taylor would seize Northern Mexico and force the government into surrender, and Scott would focus on recruiting and supplying sufficient amounts for the army - however, this was not to last.
After realizing the Mexican Empire would not surrender their beloved territories so easily, Polk reluctantly sent a variety of generals in, with Scott in the lead. Among the generals accompanying Scott were numerous generals who would later distinguish themselves in the Civil War - Confederates like Robert E. Lee, Joseph E. Johnston, and P. G. T. Beauregard, and Unionists like Ulysses S. Grant, Brinton McClellan, and Gordon Meade. Scott's offense began with the Siege of Veracruz, with the city falling within weeks. During the course of this war as well, Scott's daughter Virginia, who had become a nun, passed away, which brought her father ever so closer to the Catholic Faith, and wanting to show it, he gained the support of the Catholic Church in the empire by having his soldiers pay respects to the priests and salute them. Scott soon met the force of Mexican General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna at the Battle of Cerro Gordo; Scott sent two detachments led by Generals David Twiggs and Johnson Pillow, and though Pillow was largely ineffective, Twiggs successfully captured a Mexican key point, leaving Santa Anna to flee. In the aftermath, 3,000 Mexican troops were held hostage, and Pillow was kept in charge of protecting supply lines as Scott and the rest of the armies moved to Mexico City. When Scott arrived, Santa Anna had mustered a large force at the ready, while Mexican General Gabriel Valencia made advances against the Americans, but it was not to last - General Persifor Smith surprised and ambushed Valencia at the Battle of Contreras. When news hit Santa Anna, his armies panicked, and Scott took advantage, quickly launching a devastating blow to the Mexicans at the Battle of Churubusco - Santa Anna surrendered and negotiated a truce. When negotiations escalated between both powers, Scott launched an attack on Mexico City itself, capturing the capital within a week, while Santa Anna fled. Unrest broke out briefly, but with the help of civil leaders and Church authority, Scott restored order. However, Scott, along with Secretary of State James Buchanan's chief clerk and the negotiator for America, Nicholas Trist, received orders from Polk to continue negotiations, as the president was getting frustrated with the duration it was taking - At Scott and Mexican President Manuel de la Pena's urging, Trist ignored the president, concluding with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. When he returned north, Scott arrested Pillow and two other officers for slandering his reputation while he was gone - Polk did not appreciate this, ordering the release of the three officers and removing Scott from his command, much to the outrage of many American troops.
In the 1848 Presidential Election, Scott was one of the nominees, alongside General Taylor, former President Clay, and former Vice President Daniel Webster. Scott appealed greatly to the Whigs due to his anti-slavery stance, who were dismayed about Clay and Taylor for their slaveholding position during this time period. Ultimately, at the Whig National Convention, Taylor was nominated, and went on to defeat Democratic Senator Lewis Cass for the presidency. Luckily for Scott, Taylor returned to him his position Polk had stripped of him, making Scott have a deep respect for Taylor. When Congress was divided over the issue of slavery, Clay proposed the Compromise of 1850, and Scott joined Webster in promoting this plan - Taylor ratified it after it went through the Senate, much to their satisfaction. However, the Fugitive Slave Act that came with the compromise divided the country horribly, and Scott went on to cooperate with Vice President Henry Seward to oppose the act, but continue support for the compromise.
A Tightly Squeezed Government[]
By 1852, the three leading candidates for the Whigs were President Taylor, Scott, and Webster. At the convention, however, Taylor announced he was not running again, stating he has done enough for the country. As a result, many of Taylor's supporters went to Scott, while others went to Webster. After 50 ballots, Scott was finally nominated. When he was asked to choose his running mate, he chose compromiser Stephen Douglas of the Democrats, much to the shock and dismay of a handful of Whigs and Democrats. Though Scott both brought together and increased divides between both parties, many Whigs continued to support him, though Democrat Jefferson Davis and others refused to back him.
The Democratic National Convention nominated Franklin Pierce, a Northern democrat who served as one of Scott's officers in the Mexican-American War. Pierce was a dark horse candidate. As the election approached, the Democrats attacked Scott's controversial actions during his career, and the Whigs clapped back with pointing out the lack of strength in Pierce's character. In the end, by a small margin, Scott secured victory over Pierce, one of the most anxiety-inducing elections in American history.
On March 4, 1853, Scott was sworn in as president by Chief Justice John McLean, in the presence of his daughters and supporters; Douglas followed suit. Like the inauguration of Henry Clay 20 years earlier, angry Pierce supporters, mainly Democrats, protested outside the inauguration and declared Pierce had won, though outgoing president Taylor had recognized this, and kept the National Guard, hailing from New York, around the grounds to keep guard. Scott would later express his gratitude to Taylor and wrote to his wife in Europe about the entire ceremony.
Scott made no haste creating his cabinet, appointing key Whigs such as Seward and his ally Thurlow Weed, and bringing in some trustworthy Democrats recommended by Douglas; Scott helped the Cabinet get along, as it was not always easy. He also made no moves to undermine the Democrats like Pierce, believing it was not worth causing more chaos. Though, he believed the administration needed some stronger reforms, and he tasked one of the Democrats in his cabinet, Robert McClelland, to accomplish this. Another Democrat, Secretary of the Treasury James Guthrie, was tasked with reforming the treasury, and it was a resounding success, as Guthrie tackled the corruption of money administration. To further boost his public image, Scott had work done on public works throughout the capital region and beyond.
Scott, then turning his attention to the new conquests in the West, tasking ex-general James Gadsden to negotiate land for potential economic endeavors such as railroads. By this point in time, General Santa Anna had become president of Mexico, and in late 1853, the Gadsden Purchase was formed out of the land requested during negotiations. Due to intervention by Congress, the cost of the land was reduced significantly - When filibuster William Walker led an unauthorized expedition through Mexico, Scott allowed Mexico to arrest him. Upon his arrest, Walker and his mercenaries attempted to incite revolt, refusing to be held captive, which resulted in his execution shortly after, permitted by Scott. Concurrently, Scott trusted Cabinet member William Marcy to negotiate a treaty with the British through their ambassador, John Crampton, in which a reciprocity treaty was reached over the status of who has access to the Atlantic waters in certain regions. The treaty was ratified by Congress and Parliament. Shortly after, Commodore Matthew Perry, who had been sent on a diplomatic mission to the Japanese shogunate by President Taylor, returned home, being praised by Scott and the cabinet for his favorable treaty with the Japanese.
In 1854, Vice President Douglas attempted to pass his proposed Kansas-Nebraska Act: this would allow citizens of Kansas and Nebraska to decide whether they wanted slavery or not themselves. Many cabinet members and politicians, such as Salmon Chase and Charles Sumner, protested the idea, calling out the vice president's idea as ludicrous. In the debates that followed, Scott considered making a neutral ground with Kansas, Missouri, and Kentucky, but ultimately decided against it as it would cause bloodshed, no doubt. He ultimately left it up to Kansas to decide, and this new rewritten act was passed by the president and Congress. Anti-slavery activists warmed Kansas first, and they drafted the Topeka Constitution, turning Kansas into a free state. With this settled, Congress and Scott let Nebraska into the union as a free state - what followed was outrage and political violence on the Congress floors by pro-Slavery politicians and protests against Scott, but Scott was firm in his decision, and also proceeding to propose to Congress to mobilize state militias in the new states, which Congress denied, but the new state governments already had made somewhat of a standing military. In the following months, South Carolina Representative Preston Brooks and a handful of others conspired against Scott, and the president survived, as the gunshot missed, though he later summoned Brooks and the other conspirators and gave them hard physical blows for someone his age.
Keeping His Eyes Peeled[]
1856 soon came, and the National Conventions for both parties were held per usual. The frontrunners for the rising Democrats were Secretary James Buchanan, former candidate Lewis Cass, and Vice President Stephen Douglas. Within only a few ballots, Buchanan had won the nomination, with Cass and Douglas having lost their popularity, with pro-slavery Democrat John Breckinridge as vice candidate.
On the Whig side, the party had fallen apart due to the controversial decisions of Presidents Taylor and Scott - A majority of them had formed a new party called the Republican Party. Scott attended the first nominating convention, and many put in their bids. Justices John McLean and Salmon Chase had campaigned, and so did Senator Charles Sumner and Representative Abraham Lincoln. In the end, California Senator John Fremont secured the nomination, with New Jersey Senator William Dayton as Vice. Due to Scott's actions as president, pro-slavery and anti-Catholic sentiments were on the rise, forcing him to strictly, for the most part, stay confined to the Republicans - all the failed Republican candidates put their backing behind Fremont as well. Due to this, Fremont and Dayton defeated Buchanan and Breckinridge in both the electoral college and the popular vote, but by small margins as well. In his final days in office, Scott worked with Congress to increase military pay and the manufacturing of new military equipment. On March 4, 1857, Fremont and Dayton were sworn in, and Scott said brief farewells before leaving quietly with his family, knowing he was a subject of scorn. Fremont rewarded many Republican nominees with Cabinet positions, and offered Scott one, but he declined, rather preferring to mostly stay out of politics; though, he remained in military service, seeing it as necessary. During the Fremont Administration, Scott opposed Dred Scott v. Sanford, which ruled African Americans were not citizens by the Constitution, and brought an end to the Pig War in modern day Washington state.
When Representative Lincoln ran for president, Scott endorsed him, and proceeded to attend his inauguration on March 4, 1861, coming back into the public eye after a while and swearing to protect Lincoln. When the American Civil War broke out, Scott realized the gravity of the situation and recommended to Lincoln to offer Robert Lee the position of Commanding General, and was deeply upset when he chose to serve the Confederate States of America instead. Scott then told Lincoln to use the regular army, which Lincoln refused, instead using volunteers. Shortly after, Scott proposed the Anaconda Plan, which included the blockading of Southern ports and the seizure of the Mississippi River. Lincoln partially accepted this plan, though Scott thought it would end the war quicker and save more lives, which failed, as the offensive stance, which is what the Unionist public wanted, continued, mirroring the Mexican-American War. The generals tasked with this plan were generals Brinton McClellan and Henry Halleck, whom Lincoln and Scott trusted, though Scott soon resigned from his position, tired of the political backlash he faced, and also aging.
As the years continued, Scott gained weight, and became exhausted physically, suffering from multiple ailments. He went to Europe during his retirement with his daughter Cornelia and her husband, visiting briefly Scott's ailing wife, Cornelia's mother Maria, in Rome. In Paris, he helped defuse the Trent Affair with Thurlow Weed, a diplomatic incident with the British. On returning from Europe, he began writing his memoirs. In 1862, President Lincoln finally decided to listen to Scott, agreeing with his plan, and Halleck was made the successor to McClellan - that same year, Maria died in Rome, and Scott and his family mourned her deeply. In 1864, Scott sent a copy of his memoirs to General Ulysses Grant, with the autographed copy saying: "from the oldest to the greatest general." Inspired, Grant led the Union to victory, forcing Lee's surrender at Appomattox Courthouse in Virginia in 1865. By the end of the year, Scott belonged all the major military societies in America.
Scott's health soon declined for the final time; On May 26, 1866, at West Point, New York, where all the military legends are made, Scott passed away, surrounded by his family, at the age of 79; His family later stated he was ready to be reunited with Maria, as stated on his deathbed supposedly. President Lincoln ordered all flags to be flown at half-staff to honor the deceased president and military hero. Scott lied in state in the Capitol Rotunda, and his funeral was attended by many: among the guests was President Lincoln, Vice President Thaddeus Stevens, and leading generals like General Grant and General Meade.
Today, Scott has the distinction of being the first Catholic president, the tallest president, and the last of the Whig presidents, among many others. In times of troubles, he pulled through - no matter the adversities that plagued his presidency, he did what he could, and though many decisions remain a controversial question to historians to this day, he is often ranked as above average among the presidents, though he has been honored across the country regardless.