Winfield
Scott was born in Petersburg, Virginia on 13th June, 1786. Scott joined
the army in 1808 and served with distinction as a young brigadier
general in the 1812 War. Captured on the Niagara frontier he was exchanged
in 1813 and fought with distinction at Chippewa (5th July, 1814) and
Lundy's Lane (25th July, 1814).
After the war Scott attained the rank of major general and went to
Europe to study military tactics and in 1841 became commanding general
of the United States Army.
At the start of the Mexican War Scott
recommended to President James Polk that
General Zachary Taylor should command
United States forces in the field. However, after Taylor made slow
progress, Scott made a seaborne invasion of Mexico that captured Vera
Cruz and a march inland to Mexico City, which was captured on 14th
September, 1846. Meanwhile General Stephen
Kearny conquered
New Mexico and with the support of John Fremont
took control of California.
A member of the Whig Party, Scott was nominated
as its candidate in the 1852 presidential election. The party was
badly divided with Southeners deeply suspicious of Scott's views on
slavery. In the election
Franklin Pierce won 1,601,474 votes against Scott's 1,386,578.
On the outbreak of the American Civil War,
President Abraham Lincoln called a special
session of Congress and proclaimed a blockade of Gulf of Mexico ports.
This strategy was based on the Anaconda
Plan that had been developed by Scott. It involved the army occupying
the line of the Mississippi and blockading Confederate ports. Scott
believed if this was done successfully the South would negotiate a
peace deal. However, at the start of the war, the US
Navy had only a small number of ships and was in no position to
guard all 3,000 miles of Southern coast.
Scott was considered too old at seventy-five to command the Union
Army and in November, 1861, retired from office. Winfield Scott
died at West Point on 29th May, 1866.
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