Given with the nickname “Old Fuss and Feathers” due to his strict adherence to military discipline, Winfield Scott served more than 50 years as a commander in several wars and served in the military for over five decades.
Scott was born in 1786 on a Virginia plantation. His parents died when he was still a juvenile, but with his inheritance he was able to attend the College of William and Mary and then went on to study law. But service in the military was his first love. He first joined the local militia and then the army.
Scott’s resilient and flamboyant attitude would soon gain him quite a reputation as a military leader. His strict adherence to military discipline, although not highly appreciated by the volunteer soldiers, made him and his troops a tough force. He was a tall and big man with a tough persona, which would soon help him gain his soldiers’ respect as a leader.
“I thought him the finest specimen of manhood my eyes had ever beheld,” Ulysses S. Grant once said of Scott, according to Historynet.com.
After the war with the British broke out in 1812, Scott was sent north to the Canadian front. When his commander in Queenston, Canada was severely wounded, Scott took the reins of the American troops. Soon, his troops were outnumbered by an arriving force of British soldiers. Scott surrendered and became a prisoner of war. He was treated well by the British, but almost died during an attack by two Native Americans while in British custody. Released as part of a prisoner exchange, Scott was promoted to colonel and given the command of an artillery group.
By 1814, Scott was promoted to brigadier general where he played a pivotal role in earning an American victory at the Battle of Chippawa. He then defended an ambush in the Battle of Lundy’s Lane, where he was severely wounded.
The Mexican-American War and Beyond
Scott led the invasion of Veracruz in 1847 which enabled him and his troops to move inland. During his venture toward Mexico City, he cut off his supply line to move faster. Forcing his troops to live off the land allowed them to quickly and effectively enter Mexico City, which soon ended the war in favor of the Americans. His humane takeover of Mexico inspired a delegation of Mexican citizens to offer Scott the dictatorship of the country.Due to his exemplary military achievements, Scott was the first person since George Washington to be awarded the title of lieutenant general, the highest rank in the military.
But his ultimate ambition was to become president, and he joined the Whig Party to make this happen. Due to his strong beliefs and involvement in the Whig Party, Scott sought the Whig’s presidential nomination several times: in 1840, 1844, and 1848, to no avail.
He sought the party’s nomination once again in 1852 and was successful, but lost the presidential election to Democrat Franklin Pierce by a landslide in the Electoral College. Scott was the last presidential candidate of the Whig Party before it dismantled.
Scott kept his position as commander of the U.S. Army after President Abraham Lincoln was elected in 1860. After the election, even though he was from Virginia, Scott agreed to protect the new president during his inauguration due to his stance against secession.
Age and disability caught up with Old Fuss and Feathers, and many said he couldn’t even mount a horse. He resigned from the military in 1861, but continued to advise President Lincoln during the Civil War.
