Winfield Scott

:This article is about the general and presidential candidate. There was also a songwriter named Winfield Scott.

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Winfield Scott (June 13, 1786 – May 29, 1866) was a United States lieutenant general, diplomat, and presidential candidate. He served on active duty as a general longer than any other man in American history and most historians rate him the ablest American commander of his time. Over the course of his fifty-year career, he commanded forces in the War of 1812, the Mexican-American War, the Black Hawk War, the Second Seminole War, and, briefly, the American Civil War, conceiving of the Union strategy known as the Anaconda Plan that would be used to defeat the Confederacy.

Related Topics:
June 13 - 1786 - May 29 - 1866 - Lieutenant general - Diplomat - Presidential candidate - General - American history - Historians - War of 1812 - Mexican-American War - Black Hawk War - Second Seminole War - American Civil War - Union - Anaconda Plan - Confederacy

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A national hero after the Mexican War, he served as military governor of Mexico City, and later became known as the Grand Old Man of the Army. Such was his stature that in 1852 the United States Whig Party passed over its own incumbent President of the United States, Millard Fillmore, to nominate Scott in the U.S. Presidential election. Scott lost to Democrat Franklin Pierce in the general election, but remained a popular national figure, receiving a brevet promotion in 1856 to the rank of lieutenant general, becoming the first American since George Washington to hold that rank.

Related Topics:
Mexican War - Mexico City - Grand Old Man of the Army - 1852 - United States Whig Party - President of the United States - Millard Fillmore - U.S. Presidential election - Democrat - Franklin Pierce - Brevet - Lieutenant general - George Washington

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