Uncover the military career and accomplishments of Winfield Scott, one of the United States most distinguished soldiers
Uncover the military career and accomplishments of Winfield Scott, one of the United States most distinguished soldiers
Examine the career of Winfield Scott, a towering figure in 19th-century military history, who led U.S. forces to victory in the Mexican War and devised the Union's winning strategy in the American Civil War.
© Civil War Trust (A Britannica Publishing Partner)
Transcript
Winfield Scott was one of the five greatest soldiers in the United States history. I think there's no question about that. Unfortunately, he isn't often remembered that way now. He was a towering figure in the 19th century.
His career extends from the War of 1812, when he was one of the soldiers pushing for a more professional United States Army, through the War with Mexico, where his campaign from Vera Cruz to Mexico City was one of the great military operations in all of military history. The Duke of Wellington said Scott was the greatest soldier of the age because of what he did in Mexico, down to the early part of the Civil War when he was General in Chief of United States Army, he was Lieutenant General by Brevet, the rank that George Washington had had and only George Washington had had as a regular rank.
Winfield Scott, in the early stage of the Civil War took a clear-eyed look at what kind of conflict it might be. He knew it would take longer. He knew it would take far more men. And he had a great sense of knowing that just because you put a uniform on someone doesn't make them a soldier. Someone with a uniform on is someone with a uniform on, unless they've been trained and turned into a soldier. And so he argued for taking your time to prepare.
He put forward what came to be the Anaconda Plan, which is essentially how the United States waged the Civil War in broad outline. Blockade the Confederate coast, deny them material that they would be bringing in from abroad. Take control of the Mississippi River to divide the Confederacy into two pieces. And if necessary, if those two things were not enough, project the United States military power deep into the hinterlands of the Confederacy. That's essentially the strategy the United States had used during the War with Mexico. Blockading the Gulf Coast of Mexico, severing the northern provinces from the rest of Mexico, and then striking toward the capital of the Mexican republic in the end.
He had a good sense of how these kinds of wars would play out. He had that sense from the War of 1812, as well. When the British Navy had complete control over the American coastline, he understood how important that was. He understood how, if you controlled that you could project your military power wherever you wanted to, whether into the Chesapeake or toward New Orleans later in the war, within a War of 1812 context, or against New Orleans within a Civil War context, or anywhere along the Atlantic coast.
Winfield Scott was a major American thinker of the mid-19th century. One of the most influential soldiers in all of our history. And a figure who literally ties the early 19th century military history of the United States to the mid-19th century history, military history of the United States with the Civil War-- a colossal figure.
Scott was very old when the war broke out, he was in his mid 70s, and he was physically a wreck. He'd lead a good life and had eaten and drunk a great deal. And he was sort of a mass of decaying flesh by 1861, although his mind was still very sharp. Lincoln listened to him and took his advice, but he had a pushy younger officer who came on the scene, George B. McClellan, who didn't really respect Scott and was very much on the way up.
And in the end, I think Scott had had his bellyful of any kind of bickering and decided to retire and go to West Point and write his memoirs. He left as General in Chief in the autumn of 1861. George B. McClellan replaced him. Scott certainly wasn't up to field command by the time the Civil War came. But he had played a very useful part early on. And he sort of edged out, partly edged out and partly just understood that it was time to go for a person in his mid-70s.
And he had time to write his memoirs. He wrote his two-volume memoirs while he was at West Point, in the third person, which is very interesting. Then General Scott, then Colonel Scott did this. They're sort of fun. You can see his ego coming through them, but he had a reason to have an ego. He was a man of considerable accomplishment.
His career extends from the War of 1812, when he was one of the soldiers pushing for a more professional United States Army, through the War with Mexico, where his campaign from Vera Cruz to Mexico City was one of the great military operations in all of military history. The Duke of Wellington said Scott was the greatest soldier of the age because of what he did in Mexico, down to the early part of the Civil War when he was General in Chief of United States Army, he was Lieutenant General by Brevet, the rank that George Washington had had and only George Washington had had as a regular rank.
Winfield Scott, in the early stage of the Civil War took a clear-eyed look at what kind of conflict it might be. He knew it would take longer. He knew it would take far more men. And he had a great sense of knowing that just because you put a uniform on someone doesn't make them a soldier. Someone with a uniform on is someone with a uniform on, unless they've been trained and turned into a soldier. And so he argued for taking your time to prepare.
He put forward what came to be the Anaconda Plan, which is essentially how the United States waged the Civil War in broad outline. Blockade the Confederate coast, deny them material that they would be bringing in from abroad. Take control of the Mississippi River to divide the Confederacy into two pieces. And if necessary, if those two things were not enough, project the United States military power deep into the hinterlands of the Confederacy. That's essentially the strategy the United States had used during the War with Mexico. Blockading the Gulf Coast of Mexico, severing the northern provinces from the rest of Mexico, and then striking toward the capital of the Mexican republic in the end.
He had a good sense of how these kinds of wars would play out. He had that sense from the War of 1812, as well. When the British Navy had complete control over the American coastline, he understood how important that was. He understood how, if you controlled that you could project your military power wherever you wanted to, whether into the Chesapeake or toward New Orleans later in the war, within a War of 1812 context, or against New Orleans within a Civil War context, or anywhere along the Atlantic coast.
Winfield Scott was a major American thinker of the mid-19th century. One of the most influential soldiers in all of our history. And a figure who literally ties the early 19th century military history of the United States to the mid-19th century history, military history of the United States with the Civil War-- a colossal figure.
Scott was very old when the war broke out, he was in his mid 70s, and he was physically a wreck. He'd lead a good life and had eaten and drunk a great deal. And he was sort of a mass of decaying flesh by 1861, although his mind was still very sharp. Lincoln listened to him and took his advice, but he had a pushy younger officer who came on the scene, George B. McClellan, who didn't really respect Scott and was very much on the way up.
And in the end, I think Scott had had his bellyful of any kind of bickering and decided to retire and go to West Point and write his memoirs. He left as General in Chief in the autumn of 1861. George B. McClellan replaced him. Scott certainly wasn't up to field command by the time the Civil War came. But he had played a very useful part early on. And he sort of edged out, partly edged out and partly just understood that it was time to go for a person in his mid-70s.
And he had time to write his memoirs. He wrote his two-volume memoirs while he was at West Point, in the third person, which is very interesting. Then General Scott, then Colonel Scott did this. They're sort of fun. You can see his ego coming through them, but he had a reason to have an ego. He was a man of considerable accomplishment.