Winfield Scott was born in Petersburg, Virginia, on January 13, 1786, of Scottish ancestry.  He went to William and Mary College, and studied law.  However, in 1808, he dropped out and joined the U.S. Army.  He was appointed captain of artillery in General Wilkinson’s division, stationed at Baton Rouge, Louisiana.  Scott was suspended after accusing his general of complicity with the conspiracy of Aaron Burr.

            At the beginning of the War of 1812, he was appointed lieutenant-colonel and stationed in the Canadian frontier.  He crossed along with his regiment at Queenstown Heights, where the American troops were successful at first, but the British received reinforcements, and they had heavy losses.  Winfield Scott was taken prisoner by the British.  He was in British captivity for one year until he was exchanged. 

After he was released, he was appointed adjutant-general, and was wounded by the explosion that followed the assault on Fort George.  In 1814, when he was a brigadier-general, he founded a camp of instruction.  On July 3, 1814, he took fort Erie, opposite of Buffalo, New York.  On July 5, he fought a quick battle at Chippewa.  Twenty days later, he fought in the famous battle of Lundy’s Lane.  Two horses were killed while he was riding them, and was wounded twice, once severely.  He was then raised to major-general, and organized the General Regulations of the Army, and translated from the French the system of Infantry Tactics, which was later the textbook of the American army.

Scott showed his skill in military tactics during the Indian hostilities of the American frontier, the threat of Nullification in South Carolina, and the Seminole war.  However, he preferred to do everything possible to keep the peace before taking military action.  During the Canadian Revolt of 1837-1838, he was able to keep the frontier from breaking apart into war.  In 1841, Winfield Scott was appointed commander-in-chief of the United States army. 

In 1846, he directed operations in the war against Mexico.  He landed with his 12,000 troops near Vera Cruz on March 9, 1847, and lay siege to the city.  He captured Vera Cruz on March 26^th.  On April 18^th, he defeated the heights of Cerro Gordo, on the 19^th he took Jalapa, on the 22^nd, Perote, and on May 15^th, Puebla, where, due to his heavy losses mainly from disease, he decided to wait for reinforcements.  On August 10^th, he continued on his way to Mexico City with 10,780 men to face the larger forces of Santa Anna.  He captured El Penon, and won the brilliant victories of Contreras and Churubusco.  Santa Anna started peace talks to gain time to strenghthen his defenses.  The fighting started again with the battles of Molino del Rey and Chepultapec on September 8^th.  On September 14^th, Scott entered Mexico City with less than 8,000 troops.  Peace was negotiated, and Mexico gave New Mexico and California to the United States.  Winfield Scott was welcomed home with lively demonstrations.  In 1852, Scott was the candidate of the Whig party for the presidency, but was defeated by a subordinate officer of his, General Franklin Pierce.  In 1855, the office of lieutenant-general was created for him at the beginning of the war of Secession.  In 1861, he saw that the Civil War may be much larger than many other people thought, and suggested using a much larger force to keep the South in peace.  He even suggested letting the South break away from the Union rather than fight a war.

In November 1861, Scott retired.  He visited Europe for the next few years.  Winfield Scott died at West Point in May, 1866.