Scott, WINFIELD, an American general, was born near Petersburg, Virginia, 13th June 1786. He was educated at William and Mary College, studied law, and was admitted to the bar at Richmond in 1807. Feeling, however, greater aptitude for military life, he obtained a commission as captain of light artillery in May 1808. At New Orleans he was court-martialled for disrespectful remarks about his commanding officer, and suspended for a year. When war was declared against Great Britain in 1812, Scott, being made lieutenant-colonel, was ordered to the Canadian frontier. Crossing the Niagara River in October, he fought at Queenstown, and was taken prisoner, but was exchanged after three months. In May 1813 he was wounded at the capture of Fort George, and in July 1814 at Lundy's Lane; from this battle his commission as major-general was dated. The attempts to invade Canada proved failures, but Scott's personal achievements were regarded by his countrymen as redeeming features in the record.
During the ensuing years of peace Scott framed the 'General Regulations' for the army, and introduced the French system of tactics. In various local troubles his tact in preventing outbreaks was shown, especially during the Nullification excitement in South Carolina in 1832, and in the dispute about the boundary of Maine in 1839. He succeeded to the chief command of the army in 1841. In 1847 General Scott was given the command of the army for the invasion of Mexico; and on 9th March, with about 12,000 troops, he invested the city of Vera Cruz. After a heavy bombardment, the city and the strong castle of San Juan d'Ulloa capitulated on the 26th. Scott then hastened to the tablelands, defeated Santa-Anna at the pass of Cerro Gordo, and captured Jalapa and Puebla. Here from May till August he was obliged to wait for and drill reinforcements. When he resumed the march the battles of Contreras and Churubusco opened the highway to the city of Mexico, but a vain attempt to negotiate a treaty caused some weeks' delay. On 13th September the castle of Chapultepec was carried by storm; Santa-Anna fled from the capital, and Scott entered in triumph on the 14th. Here he remained until the following February, when the treaty of peace was signed. On this war General Scott's fame rests; he boldly claimed that his campaign had been 'successful as to every prediction, plan, siege, battle, and skirmish.'
Scott had in politics belonged to the Whig party, and in 1852 was its candidate for the presidency, but was easily defeated, owing both to the disintegration of the party and to his own blunders as a politician. In 1855 the rank of lieutenant-general was revived in his favour. Scott was always a firm supporter of the Union, and in the crisis of 1860-61 remained true to his allegiance even when his native state seceded. Though crippled by the infirmities of age, he retained nominal command of the army until November 1861. He died on 29th May 1866, at West Point, and was buried there. Scott was a man of imposing presence, 6 feet 4 inches high. Though undeniably vain and pompous, he was a sincere patriot and of unblemished integrity. His military genius was evidently adequate for a grander field than that in which it was exercised. But his fame has been obscured by the glare of the civil war, in which the officers trained under him had greater opportunities to display their powers. His Memoirs, published in 1864, unfortunately rather emphasised his vanity than vindicated his fame. The biographies written by others are of little value; his own Memoirs are elucidated by General E. D. Keyes's Fifty Years of Observation (New York, 1884).