Why Is Winfield Scott Important

Winfield Scott was one of the most important American military figures of the early 19th century and one of the five greatest soldiers in the United States history. He was named commander general of the U.S. Army in 1841, and was an unsuccessful Whig nominee for president in 1852. Winfield Scott became a soldier at a time when the U.S. Army was very ineffective. By study and hard work, he made himself the best military man in the country, wrote the standard manuals on tactics and infantry, and upgraded the Army into an effective unit. He attended William and Mary College but quit because he disapproved the irreligious attitude of the students. After reading law, he was admitted to the Virginia bar in 1806 and practiced until appointed a captain in the military in 1808. During his fifty-three years of service, Winfield Scott made a significant impact on the professionalization of the army. In 1821 he wrote General Regulations for the Army, the

Winfield’s parents, William Scott and Ann Mason, intermarried in 1789. His father, William Scott, was a prominent member of the Dinwiddie-Petersburg community and passed away when Scott was only six years old. He father was a gallant lieutenant and captain in the Revolutionary army, and a successful farmer. Ann Mason, Winfield’s mother, passed away when Scott was only seventeen years old. His mother, Ann Mason, was descended from an important Virginia family, and she spent her widowhood teaching her son the ways of the Virginia gentry until her death in 1803. In 1817, Scott married Maria D. Mayo, who was the daughter of Colonel John Mayo of Richmond, Virginia. They were parents of seven children, five daughters and two sons. Winfield Scott was trained in law but was a lifelong military man. He was a young lawyer who joined the army. General Winfield Scott was referred to as “Old Fuss and Feathers” and “Grand Old Man of the