Life and work
Winfield Scott 1786–1866
Brevet Lieutenant General, United States Army
From the Niagara frontier to Mexico City.
Winfield Scott entered the army of a young republic and lived to advise its government at the opening of the Civil War. His memoirs trace the campaigns in which he learned to command and the decisions he later had to defend.
Return to the editions ↓ Robert Walter Weir, General Winfield Scott, ca. 1855. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. ↗
English-language editions
Volume I follows Scott's formation as an officer. Volume II turns to Mexico and his later years of command.
GREEN
Scott recalls the War of 1812 and his formation as an American general.
Forthcoming
Explore the edition →
GREEN
Scott recounts his campaign in Mexico and his later years in the United States Army.
Forthcoming
Explore the edition →
Life and work
A life in context
The Niagara frontier and the road from Veracruz to Mexico City put different demands on the armies Scott led.
Explore the life and work
Origins and early years Scott was born in Virginia in 1786 and served as a young officer in the war against Britain.
The course of a life In 1847 he led his army from Veracruz to Mexico City. At the opening of the Civil War he proposed a blockade and control of the Mississippi.
The literary work The memoirs reconstruct operations from the perspective of the man who directed them. They also show which decisions Scott thought needed explaining.
The legacy Scott gives readers a commander's view of how the United States Army learned to campaign across a continent.
Historical sources and further reading
