Winfield Scott was a United States Army general, and unsuccessful presidential applicant of the Whig Party in 1852. Known as "Old Fuss and Feathers" and the "Grand Old Man of the Army," he serve on active duty as a general longer than any further man in American history and many historians rate him the ablest American commander of his time. Over the course of his forty seven year career, he commanded forces in the War of 1812, the Mexican-American War, the Black Hawk War, the Second Seminole War, and, in brief, the American Civil War, conceiving the Union strategy known as the Anaconda Plan that would be used to beat the Confederacy. He served as superior General of the United States Army for twenty years, longer than any other holder of the office. A national hero after the Mexican American War, he served as military governor of Mexico City. Such was his stature that, in 1852, the United States Whig Party passed over its own incumbent President of the United States, Millard Fillmore, to suggest Scott in the United States presidential election. Scott lost to Democrat Franklin Pierce in the common election, but remained a popular national figure, receiving a brevet promotion in 1856 to the rank of lieutenant general, suitable the first American since George Washington to hold that rank.
Nickname
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Old Fuss and Feathers, Grand Old Man of the Army
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Date of Birth
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June 13, 1786
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Place of Birth
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Dinwiddie County, Virginia
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Service/branch
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United States Army, Union Army
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Rank
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Brevet Lieutenant General
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Commands held
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United States Army
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Other work
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Lawyer, Military governor of Mexico City,
Whig candidate for President of the United States
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Place of Death
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West Point, New York
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Date of Death
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May 29, 1866
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