Winfield Scott American

Winfield Scott entered the War of 1812 as a promising young army colonel and left the conflict an American legend. Early on in the war, he exhibited the qualities he would later become renowned for: discipline, leadership, bravery and vanity. All of these combined would allow Scott to rise through the ranks and contribute significantly to both the successes of the Americans in the war, as well as to the very character of his nation's army. Scott was born in Virginia in 1786 and became a lawyer early in life before entering the army as an artillery captain in 1808. He made a striking soldier since he was a handsome, physically large man, standing almost six-and-a-half feet , and possessed ample ego to fill his large frame. It is said that when he received his first uniform, he strutted for hours in front of two full length mirrors admiring himself. Scott's high opinion of himself was not only the result of his physical attributes. Scott possessed a keen mind and had a huge appetite for learning. He schooled himself in Greek, Latin, rhetoric, philosophy and, his favourite subject, military tactics. Throughout the war his baggage wagon carried an extensive library of military classics and the latest European works on strategy. Fellow officers shrank from arguing tactics with him since, at a moment's notice, he was able to clinch a debate by quoting a past authority. Scott was never one to hold back criticism, even of his superiors. For the first two years of the war, his efforts for promotion were frustrated by what he called the "imbecilities" of other officers and the American war strategy as a whole. Scott felt that he was compromised at Queenston by an inexperienced commander, leading to his imprisonment by the British. He also believed he had been held back during the March 1813 attack on Fort George by an incompetent officer. His own strategic plans to invade Canada were later frustrated later that year by General Wilkinson's posturing on the St. Lawrence. President Madison recognized that throughout 1813, Scott continued to show leadership where many of the Army's senior commanders had exhibited caution or inaptitude. In March of 1814, Madison saw to it that Scott be promoted to brigadier general, a move that made him the army's youngest general. Scott was now in a position to mold his portion of the army the way he saw fit. In Buffalo, he took charge of the battalions who were suffering from sickness, low morale and desertion.