Memoirs of Lieut.-General Winfield Scott

Timothy D. Johnson, Michael Gray

• Publisher: University of Tennessee Press
• Year: 2026
• Edition: 1
• eBook ISBN:
  9798895274392
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Military Biographies
• Index: History

The remarkable military career of General Winfield Scott spanned fifty-three years, fourteen presidents, and six wars, both foreign and domestic. However, his lengthy service did not secure his rightful place among the nation's pantheon of great military leaders. Instead, he is most often remembered as the aged, overweight, and sickly commanding general who was replaced by George McClellan at the beginning of the Civil War. Originally published in 1864, only two years before his death, Scott's memoirs touch on many of the significant events of the early and mid-nineteenth century. This new edition of those remembrances, expertly edited by Timothy D. Johnson, showcases Scott's rare strategic insights, battlefield prowess, and diplomatic shrewdness, restoring him to his proper place as arguably the most important American general to ever serve his country.

Scott joined the army in 1808, earned the rank of brigadier general in 1814, and was promoted to commanding general in 1841. During the Mexican–American War, he commanded one of the most brilliant military campaigns in American history and mentored the generation of officers who fought the Civil War, including Generals Grant, Lee, Longstreet, Beauregard, Jackson, and Meade. As a young general, he wrote the first comprehensive set of regulations to govern the army and pushed for the professionalization of the U.S. officer corps. Yet, he was ridiculed at the beginning of the war for his prescient prediction that the Civil War would be a prolonged conflict requiring extensive planning and superior strategic thinking.

With this edition, Johnson has merged Scott's large two-volume memoir into a single, manageable volume without losing any of the original 1864 text. Extensive new annotations update Scott's outdated notes and provide valuable illumination and context. Covering a wide range of events—from the famous 1804 duel between Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton through the end of the Civil War—Scott's extraordinary account reveals the general as a sometimes egocentric but always astute witness to the early American republic.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Foreword
• Editor’s Introduction to the Second Edition
• Author’s Introduction to the 1864 Edition
• Chapter I: Birth—Parentage—Schools—College
• Chapter II: Law Studies—the Bar—Trial of Burr
• Chapter III: Change of Profession—Adventure as a Volunteer—Return to the Bar—Enters the Army
• Chapter IV: Four Years’ Vacillation Between Peace and War—The Bar and the Sword
• Chapter V: War Declared—Double Promotion—March to Canada
• Chapter VI: Niagara Frontier—Capture of War Vessels—Battle of Queenstown—A Prisoner of War—Paroled
• Chapter VII: Kingston—Prescott—Montreal—Quebec—Sailed for Home—Gut of Canso—Washington
• Chapter VIII: Colonel and Adjutant-General—Fort George—Ogdensburg—Hoop-Pole Creek—French Mills
• Chapter IX: Reflections on Past Disasters—Called to Washington—Buffalo—Camp of Instruction—Campaign of 1814 Opened
• Chapter X: Running Fight—Chippewa
• Chapter XI: Investment of Forts—Battle of Niagara or Lundy’s Lane
• Chapter XII: Hors de Combat—Princeton College—Philadelphia—Baltimore—Washington
• Chapter XIII: Reduction of the Army—Visit to Europe—England—France
• Chapter XIV: England—London—Bath
• Chapter XV: Reflections on Peace and War—The Canker Abolitionism—State Rights—Nullification—Rebellion
• Chapter XVI: Marriage—Reception of Swords and Medal
• Chapter XVII: Temperance Movement—Military Institutes—Tactics—Death of General Brown—Macomb Promoted—Animated Correspondence
• Chapter XVIII: Black Hawk War—Cholera in the Army—Indian Treaties—Romantic Tale
• Chapter XIX: Rejoins his Family—Ordered to Charleston—Nullification—Incidents—Peace Restored
• Chapter XX: Tactics—General Regulations—Florida War—Creek War—Jackson’s War Upon Scott—Court of Inquiry
• Chapter XXI: Honors Tendered—Biddle Family—Speech of R. Biddle, M.C., Vindicating Scott—Jackson’s Martial Law—His Death
• Chapter XXII: President Van Buren—Fine Temper—Canadian Agitations—Burning of the Caroline—Scott Sent to the Frontier—The Turmoil Quieted—Scott Sent to Remove the Cherokees
• Chapter XXIII: Scott Ordered Back to British Frontiers—Turmoil Renewed—Maine Boundary
• Chapter XXIV: Politics—General-In-Chief—Stops Unlawful Punishments—Attempts to Abolish his Rank and to Reduce his Pay—Mr. Adams and Mr. C. J. Ingersoll
• Chapter XXV: Letter on Slavery—Tracts on Peace and War—Mr. Polk President
• Chapter XXVI: War with Mexico—General Taylor
• Chapter XXVII: Scott Ordered to Mexico—Visits Camargo—Reëmbarks for Vera Cruz
• Chapter XXVIII: Siege and Capture of Vera Cruz and the Castle of San Juan De Ulloa
• Chapter XXIX: Battle of Cerro Gordo, Jalapa, Perote and Puebla—Halts—Visit to Cholula
• Chapter XXX: Advance on the Capital—Halt at Ayotla—Reconnaissances—San Augustin—Contreras
• Chapter XXXI: Victories of Contreras—San Antonio—Churubusco
• Chapter XXXII: Armistice—Negotiations—Hostilities Renewed—Battle of Molinos Del Rey—Capture of Chapultepec and Mexico
• Chapter XXXIII: Brilliant Allusion to the Campaign—Retaliatory Measures—Martial Law—Safeguards—Proclamation—Defence of Puebla
• Chapter XXXIV: Question of Free Quarters—System of Finance—Spread of the Troops
• Chapter XXXV: Suppression of Outlaws—Peace Commissioner—Treaty Signed—Mexican Overtures—Court of Inquiry
• Chapter XXXVI: Receptions at New York and Elizabeth—Others Declined—Bad Health—Thanks of Congress, Etc.
• Appendix: Officers in Winfield Scott’s Army in Mexico Who Later Became Civil War Generals
• Editor’s Notes
• Bibliography
• Index