Winfield Scott - Civil War

Civil War

When the Civil War began in the spring of 1861, Scott was 74 years old and suffering numerous health problems, including gout and dropsy. He was also extremely overweight and unable to mount a horse or review troops. As he could not lead an army into battle, he offered the command of the Federal army to Colonel Robert E. Lee on April 17, 1861 (Scott referred to Lee as "the very finest soldier I've ever seen"). However, when Virginia left the Union on that same day, Lee resigned and the command of the Federal field forces defending Washington, D.C. passed to Brigadier General Irvin McDowell. Although he was born and raised in Virginia, Scott remained loyal to the nation that he had served for most of his life and refused to resign his commission upon his home state's secession.

When Lincoln received news that the Union Army had been defeated at Manassas on July 21, 1861 he went to Scott's residence. Scott assumed responsibility for the Union defeat. Lincoln was seeking Scott's advice on whether to draw troops away from Washington to reinforce McClellan. In little time George McClellan was appointed head of the Army.

The administration and public opinion were clamoring for a quick victory, but Scott knew that this was impossible. He drew up a complicated plan to defeat the Confederacy by blockading Southern ports and then sending an army down the Mississippi Valley to outflank the Confederacy.

This Anaconda Plan was derided in the press; however, in its broad outlines, it was the strategy the Union actually used, particularly in the Western Theater and in the somewhat successful naval blockade of Confederate ports. Though the blockade did prevent most sea-going vessels from leaving or arriving to points along the Confederate coast line, a fair number of blockade-runners steamers made their way through that typically carried cargoes of basic supplies, arms, and mail. However, Lincoln gave in to public pressure for a victory within 90 days and rejected the Anaconda Plan, but the eventual strategy used by the Union in 1864–65 was largely based on Scott's original plan.

Scott's physical infirmities cast doubt on his stamina; he suffered from gout and rheumatism and his weight had ballooned to over 300 lbs, prompting some to use a play on his nickname of "Old Fuss and Feathers," instead calling him "Old Fat and Feeble." He also ran into conflict with President Lincoln and others who wanted to organize the army into divisions as he argued that the troops in the Mexican War had no command structure above the brigade level and this setup would work fine even though the Army of the Potomac was more than triple the size of the one Scott had captured Mexico City with. Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan, the field commander, was anxious for Scott to be pushed aside; political pressure from McClellan's supporters in Congress led to Scott's resignation on November 1, 1861. McClellan then succeeded him as general-in-chief. Although officially retired, Scott was still occasionally consulted by Lincoln for strategic advice during the war.

General Scott lived to see the Union victory in the Civil War. He died at West Point, New York on May 29, 1866 and is buried in West Point Cemetery.