Winfield Scott, born in Virginia in 1786 and standing six foot five, studied law and watched General James Wilkinson give self-serving testimony at the 1807 Aaron Burr treason trial. Commissioned an artillery captain in 1808, he was sent to New Orleans under Wilkinson, who camped troops in a disease-ridden swamp he owned. Scott’s public criticism brought a court-martial, a one-year suspension, and a pistol duel with Dr. Upshaw in which a bullet grazed his scalp. He spent the suspension studying French military manuals.

In the War of 1812 he was captured at Queenston Heights, then drilled his brigade 10 hours a day at Buffalo and beat British regulars at Chippewa before a musket ball shattered his shoulder at Lundy’s Lane. The episode covers the nullification crisis in Charleston, nursing cholera victims during the Black Hawk War, and his role in the Cherokee removal. It then follows the Mexico City campaign, his 1852 loss to Franklin Pierce, and the 1861 strategy the press mocked and Union leaders later used.

• At Chippewa the British commander reportedly cried out, Those are regulars, by God, at Scott’s gray-clad troops.
• His love of uniforms and etiquette earned him the nickname Old Fuss and Feathers.
• He let Cherokee Chief John Ross take over the removal contract, angering Andrew Jackson.
• In Mexico he ordered troops to pay for supplies and salute Catholic priests, and Robert E. Lee scouted the path around Cerro Gordo.
• The Duke of Wellington called him the greatest living general.