title: Winfield Scott: The Quest for Military Glory
author:  Timothy D. Johnson 
description: A full-dress study of a great general whose life spanned the life of his young nationfrom the Founding Fathers to the Civil Warbut who has been largely neglected by historians. Johnson (History/Lipscomb Univ.) has delved into vast but scattered primary and secondary sources to write a scholarly biography of Scott, who was one of the first US Army officers to make a formal study of European military manuals, whose regulations established a code that brought new professionalism into 19th-century American warfare. The US Army, under Scott's innovative leadership, thus became capable of withstanding the best European soldiers. Scott consulted with Lafayette and Prussian officers in Europe, and noted the fatal mistakeslooting and pillageof Napoleon's armies in the Spanish and Russian campaigns. Although he blundered early in his career in the Indian Wars in Florida and Alabama, he performed brilliantly in the Mexican War, and his strong discipline and fair dealing with the Mexican civilian population limited guerrilla attacks on his army. He was responsible for the first large-scale construction of amphibious ships in American history, and put them to good use in the successful landing at Vera Cruz. Johnson views Scott's march from Vera Cruz and his capture of Mexico City in 1847 as the crowning achievements of his career; later, as a diplomat, Scott solved dangerous border disputes with Canada. Johnson shows that Scott never wore humility well: he was an aristocratic conservative forever in conflict with the strong egalitarian forces of his day. Scott's boldness, knowledge, and ability as a soldier were mixed with conceit, arrogance, impatience, and aggressiveness. Ironically, his overweening ambition and his self-serving nature caused him to fail in politics. The definitive study: Johnson's distinguished work gives a long-deserved but neglected credit to ``Old Fuss and Feathers. (16 illustrations, not seen) (History Book Club selection) -- <i>Copyright 1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.</i>
zlib_text: **CHAPTER 12**  
  ![](flin_0345484606_oeb_003_r1.jpg)
  
  JULY 3, 1814
  
  _Daybreak, near Fort Erie_  
  _Canadian side of the Niagara River_
  
  It had been quite a picture, although not one the brigadier would ever
  commission for a portrait.
  
  As the American expeditionary force neared the Canadian shore of the Niagara,
  in the early hours of the morning, Winfield Scott demonstrated his leadership
  qualities by drawing his sword, waving it about in a splendidly martial
  fashion, and being the first man in his army to wade ashore, crying out
  _Follow me!_
  
  A pity, though, that he hadn't waited until they'd actually reached the shore,
  or ascertained the depth of the water. The last sight Patrick Driscol had of
  the brigadier was the startled expression on his face. A moment later, all
  that could be seen was the sword, still above the surface. Not the hilt,
  though--that, and the hand holding it, had quite disappeared, although the
  blade itself was waving about energetically.
  
  Of Scott himself, there was