General Scott

On November 9, 1861, General Scott sailed for Europe in the steamer Arago for Havre to join his wife, who was in Paris. Mr. Thurlow Weed, a thorough loyalist and prominent politician, was a passenger on the same ship. He and General Scott had been on terms of intimacy for over thirty years. During the passage over the general gave Mr. Weed the true version of how he came near being made a prisoner in 1814. After apologizing in advance for the question about to be put and receiving permission to propound it, Mr. Weed said: "General, did anything remarkable happen to you on the morning of the battle of Chippewa?" The general answered: "Yes, something did happen to me—something very remarkable. I will now for the third time in my life repeat the story:

"The fourth day of July, 1814, was one of extreme heat. On that day my brigade skirmished with a British force commanded by General Riall from an early hour in the morning till late in the afternoon. We had driven the enemy down the river some twelve miles to Street's Creek, near Chippewa, where we encamped for the night, our army occupying the west, while that of the enemy was encamped on the east side of the creek. After our tents had been pitched I noticed a flag borne by a man in a peasant's dress approaching my marquee. He brought a letter from a lady who occupied a large mansion on the opposite side of the creek, informing me that she was the wife of a member of Parliament who was then in Quebec; that her children, servants, and a young lady friend were alone with her in the house; that General Riall had placed a sentinel before her door; and that she ventured, with great doubts of the propriety of the request, to ask that I would place a sentinel upon the bridge to protect her against stragglers from our camp. I assured the messenger that the lady's request should be complied with. Early the next morning the same messenger, bearing a white flag, reappeared with a note from the same lady, thanking me for the protection she had enjoyed, adding that, in acknowledgment for my civilities, she begged that I would, with such members of my staff as I chose to bring with me, accept the hospitalities of her house at a breakfast which had been prepared with considerable attention and was quite ready. Acting upon an impulse which I never have been able to analyze or comprehend, I called my two aids, Lieutenants Worth and Watts, and returned with the messenger.

"We met our hostess at the door, who ushered us into the dining room, where breakfast awaited us and where the young lady previously referred to was already seated by the coffee urn, our hostess asking to be excused for a few minutes, and the young lady immediately served our coffee. Before we had broken our fast, Lieutenant Watts rose from the table to get his bandanna (that being before the days of napkins), which he had left in his cap on a side table by the window, glancing through which he saw Indians approaching the house on one side and redcoats approaching it on the other, with an evident purpose of surrounding it and us, and instantly exclaimed, 'General, we are betrayed!' Springing from the table and clearing the house, I saw our danger, and, remembering Lord Chesterfield had said, 'Whatever it is proper to do it is proper to do well,' and as we had to run and as my legs were longer than those of my companions, I soon outstripped them. As we made our escape we were fired at, but got across the bridge in safety."

After the battle of Chippewa the mansion described, being the largest near by, was used as a hospital for the wounded officers of both armies. The general went there to visit his officers, whom he found on the second floor. On going there he met the hostess, who, by her flurried and embarrassed manner, impressed the general with the belief that she had endeavored to entrap him. But years after General Scott was inclined to give her the benefit of the doubt and think that the presence at the house of himself and staff was accidentally discovered by the Indians and British.

The Arago touched at Southampton to discharge the English mail and passengers, and here an exciting incident occurred. When the anchor had been cast, a vessel steamed up, flying the Confederate colors, which proved to be the cruiser Nashville. All was astir on the Arago, as an attack was expected as soon as that vessel had cleared port and got into neutral waters. The general asked the captain of the vessel what means of defense he had. It was found that thirty muskets and two cannon were available. The crew and those of the passengers who were fit for duty were formed upon the forward deck and the business of drilling was commenced, the general advising and in great measure directing the preparations for defense. It turned out, however, that the Nashville had put into Southampton for repairs, and the Arago proceeded on her voyage in safety. After remaining one day at Havre General Scott proceeded to Paris. The steamer that followed the Arago brought news of the "Trent affair." On November 8, 1861, Commodore Charles Wilkes, in command of the United States steamer San Jacinto, on his return from the coast of Africa, put into Havana. On the same day the British mail steamer Trent sailed from that port, having on board as passengers James M. Mason, of Virginia, and John Slidell, of Louisiana, Confederate plenipotentiaries to France and England. The San Jacinto overhauled the Trent in the Bahama Straits, brought her to by a shot across the bow, arrested and removed the Confederate commissioners and their secretaries from the mail steamer, and brought them to Fortress Monroe, where Commodore Wilkes awaited instructions from Washington. They were subsequently removed to Fort Warren, in Boston Harbor. The arrest and removal of these Confederate diplomats created great excitement in England, and for a time it was feared that hostilities between the countries would ensue. The affair was commented upon severely by the press, and the subjects of Her Britannic Majesty were at fever heat. Eight thousand British soldiers were immediately dispatched to Canada, and the shipyards were put to their utmost capacity. When the news and the excitement reached the old hero, who had hoped that he would find some rest in Paris after his long and eventful career, he determined at once to return to his native country and be on the spot should his counsel and advice be needed. He took the same steamer that he had gone out on and returned home. The Trent affair was settled by surrendering the Confederate commissioners, and war was happily averted.

During the years that followed, his advice was frequently sought by the President and others high in authority. It was at West Point that the general received the Prince of Wales when he visited this country, and at the same place the interview occurred between Scott and Grant when the former presented the latter a gift "from the oldest to the greatest general." In December, 1865, General Scott went to Key West, Fla., and remained there a portion of the winter. On returning, he spent a few weeks in New York city, and then went to West Point. It was then the incident mentioned took place between him and General Grant.

As early as February 27, 1829, a report was made to Congress by the Committee on Military Affairs upon the subject of establishing an "army asylum fund," and letters were submitted from the major general commanding and other officers of the army expressive of their views on the subject. In February, 1840, General Robert Anderson (then a captain in the adjutant general's department) addressed a letter to Hon. John Reynolds, giving his views upon the benefits and advantages which would result from establishing such an institution, with suggestions for a plan for one. This letter formed the basis of a report, January 7, 1841, by the Committee on Military Affairs, submitting a bill in which the measures suggested therein were embraced, and urging the necessary legislation as commending itself "by every attribute and motive of patriotism, benevolence, national gratitude, and economy." General Scott was deeply interested in the subject, and in 1844 gave it special prominence in his annual report, which led to a report as theretofore from the military committee. On March 5, 1846, a report was also made on a memorial of the officers of the army stationed at Fort Moultrie and the petition of officers of the Second United States Infantry, and later (on January 19, 1848) upon the memorial of the officers of the army then in Mexico. The committee in each case approved and recommended the passage of the bill reported January 7, 1841. The plan, however, did not assume practical shape until the transmission by General Scott of the draft for one hundred thousand dollars, a part of the tribute levied on the City of Mexico for the benefit of the army, requesting that it might be allowed to go to the credit of the asylum fund. He says in a letter dated November, 1849, referring to the same matter: "The draft was payable to me, and, in order to place the deposit beyond the control of any individual functionary whatever, I indorsed it. The Bank of America will place the within amount to the credit of the army asylum, subject to the order of Congress." This fund, together with a balance of eighteen thousand seven hundred and ninety-one dollars and nineteen cents remaining from the same levy, was subsequently appropriated to found the asylum. By the act those who are entitled to the benefits of the asylum were soldiers of twenty years' service and men, whether pensioners or not, who have been disabled by wounds or disease in the service in the line of duty. An honorable discharge is a preliminary requisite to admission. The inmates are all thus civilians. At first the general in chief, the generals commanding the Eastern and Western military divisions, the chiefs of the quartermaster's, commissary, pay, and medical departments, and the adjutant general of the army composed the board of commissioners ex officio to administer the affairs of the institution. An unexpended balance of fifty-four thousand three hundred and nineteen dollars and twenty-three cents was appropriated "for the benefit of discharged soldiers disabled by wounds." A perpetual revenue was provided from "stoppages and fines imposed by court-martial," "forfeitures on account of desertion," a certain portion of the hospital and post fund of each station, moneys belonging to the estates of deceased soldiers not claimed for three years; also a deduction of twenty-five cents per month with his consent from the pay of each enlisted man. The act of Congress of March 3, 1859, changed the provisions of the original act and reduced the number of commissioners to three—the commissary general of subsistence, the surgeon general, and the adjutant general of the army, substituted the name of "Soldiers' Home" for "Military Asylum," and extended the benefits of the Home to the soldiers of the War of 1812. The act of Congress of March 3, 1883, added the general in chief commanding the army, the quartermaster general, the judge advocate general, and the governor of the Home to the board of commissioners; these officers, together with those already named, compose the board. By the same act pensioners who are inmates of the Home may assign their pension and have the same or any portion thereof paid to a wife, child, or parent if living; otherwise the pension is paid to the treasurer of the Home and held by him in trust for the pensioner, who may, while an inmate, draw upon it for necessary purposes, and receive whatever balance may remain upon his discharge.

In 1851 temporary asylums were established at New Orleans, La., Greenwoods Island, Miss., and Washington, D.C. The one at New Orleans continued about one year. A tract of land was purchased in Mississippi comprising one hundred and ten acres in 1853, and was occupied until 1855. At this date the inmates were removed to a branch asylum near Harrodsburg, Mercer County, Ky. This latter asylum was discontinued in 1858 under the act of March 3, 1857, and the inmates transferred to the Home near Washington, which was established in 1851-'52. This Home is situated about three miles due north of the Capitol of the nation. At first it comprised two hundred and fifty-six acres of land. Subsequent acquisitions by purchases have been added, so that now the grounds comprise five hundred acres and three quarters. The largest part of the grounds are woodland, a portion being cultivated for the benefit of the Home, and through it nearly ten miles of graded, macadamized roads have been constructed, winding through the groves of native and foreign selected trees. The park is open to the public at proper hours, and forms a favorite drive and walk for the residents of and visitors to Washington. The principal building for the inmates is of white marble, the south part being called the Scott Building, after the founder of the institution, and the addition on the north is called the Sherman Building, after General W.T. Sherman. The old homestead building to the west of and not far from the Scott Building is called the Robert Anderson Building, in commemoration of the early advocacy of and interest in the establishment of the Home by that officer. This building was the home of the first inmates, and has frequently been used as the summer residence of the Presidents. It has been occupied by Presidents Buchanan, Lincoln, Hayes, and Arthur. There is a building to the east called the King Building, after Benjamin King, U.S.A., who was the surgeon in charge for thirteen years. Brick quarters were erected to the northeast of the Sherman Building in 1883, and, in honor of General Philip H. Sheridan, is named the Sheridan Building. There is a neat chapel built of red sandstone, which was completed in 1871, where religious services, both Protestant and Roman Catholic, are regularly held. The officers in immediate charge of the Home are a governor, a deputy governor, a secretary and treasurer, and a medical officer detailed from the army. The inmates who are not pensioned receive one dollar a month pocket money, and twenty-five cents a day for such labor as they are detailed for and willing to perform. Some beneficiaries who have families receive a small monthly stipend and reside elsewhere than at the Home. The whole number of permanent inmates admitted up to September 30, 1892, was 8,086. The number on the rolls January 31, 1893, was 1,196; of these, 824 were present at the Home, some receiving outside assistance, and some being absent on furlough.

A heroic statue in bronze of Lieutenant-General Winfield Scott, by Launt Thompson, was erected in 1874 on the most commanding point of the grounds. Aside from the artistic finish of the statue, it is a wonderful likeness of the subject. There is also a perfectly designed hospital for the sick and an infirmary for the aged and helpless, which was completed in 1876. No grander or more lasting monument could be erected to perpetuate the memory of the illustrious general than the Soldiers' Home near Washington.

General Scott, in his later years, was very impatient of contradiction, but when convinced that he was in error was always ready to acknowledge it. In a diary of Colonel (now General) James Grant Wilson, who was at that time aid-de-camp to General Banks, occurs the following:

"On the morning of the 19th of February, 1864, I spent an hour with Scott at his quarters, Delmonico's, corner Fourteenth Street and Fifth Avenue. During our conversation he mentioned that he was engaged in writing his Memoirs, and that he experienced a great deal of annoyance from his difficulty in obtaining dates relating to events in the southwest. He expressed regret that Gayarre, whom he knew and had met before the war, had not published the third volume of the History of Louisiana, which he [Scott] knew was in manuscript. I remarked that I thought I had seen the work in three octavo volumes. 'No, you have not seen three volumes. There are only two published, and the first is a small 18mo volume,' was the old gentleman's answer. I further added that it was my impression that I had seen three, when the old soldier settled the matter by saying, 'Your impressions are entirely wrong, colonel.' An hour later I purchased the third volume at a Broadway bookseller's, and sent it to him with the following note:

"Called on Scott soon after my arrival from New Orleans (early in October, 1864), and had a very pleasant interview. Almost the first thing he said was thanking me most kindly for the third volume of Gayarre's History, and apologizing for his mistake. Told me his Memoirs were completed and in press; that he had closed them abruptly, as he was fearful that his end was near, during the early part of the summer—about June, I think he said."

General Scott's health continuing bad, he was conveyed in a quartermaster's boat from New York to West Point by General Stewart Van Vliet, accompanied by several personal friends. He died at the West Point Hotel a few minutes after eleven o'clock, May 29, 1866. The last words which he spoke were to his coachman: "Peter, take good care of my horse." He was buried, in accordance with his oft-expressed wish, in the West Point Cemetery; on June 1st, his remains being accompanied to the grave by some of the most illustrious men of the country, including General Grant and Admiral Farragut. The horse mentioned above was a splendid animal, seventeen hands high and finely formed. The last time that General Scott mounted him was in the latter part of 1859, which he did with the aid of a stepladder, for the purpose of having an equestrian portrait painted for the State of Virginia. The war coming on, the picture passed into possession of the Mercantile Library of New York.

The author received a letter from the late Rutherford B. Hayes in January, 1892, in which he said: "On my Southern tour in 1877 I repeated two or three times something like this, purporting to be quoted from General Scott: 'When the war is over and peace restored, there will be no difficulty in restoring harmonious and friendly relations between the soldiers of the sections. The great trouble will be to restore and keep the peace between the non-belligerent combatants of the war.' I did not hear the remark of General Scott. My recollection is that I heard it from General Rosecrans." ...

On submitting President Hayes's letter to General Rosecrans, he made the following statement: "I heard that story about General Scott from General Charles P. Stone. General Stone was on the staff of General Scott. At the beginning of the war, in the spring of 1861, he was directed to organize the militia of the District of Columbia, and was present when the following occurred, as he told me personally. Shortly after the fall of Sumter and the President's call for troops, Secretaries Seward, Chase, and Cameron came to General Scott's residence in Washington one evening and found him at the dinner table. One of them said: 'General, our duties as members of the Cabinet make it very desirable for us to have some idea of what the probable range and course of the war will be, that we may guide ourselves accordingly. We have therefore come to you to get your judgment on the situation.' On the general's invitation, they sat down at his dinner table, and he went on to explain his idea of how the war would progress from year to year. While he was talking, Mr. Seward seemed to be somewhat impatient, and put in several little interruptions, but finally subsided and allowed General Scott to proceed. The general gave an outline of a war probably lasting from three and one half to four years, but resulting in favor of the Union.

"On the general's announcement of his opinion that the Union would triumph, Mr. Seward, rubbing his hands, inquired, 'Well, general, then the troubles of the Federal Government will be at an end.' To which General Scott replied, 'No, gentlemen, for a long time thereafter it will require the exercise of the full powers of the Federal Government to restrain the fury of the noncombatants.'"

To a young army officer he gave the following advice: "You are now beginning life; you are ignorant of society and of yourself. You appear to be industrious and studious enough to fit yourself for high exploits in your profession, and your next object should be to make yourself a perfect man of the world. To do that you must carefully observe well-bred men. You must also learn to converse and to express your thoughts in proper language. You must make acquaintances among the best people, and take care always to be respectful to old persons and to ladies." General Scott was always extremely gallant and courteous to ladies and greatly enjoyed the society of intelligent and refined women. As stated in the early part of this work, General Scott had been an industrious student of the law, and the knowledge thus acquired was of great service to him throughout his eventful career. He was well read in the standard English authors—Shakespeare, Milton, Addison, Pope, Johnson, Goldsmith, Dryden, Hume, Gibbon, and the early English novelists. He was a constant reader of the best foreign and American periodicals and the leading newspapers of the day. He was of the opinion that wars would never cease, and therefore took little interest in peace societies.

He held the opinion that the study of the higher mathematics had a tendency to lessen the ability to move armies in the field, yet expressed regret that he had not in his youth given more study to the subject. He was very fond of whist, but was quite irritated when he was beaten and generally had a ready excuse for his defeat. On one occasion he was playing a very close game, in the midst of which he left the table to expectorate in the fireplace. He lost the game and said to one of the party, "Young gentleman, do you know why I lost that game?" "No, sir," was the response. "It was because I got up to spit." Scott was also a good chess player.

He used tobacco somewhat excessively until the close of the Mexican War, after which time he renounced its use entirely. He was exceedingly vain of his accomplishments as a cook and specially prided himself on the knowledge of how to make good bread. He spent several days in instructing the cook at Cozzens' Hotel, West Point, in this art, and did not desist until the bread was made according to his standard. He had a great aversion to dining alone, and rather than do so would cheerfully pay for the meal of any pleasant friend whom he would invite to dine with him. General Scott openly professed himself a Christian and was a regular attendant at the services of the Episcopal Church. He was broad and liberal in his views and condemned no man who differed with him in religious opinion. He usually carried a large, stout, gold-headed cane, and after entering his pew would rest both hands on its head and bow his head, praying in silence. It was difficult for him to kneel on account of his size. He scrupulously joined with the greatest decorum and seriousness in all the services of the church, responding in a distinct, loud voice.

He was impatient with persons who could not recollect or did not know of dates and events which were conspicuous in his life. He was asked at one time the date of the battle of Chippewa. He answered blandly, "July 5, 1814." Turning to a friend, he remarked, "There is fame for you." The same party inquired in what State he was born. He answered, "Virginia." "Ah," said the questioner, "I thought you were a native of Connecticut." This left him in a bad humor for the remainder of the evening. The editor of this series has said of him: "General Scott was a man of true courage—personally, morally, and religiously brave. He was in manner, association, and feeling courtly and chivalrous. He was always equal to the danger—great on great occasions. His unswerving loyalty and patriotism were always conspicuous, and of such a lofty character that had circumstances rendered the sacrifice necessary he would have unhesitatingly followed the glorious example of the Swiss hero of Sempach, who gave his life to his country six hundred years ago.... He was too stately in his manners and too exacting in his discipline—that power which Carnot calls 'the glory of the soldier and the strength of armies.' A brief anecdote will illustrate the strictness of his discipline. While on duty he always required officers to be dressed according to their rank in the minutest particular. The general's headquarters in Mexico comprised two rooms, one opening into the other. In the rear room General Scott slept. One night after the general had retired a member of his staff wanted some water. The evening was warm and the hour late, being past midnight. The officer rose to go in his shirt sleeves. He was cautioned against the experiment as a dangerous one, for if Scott caught him in his quarters with his coat off he would punish him. The officer said he would risk it—that the general was asleep, and he would make no noise. He opened the door softly and went on tiptoe to the water pitcher. He had no time to drink before he heard the tinkle of the bell, and the sentinel outside the door entered. 'Take this man to the guardhouse,' was the brief order, and the coatless captain spent the night on a hard plank under guard."[E] He did not conceal his opinions of men or measures, and hence he very often gave offense. It should be borne in mind that the public men of the age when General Scott came on the stage, both military and civil, were as a rule dignified, formal, and to some extent dogmatic. They held themselves with great dignity, and their magnetism was the result of their commanding abilities and high character, and they did not rely for popularity upon the methods of modern times.

General Grant, in mentioning General Scott's Mexican campaign, says: "Both the strategy and tactics displayed by General Scott in the various engagements of August 20, 1847, were faultless, as I look upon them now after the lapse of so many years." And further: "General Scott enjoys the rare distinction of having held high and successful command in two wars, which were a full generation apart. In 1847 he commanded, in Mexico, the sons of those officers who aided in his brilliantly successful campaign against the British on the borders of Canada in 1814." Daniel Webster, in a speech delivered in the United States Senate February 20, 1848, said: "I understand, sir, that, there is a report from General Scott, a man who has performed the most brilliant campaign on recent military record, a man who has warred against the enemy, warred against the climate, warred against a thousand unpropitious circumstances, and has carried the flag of his country to the capital of the enemy—honorably, proudly, humanely—to his own permanent honor and the great military credit of his country. And where is he? At Pueblo—at Pueblo, undergoing an inquiry before his inferiors in rank, and other persons without military rank, while the high powers he has exercised and executed with so much distinction are transferred to another—I do not say to one unworthy of them, but to one inferior in rank, station, and experience to himself." No more fitting close to this sketch of his life can be given than to quote the words of his friend, General Wilson: "He has bequeathed to his country a name pure and unspotted—a name than which the republic has few indeed that shine with a brighter luster, and a name that will go down to future generations with those of the greatest captains of the nineteenth century."

INDEX.