I have to admit that I didn’t know who this American hero was before I came across his picture in a vintage children’s book. Winfield Scott played a key role in the Mexican-American War and the War of 1812 – particularly the Queenstown Heights battle. He made an unsuccessful run for president and would later provide the basis for the plans that led to the Union’s victory during the Civil War. Too old and infirm to lead, Scott drafted his Anaconda plan which while originally scoffed at did contain several of the tactics that actually defeated the south – a naval blockade and a strategy to outflank the Confederate Army. Scott served under 14 presidents and gave 63 years of service. He is buried at West Point.
There were so many wonderful illustrations in Hill’s Album of Biography and Art. The 1882 work by Thomas E. Hill has provided more vintage illustrations for Reusable Art than probably any other resource I’ve found.
This image is copyright free and in the public domain anywhere that extends copyrights 70 years after death or at least 120 years after publication when the original illustrator is unknown.
