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214-632: Winfield Scott (June 13, 1786 – May 29, 1866) was an American military commander and political candidate. He served as Commanding General of the United States Army from 1841 to 1861, and was a veteran of the War of 1812 , American Indian Wars , Mexican–American War , and the early stages of the American Civil War . Scott was the Whig Party 's presidential nominee in the 1852 election but

428-537: A party platform endorsing the Compromise of 1850 as a final settlement of the slavery question. On the convention's first presidential ballot, Fillmore received 133 of the necessary 147 votes, while Scott won 131 and Webster won 29. After the 46th ballot still failed to produce a presidential nominee, the delegates voted to adjourn until the following Monday. Over the weekend, Fillmore and Webster supporters conducted unsuccessful negotiations to unite behind one candidate. On

642-598: A status quo antebellum. Two weeks after a treaty was signed (but not ratified), Andrew Jackson defeated the British in the Battle of New Orleans and siege of Fort St. Philip with an army dominated by militia and volunteers, and became a national hero. U.S. troops and sailors captured HMS Cyane , Levant and Penguin in the final engagements of the war. Per the treaty, both sides (the United States and Great Britain) returned to

856-512: A British force in the Battle of Queenston Heights . Scott led an artillery bombardment that supported an American crossing of the Niagara River, and he took overall command of U.S. forces at Queenston after Colonel Solomon Van Rensselaer was badly wounded. Shortly after Scott took command, a British column under Roger Hale Sheaffe arrived. Sheaffe's numerically superior force compelled an American retreat, ultimately forcing Scott to surrender to

1070-741: A Northerner sympathetic to the Southern view on slavery who had served under Scott as a brigadier general during the Mexican War. Pierce had resigned from the U.S. Senate in 1842, and had briefly held only the minor office of United States Attorney for the District of New Hampshire since then, but emerged as a compromise candidate partly because he served under Scott in the Mexican–American War. The Democrats attacked Scott for various incidents from his long public career, including his court-martial in 1809 and

1284-757: A Virginia native, Scott stayed loyal to the Union when the Civil War broke out and served as an essential adviser to President Abraham Lincoln during the opening stages of the war. He developed a strategy known as the Anaconda Plan but retired in late 1861 after Lincoln increasingly relied on General George B. McClellan for military advice and leadership. In retirement, he lived in West Point, New York , where he died on May 29, 1866. Contemporaries highly regarded Scott's military talent, and historians generally consider him one of

1498-472: A comment Scott had made at a private dinner in New York, though they later reconciled. He also continued a bitter feud with Gaines that centered over which of them had seniority, as both hoped to eventually succeed the ailing Brown. In 1821, Congress reorganized the army, leaving Brown as the sole major general and Scott and Gaines as the only brigadier generals; Macomb accepted demotion to colonel and appointment as

1712-565: A continuation of the Continental Army, and thus considers its institutional inception to be the origin of that armed force in 1775. The U.S. Army is a uniformed service of the United States and is part of the Department of the Army , which is one of the three military departments of the Department of Defense . The U.S. Army is headed by a civilian senior appointed civil servant, the secretary of

1926-515: A decisive victory over his former commander. Nonetheless, Scott remained popular among the public. In 1855, he received a brevet promotion to lieutenant general , becoming the first U.S. Army officer to hold that rank since George Washington . In 1859, he peacefully solved the Pig War in Washington Territory , ending the last in a long series of British-American border conflicts. Despite being

2140-468: A family friend, to help him obtain a commission in the newly expanded army. In May 1808, shortly before his twenty-second birthday, Scott was commissioned as a captain in the light artillery . Tasked with recruiting a company , he raised his troops from the Petersburg and Richmond areas, then traveled with his unit to New Orleans to join their regiment . Scott was deeply disturbed by what he viewed as

2354-582: A few months. The war remains the deadliest conflict in U.S. history, resulting in the deaths of 620,000 men on both sides. Based on 1860 census figures, 8% of all white males aged 13 to 43 died in the war, including 6.4% in the North and 18% in the South . Following the Civil War, the U.S. Army had the mission of containing western tribes of Native Americans on the Indian reservations . They set up many forts, and engaged in

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2568-421: A force led by David E. Twiggs against Santa Anna's left flank, while another force, led by Gideon Pillow , would attack Santa Anna's artillery. In the Battle of Cerro Gordo , Pillow's force was largely ineffective, but Twiggs and Colonel William S. Harney captured the key Mexican position of El Telegrafo in hand-to-hand fighting. Mexican resistance collapsed after the capture of El Telegrafo; Santa Anna escaped

2782-483: A functional area. However, officers continue to wear the branch insignia of their former branch in most cases, as functional areas do not generally have discrete insignia. Some branches, such as Special Forces , operate similarly to functional areas in that individuals may not join their ranks until having served in another Army branch. Careers in the Army can extend into cross-functional areas for officers, warrant officers, enlisted, and civilian personnel. Before 1933,

2996-526: A group meeting at the request of the Navy Department but also with representatives from both the Army and the Treasury Department (Coast Survey). During the summer of 1861, the board issued a series of reports recommending how best to maintain the blockade, taking into account the topography of the coast, the relative merits of the various southern ports, the opposition likely to be encountered, and

3210-532: A hardy constitution, in his prime Scott was a physically large and imposing figure. Scott's education included attendance at schools run by James Hargrave and James Ogilvie. In 1805, Scott began attending the College of William and Mary , but he soon left to study law in the office of attorney David Robinson. His contemporaries in Robinson's office included Thomas Ruffin . While apprenticing under Robinson, Scott attended

3424-425: A major fleet operation at Port Royal , South Carolina, resulted in the capture of a deep-water harbor midway between Savannah and Charleston. The Hatteras expedition had been planned as a raid; the plan called for it to be held only long enough to block up Hatteras Inlet. However, it was transformed into an incursion and led early in the next year to a full invasion, the so-called Burnside Expedition , which included

3638-690: A month – known as battle assemblies or unit training assemblies (UTAs) – and conduct two to three weeks of annual training each year. Both the Regular Army and the Army Reserve are organized under Title 10 of the United States Code , while the National Guard is organized under Title 32 . While the Army National Guard is organized, trained, and equipped as a component of the U.S. Army, when it

3852-478: A more traditional army, marching behind to secure victories. The culminating battle would be for the forts below New Orleans . When they fell, the river would be in US hands from its source to its mouth, and the rebellion would be cut in two. The Anaconda had a logical development, both in its origin and the way it played out in the experience of battle. The blockade had already been proclaimed by Lincoln. On April 19, 1861,

4066-487: A new Army Command (ACOM) in 2018. The Army Futures Command (AFC), is a peer of FORSCOM, TRADOC, and AMC, the other ACOMs. AFC's mission is modernization reform: to design hardware, as well as to work within the acquisition process which defines materiel for AMC. TRADOC's mission is to define the architecture and organization of the Army, and to train and supply soldiers to FORSCOM. AFC's cross-functional teams (CFTs) are Futures Command's vehicle for sustainable reform of

4280-438: A peace treaty with Mexican leaders. Though they initially feuded, Scott and Trist eventually developed a strong working relationship. In mid-April, Scott's force met Santa Anna's army at Cerro Gordo, near Xalapa. Santa Anna had established a solid defensive position, but he left his left flank undefended on the assumption that dense trees made the area impassable. Scott decided to attack Santa Anna's position on two fronts, sending

4494-525: A possession of a harbor that would serve as a coaling station near the southern end of the blockading line, as otherwise, blockaders would spend too much of their time going to and from home port seeking replenishment. All suitable harbors south of the Chesapeake Bay, however, were held by seceded states. To establish the blockade, therefore, at least one of them would have to be taken by the Federal forces. Thus,

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4708-472: A predominantly combat support role. The army converted to an all-volunteer force with greater emphasis on training to specific performance standards driven by the reforms of General William E. DePuy , the first commander of United States Army Training and Doctrine Command . Following the Camp David Accords that was signed by Egypt, Israel that was brokered by president Jimmy Carter in 1978, as part of

4922-493: A resolution promoting Scott to brevet lieutenant general. Scott was the first U.S. Army officer since George Washington to hold the rank. He also earned the appellation of the "Grand Old Man of the Army" for his long career. The passage of the 1854 Kansas–Nebraska Act and the outbreak of violent confrontations between pro-slavery and anti-slavery forces in Kansas exacerbated sectional tensions and split both major parties. Pierce

5136-631: A rising by the divided Mexicans against the American invasion, Scott placed a priority on winning the cooperation of the Catholic Church . Among other initiatives designed to show respect for church property and officials, he ordered his men to salute Catholic priests on the streets of Veracruz. After securing supplies and wagons, Scott's army began the march toward Xalapa , a city on the way to Mexico City. Meanwhile, Polk dispatched Nicholas Trist , Secretary of State James Buchanan 's chief clerk, to negotiate

5350-613: A role in the invasions of Grenada in 1983 ( Operation Urgent Fury ) and Panama in 1989 ( Operation Just Cause ). By 1989 Germany was nearing reunification and the Cold War was coming to a close. Army leadership reacted by starting to plan for a reduction in strength. By November 1989 Pentagon briefers were laying out plans to reduce army end strength by 23%, from 750,000 to 580,000. A number of incentives such as early retirement were used. In 1990, Iraq invaded its smaller neighbor, Kuwait , and U.S. land forces quickly deployed to assure

5564-657: A strategy of seizing the coastline, blockading the ports, and taking control of the river systems. By 1863, the Confederacy was being strangled. Its eastern armies fought well, but the western armies were defeated one after another until the Union forces captured New Orleans in 1862 along with the Tennessee River. In the Vicksburg Campaign of 1862–1863, General Ulysses Grant seized the Mississippi River and cut off

5778-587: A strategy similar to Scott's Anaconda Plan, Grant led the Union to victory, and Lee 's Army of Northern Virginia surrendered in April 1865. United States Army The United States Army ( USA ) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces . It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services , and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution . The Army

5992-421: A truce with John Harvey , who commanded British forces in the area. In the mid-1830s, Scott joined the Whig Party , which opponents of President Jackson established. Scott's success in preventing war with Canada under Van Buren confirmed his popularity with the broad public, and in early 1839, newspapers began to mention him as a candidate for the presidential nomination at the 1839 Whig National Convention . By

6206-607: A wealthy engineer and businessman who came from a distinguished family in Virginia. Scott and his family lived in Elizabethtown, New Jersey for most of the next thirty years. Beginning in the late 1830s, Maria spent much of her time in Europe because of a bronchial condition, and she died in Rome in 1862. They were the parents of seven children, five daughters and two sons: With the conclusion of

6420-416: A week after the bombardment of Fort Sumter that marked the outbreak of the war, he announced that the ports of all the seceded states, from South Carolina to Texas, would be blockaded; later, when Virginia and North Carolina also seceded, their coastlines were added. The executive order was not rescinded until the end of the war and so the blockade existed independently of Scott's plan. In the early days of

6634-601: A wider conflict, and they soon ordered the release of the prisoners. Later that year, Scott attempted to establish a legal practice in South Carolina but was unable to obtain a law license because he did not meet the state's one-year residency requirement. In early 1808, President Thomas Jefferson asked Congress to authorize an expansion of the United States Army after the British announced an escalation of their naval blockade of France , thereby threatening American shipping. Scott convinced U.S. Senator William Branch Giles ,

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6848-448: Is due to be completed by 2028. The Army's five core competencies are prompt and sustained land combat, combined arms operations (to include combined arms maneuver and wide–area security, armored and mechanized operations and airborne and air assault operations ), special operations forces , to set and sustain the theater for the joint force, and to integrate national, multinational, and joint power on land. The Continental Army

7062-471: Is not in federal service it is under the command of individual state and territorial governors. However, the District of Columbia National Guard reports to the U.S. president, not the district's mayor , even when not federalized. Any or all of the National Guard can be federalized by presidential order and against the governor's wishes. The U.S. Army is led by a civilian secretary of the Army , who has

7276-670: Is that each brigade will be modular, i.e., all brigades of the same type will be exactly the same and thus any brigade can be commanded by any division. As specified before the 2013 end-strength re-definitions, the three major types of brigade combat teams are: In addition, there are combat support and service support modular brigades. Combat support brigades include aviation (CAB) brigades, which will come in heavy and light varieties, fires (artillery) brigades (now transforms to division artillery) and expeditionary military intelligence brigades . Combat service support brigades include sustainment brigades and come in several varieties and serve

7490-812: Is the oldest branch of the U.S. military and the most senior in order of precedence. It has its roots in the Continental Army , which was formed on 14 June 1775 to fight against the British for independence during the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783). After the Revolutionary War, the Congress of the Confederation created the United States Army on 3 June 1784 to replace the disbanded Continental Army. The United States Army considers itself

7704-523: The Battle of 73 Easting were tank battles of historical significance. After Operation Desert Storm, the army did not see major combat operations for the remainder of the 1990s but did participate in a number of peacekeeping activities. In 1990 the Department of Defense issued guidance for "rebalancing" after a review of the Total Force Policy, but in 2004, USAF Air War College scholars concluded

7918-602: The Canadian front, taking part in the Battle of Queenston Heights and the Battle of Fort George , and was promoted to brigadier general in early 1814. He served with distinction in the Battle of Chippawa but was badly wounded in the subsequent Battle of Lundy's Lane . After the conclusion of the war, Scott was assigned to command army forces in a district containing much of the Northeastern United States , and he and his family made their home near New York City. During

8132-560: The Caroline affair , in which Canadian forces burned a steamboat that had delivered supplies to rebel forces. President Van Buren dispatched Scott to western New York to prevent unauthorized border crossings and war between the United States and the United Kingdom. Still popular in the area due to his service in the War of 1812, Scott issued public appeals, asking Americans to refrain from supporting

8346-499: The Confederate States of America , and chose Jefferson Davis as president. Because Scott was from Virginia, Lincoln sent an envoy, Thomas S. Mather, to ask whether Scott would remain loyal to the United States and keep order during Lincoln's inauguration . Scott responded to Mather, "I shall consider myself responsible for [Lincoln's] safety. If necessary, I shall plant cannon at both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue , and if any of

8560-514: The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 badly divided the country as a whole and the Whig Party in particular. Northerners strongly objected to the stringent provisions of the act, while Southerners complained bitterly about any perceived slackness in enforcement. Despite Scott's support for the Compromise of 1850, he became the chosen candidate of William Seward , a leading Northern Whig who objected to

8774-760: The Mississippi River . Some Native Americans moved peacefully, but others resisted, including many Seminoles . In December 1835, the Second Seminole War broke out after the Dade massacre , in which a group of Seminoles ambushed and massacred a U.S. Army company in Central Florida . President Jackson ordered Scott to take command of operations against the Seminoles personally, and the officer arrived in Florida by February 1836. After several months of inconclusive campaigning, Scott

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8988-681: The Netherlands and the United Kingdom , until the 1990s in anticipation of a possible Soviet attack. During the Cold War, U.S. troops and their allies fought communist forces in Korea and Vietnam . The Korean War began in June 1950, when the Soviets walked out of a UN Security Council meeting, removing their possible veto. Under a United Nations umbrella, hundreds of thousands of U.S. troops fought to prevent

9202-544: The Northwest Territory . In July 1812, the U.S. Congress declared war on Britain. After the declaration of war, Scott was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel and assigned as second-in-command of the 2nd Artillery Regiment, serving under George Izard . While Izard continued to lead recruitment efforts, Scott led two companies north to join General Stephen Van Rensselaer 's militia force, which

9416-515: The Nullification Crisis . Scott traveled to Charleston, South Carolina , the center of the nullification movement, where he strengthened federal forts but also sought to cultivate public opinion away from secession . Ultimately, the crisis ended in early 1833 with the passage of the Tariff of 1833 . President Jackson launched a policy of Indian removal , forcing Native Americans to move west of

9630-539: The Rio Grande in a region claimed by both Mexico and Texas. Polk, Secretary of War William L. Marcy , and Scott agreed on a strategy in which the U.S. would capture Northern Mexico and then pursue a favorable peace settlement. While Taylor led the army in Northern Mexico, Scott presided over the expansion of the army, ensuring that new soldiers were properly supplied and organized. Taylor won several victories against

9844-588: The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo on February 2, 1848; it was ratified by the U.S. Senate the following month. In late 1847, Scott arrested Pillow and two other officers after they wrote letters to American newspapers that were critical of Scott. In response, Polk ordered the release of the three officers and removed Scott from command. Upon founding the Aztec Club of 1847 , a military society of officers who served in Mexico during

10058-576: The Trent Affair , a diplomatic incident with Britain. On his return from Europe in December 1861, he lived alone in New York City and at West Point, New York , where he wrote his memoirs and closely followed the ongoing civil war. On June 23–24, 1862, President Lincoln made an unannounced visit to West Point , where he spent five hours consulting with Scott regarding the handling of the Civil War and

10272-542: The Union blockade , however, remains controversial. No one seriously contends that it alone would have won the war for the North. But while it is conceded not to have been sufficient, the question remains if it was necessary, i.e. whether the South would have endured had the blockade not sapped the strength of the Rebel armies beyond the tipping point. Those who deny the importance of the blockade advance two principal arguments. First, it

10486-676: The Western Gunboat Flotilla (soon thereafter to be transformed into the Mississippi River Squadron ) and the United States Ram Fleet , and the Mississippi was open down to Vicksburg. Thus that city became the only point on the river not in Federal hands. Again, the Army under Halleck did not grasp the opportunity that was provided. He failed to send even a small body of troops to aid the ships, and soon Farragut

10700-445: The annexation of the Republic of Texas , which had gained independence from Mexico in 1836. After Polk won the election, Congress passed legislation enabling the annexation of Texas, and Texas achieved statehood in 1845. Polk and Scott had never liked one another, and their distrust deepened after Polk became president, partly due to Scott's affiliation with the Whig Party. Polk came into office with two primary foreign policy goals:

10914-450: The guerrilla hit and run tactics of the communist Viet Cong and the People's Army Of Vietnam (NVA) . During the 1960s, the Department of Defense continued to scrutinize the reserve forces and to question the number of divisions and brigades as well as the redundancy of maintaining two reserve components, the Army National Guard and the Army Reserve . In 1967, Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara decided that 15 combat divisions in

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11128-438: The 1830s, Scott negotiated an end to the Black Hawk War , took part in the Second Seminole War and the Creek War of 1836 , and presided over the forced removal of the Cherokee . Scott also helped to avert war with the United Kingdom , defusing tensions arising from the Patriot War and the Aroostook War . In 1841, Scott became the Commanding General of the United States Army , beating out his rival Edmund P. Gaines for

11342-618: The 48th ballot, Webster delegates began to defect to Scott, and the general gained the nomination on the 53rd ballot. Fillmore accepted his defeat with equanimity and endorsed Scott, but many Northern Whigs were dismayed when Scott publicly endorsed the party's pro-Compromise platform. Despite the party's effort to appeal to southerners by nominating William Alexander Graham of North Carolina for vice president, many Southern Whigs, including Alexander H. Stephens and Robert Toombs , refused to support Scott. The 1852 Democratic National Convention nominated dark horse candidate Franklin Pierce ,

11556-460: The Army (HQDA): See Structure of the United States Army for a detailed treatment of the history , components , administrative and operational structure and the branches and functional areas of the Army. The U.S. Army is made up of three components: the active component, the Regular Army; and two reserve components, the Army National Guard and the Army Reserve. Both reserve components are primarily composed of part-time soldiers who train once

11770-402: The Army (SECARMY), and by a chief military officer , the chief of staff of the Army (CSA) who is also a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff . It is the largest military branch, and in the fiscal year 2022, the projected end strength for the Regular Army (USA) was 480,893 soldiers; the Army National Guard (ARNG) had 336,129 soldiers and the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) had 188,703 soldiers;

11984-401: The Army National Guard members were considered state militia until they were mobilized into the U.S. Army, typically at the onset of war. Since the 1933 amendment to the National Defense Act of 1916 , all Army National Guard soldiers have held dual status. They serve as National Guardsmen under the authority of the governor of their state or territory and as reserve members of the U.S. Army under

12198-411: The Army National Guard were unnecessary and cut the number to eight divisions (one mechanized infantry, two armored, and five infantry), but increased the number of brigades from seven to 18 (one airborne, one armored, two mechanized infantry and 14 infantry). The loss of the divisions did not sit well with the states. Their objections included the inadequate maneuver element mix for those that remained and

12412-432: The Atlantic seaboard: Wilmington , Charleston , and Savannah. Only the first two were consequential; a mere eight steam-powered blockade runners entered Georgia or northern Florida ports throughout the entire war. The blockade of Charleston merged into the campaign against the city waged by both the Army and the Navy, not completed until the last days of the war. (See Raising the Flag at Fort Sumter .) Rather early in

12626-426: The British after reinforcements from the militia failed to materialize. As a prisoner of war , Scott was treated hospitably by the British, although two Mohawk leaders nearly killed him while he was in British custody. As part of a prisoner exchange, Scott was released in late November; upon his return to the United States, he was promoted to colonel and appointed to command the 2nd Artillery Regiment. He also became

12840-456: The British at Trenton and Princeton , but lost a series of battles in the New York and New Jersey campaign in 1776 and the Philadelphia campaign in 1777. With a decisive victory at Yorktown and the help of the French, the Continental Army prevailed against the British. After the war, the Continental Army was quickly given land certificates and disbanded in a reflection of the republican distrust of standing armies. State militias became

13054-405: The Canadian province of Upper Canada, British troops who had dubbed the U.S. Army "Regulars, by God!", were able to capture and burn Washington , which was defended by militia, in 1814. The regular army, however, proved they were professional and capable of defeating the British army during the invasions of Plattsburgh and Baltimore , prompting British agreement on the previously rejected terms of

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13268-421: The Canadian rebels. In late 1838, a new crisis known as the Aroostook War broke out over a dispute regarding the border between Maine and Canada, which had not been conclusively settled in previous treaties between Britain and the United States. Scott was tasked with preventing the conflict from escalating into a war. After winning the support of Governor John Fairfield and other Maine leaders, Scott negotiated

13482-401: The Cherokee "like cattle, through rivers, allowing them no time to take off their shoes and stockings. In mid-1838, Scott agreed to Chief John Ross 's plan to let the Cherokee lead a movement west, and he awarded a contract to the Cherokee Council to complete the removal. Scott was strongly criticized by many Southerners, including Jackson, for awarding the contract to Ross rather than continuing

13696-440: The Compromise of 1850 partly because of the fugitive slave act. By early 1852 , the three leading candidates for the Whig presidential nomination were Scott, who anti-Compromise Northern Whigs backed; President Fillmore, the first choice of most Southern Whigs; and Secretary of State Webster, whose support was concentrated in New England. The 1852 Whig National Convention convened on June 16, and Southern delegates won approval of

13910-410: The Confederacy. Scott took charge of molding Union military personnel into a cohesive fighting force. Lincoln rejected Scott's proposal to build up the regular army, and the administration would largely rely on volunteers to fight the war. Scott developed a strategy, later known as the Anaconda Plan , that called for the capture of the Mississippi River and a blockade of Southern ports. By cutting off

14124-406: The Confederate position there occupied bluffs high enough to render them impregnable to the naval gunnery of the day. Following the loss of Island No. 10 shortly before Farragut took New Orleans, the Confederates had abandoned Memphis, Tennessee , leaving only a small rear guard to conduct a delaying operation. In early June, this was swept aside at the First Battle of Memphis by the gunboats of

14338-399: The Democrats split along sectional lines, with Northern Democrats supporting Senator Stephen A. Douglas and Southern Democrats supporting Vice President John C. Breckinridge . Lincoln won the election, taking just 44 percent of the popular vote but winning a majority of the electoral vote due to his support in the North despite his name not being on the ballot in many Southern States. Fearing

14552-472: The Maryland or Virginia gentlemen who have become so threatening and troublesome show their heads or even venture to raise a finger, I shall blow them to hell." Scott helped ensure that Lincoln arrived in Washington safely and ensured the security of Lincoln's inauguration, which ultimately was conducted without a major incident. By the time Lincoln assumed office, seven states had declared their secession and had seized federal property within their bounds. Still,

14766-427: The Mexican army, but Polk eventually concluded that merely occupying Northern Mexico would not compel Mexico to surrender. Scott drew up an invasion plan that would begin with a naval assault on the Gulf port of Veracruz and end with the capture of Mexico City . With Congress unwilling to establish the rank of lieutenant general for Democratic Senator Thomas Hart Benton , Polk reluctantly turned to Scott to command

14980-403: The Mexican capital and indirectly helped envoy Nicholas Trist negotiate the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo , which brought an end to the war. Scott unsuccessfully sought the Whig presidential nomination three times, in 1840, 1844, and 1848. He won it in 1852 , when the party was in danger of dying off. The Whigs were severely divided over the Compromise of 1850 , and Democrat Franklin Pierce won

15194-545: The National Guard, while all states maintain regulations for state militias . State militias are both "organized", meaning that they are armed forces usually part of the state defense forces, or "unorganized" simply meaning that all able-bodied males may be eligible to be called into military service. The U.S. Army is also divided into several branches and functional areas . Branches include officers, warrant officers, and enlisted Soldiers while functional areas consist of officers who are reclassified from their former branch into

15408-680: The ORC and ERC were combined into the United States Army Reserve . The Army of the United States was re-established for the Korean War and Vietnam War and was demobilized upon the suspension of the draft . Currently, the Army is divided into the Regular Army , the Army Reserve, and the Army National Guard . Some states further maintain state defense forces , as a type of reserve to

15622-626: The Regular Army was reorganized as the Legion of the United States , established in 1791 and renamed the United States Army in 1796. In 1798, during the Quasi-War with France, the U.S. Congress established a three-year " Provisional Army " of 10,000 men, consisting of twelve regiments of infantry and six troops of light dragoons . In March 1799, Congress created an "Eventual Army" of 30,000 men, including three regiments of cavalry . Both "armies" existed only on paper, but equipment for 3,000 men and horses

15836-545: The Southeastern United States. Some of Scott's associates tried to dissuade Scott from what they viewed as an immoral mission, but Scott accepted his orders. After almost all of the Cherokee refused to relocate voluntarily, Scott made careful plans to ensure that his soldiers forcibly but humanely relocated the Cherokee. Nonetheless, the Cherokee endured abuse from Scott's soldiers; one account described soldiers driving

16050-596: The Southwest. Grant took command of Union forces in 1864 and after a series of battles with very heavy casualties, he had General Robert E. Lee under siege in Richmond as General William T. Sherman captured Atlanta and marched through Georgia and the Carolinas . The Confederate capital was abandoned in April 1865 and Lee subsequently surrendered his army at Appomattox Court House. All other Confederate armies surrendered within

16264-461: The U.S. Army and were captured while fighting for Mexico. All 72 were court-martialed and sentenced to death. Under pressure from some Mexican leaders and personally feeling that the death penalty was an unjust punishment for some defendants, Scott spared 20, but the rest were executed. In early September, negotiations between Trist and the Mexican government broke down, and Scott exercised his right to end

16478-534: The United States (the "Union" or "the North") formed the Union Army , consisting of a small body of regular army units and a large body of volunteer units raised from every state, north and south, except South Carolina . For the first two years, Confederate forces did well in set battles but lost control of the border states. The Confederates had the advantage of defending a large territory in an area where disease caused twice as many deaths as combat. The Union pursued

16692-405: The United States Army was maintained as a small peacetime force to man permanent forts and perform other non-wartime duties such as engineering and construction works. During times of war, the U.S. Army was augmented by the much larger United States Volunteers which were raised independently by various state governments. States also maintained full-time militias which could also be called into

16906-800: The United States of America.‌ The United States Army serves as the land-based branch of the U.S. Armed Forces . Section 7062 of Title 10, U.S. Code defines the purpose of the army as: In 2018, the Army Strategy 2018 articulated an eight-point addendum to the Army Vision for 2028. While the Army Mission remains constant, the Army Strategy builds upon the Army's Brigade Modernization by adding focus to corps and division -level echelons. The Army Futures Command oversees reforms geared toward conventional warfare . The Army's current reorganization plan

17120-453: The United States retained control of the military installations at Fort Sumter and Fort Pickens. Scott advised evacuating the forts because an attempted re-supply would inflame tensions with the South, and Confederate shore batteries made re-supply impossible. Lincoln rejected the advice and chose to re-supply the forts; although Scott accepted the orders, his resistance to the re-supply mission, along with poor health, undermined his status within

17334-434: The War of 1812, Scott served on a board charged with demobilizing the army and determining who would continue to serve in the officer corps. Andrew Jackson and Brown were selected as the army's two major generals, while Alexander Macomb , Edmund P. Gaines , Scott, and Eleazer Wheelock Ripley would serve as the army's four brigadier generals. Jackson became commander of the army's Southern Division, Brown became commander of

17548-606: The West, Maj. Gen. Henry Halleck , the Mississippi became a somewhat neglected theater for operations in the West. Halleck, with McClellan's approval, believed in turning the enemy's Mississippi River strongholds rather than attacking them directly, so he moved away from the river. As he saw it, the Tennessee rather than the Mississippi was the "great strategic line of the Western campaign." The Navy Department, however, remained committed to

17762-450: The Whig Party after taking office. Some Whigs, including Thaddeus Stevens of Pennsylvania, favored Scott as the Whig candidate in the 1844 presidential election . Still, Clay quickly emerged as the prohibitive front-runner for the Whig nomination. Clay won the 1844 Whig nomination, but he was defeated in the general election by Democrat James K. Polk . Polk's campaign centered on his support for

17976-463: The ability to carry cargo. The more conventional cargo vessels, and their spacious holds, went elsewhere. As a result, Southern exports of cotton fell by 95% from pre-war levels, devaluing its currency, and wrecking its economy. Additionally, the blockade disrupted coastal trade, overloading the marginal Southern railroads and preventing the importation of salt, necessary for preserving food and tanning leather. Unable to sell goods (particularly cotton) on

18190-467: The acquisition of Oregon Country , which was under joint American and British rule, and the acquisition of Alta California , a Mexican province. The United States nearly went to war with Britain over Oregon, but the two powers ultimately agreed to partition Oregon Country at the 49th parallel north. The Mexican–American War broke out in April 1846 after U.S. forces under the command of Brigadier General Zachary Taylor clashed with Mexican forces north of

18404-423: The acquisition process for the future. In order to support the Army's modernization priorities, its FY2020 budget allocated $ 30 billion for the top six modernization priorities over the next five years. The $ 30 billion came from $ 8 billion in cost avoidance and $ 22 billion in terminations. The task of organizing the U.S. Army commenced in 1775. In the first one hundred years of its existence,

18618-430: The administration. Nonetheless, he remained a critical military adviser and administrator. On April 12, Confederate forces began an attack on Fort Sumter, forcing its surrender the following day. On April 15, Lincoln declared that a state of rebellion existed and called up tens of thousands of militiamen . On the advice of Scott, Lincoln offered Robert E. Lee command of the Union forces, but Lee ultimately chose to serve

18832-709: The aftermath of the Burning of Washington . The War of 1812 came to an effective end in February 1815, after news of the signing of the Treaty of Ghent (which had been signed in December 1814) reached the United States. In 1815, Scott was admitted to the Pennsylvania Society of the Cincinnati as an honorary member in recognition of his service in the War of 1812. Scott's Society of the Cincinnati insignia, made by silversmiths Thomas Fletcher and Sidney Gardiner of Philadelphia ,

19046-491: The agreement, both the United States and Egypt agreed that there would be a joint military training led by both countries that would usually take place every 2 years, that exercise is known as Exercise Bright Star . The 1980s was mostly a decade of reorganization. The Goldwater-Nichols Act of 1986 created unified combatant commands bringing the army together with the other four military services under unified, geographically organized command structures. The army also played

19260-703: The approaching attack on the Mississippi River forts that shielded New Orleans. Early in 1862, the Gulf Blockading Squadron was reconfigured into two separate entities, the East Gulf Blockading Squadron (EGBS) commanded by Flag-Officer James L. Lardner and the West Gulf Blockading Squadron (WGBS) led by Flag-Officer David G. Farragut . After New Orleans fell to the Union fleet under Farragut on April 29, 1862, Mobile

19474-534: The army began acquiring fixed-wing aircraft . In 1910, during the Mexican Revolution , the army was deployed to U.S. towns near the border to ensure the safety of lives and property. In 1916, Pancho Villa , a major rebel leader, attacked Columbus, New Mexico , prompting a U.S. intervention in Mexico until 7 February 1917. They fought the rebels and the Mexican federal troops until 1918. The United States joined World War I as an "Associated Power" in 1917 on

19688-531: The army in Baton Rouge , where one of his first duties was to serve as a judge advocate (prosecutor) in the court-martial of Colonel Thomas Humphrey Cushing . During the early 19th century, relationships between Britain and the United States continued to deteriorate due to a variety of factors, including the British impressment of American citizens alleged to be Royal Navy deserters and Britain's support to Native Americans who were resisting U.S. colonization in

19902-457: The army of Mexican President Antonio López de Santa Anna at the Battle of Buena Vista . In the encounter known in Mexico as the Battle of La Angostura, Santa Anna brought U.S. forces to near collapse, capturing cannons and flags, and returned to Mexico City, leaving U.S. forces on the field. Santa Anna left to put down a minor insurrection , and recruited a new army. Biographer John Eisenhower said

20116-593: The army's Northern Division, and the brigadier generals were assigned leadership of departments within the divisions. Scott obtained a leave of absence to study warfare in Europe, though to his disappointment, he reached Europe only after Napoleon 's final defeat at the Battle of Waterloo . Upon his return to the United States in May 1816, he was assigned to command army forces in parts of the Northeastern United States . He made his headquarters in New York City and became part of

20330-516: The army's senior general. Congress became engaged in a divisive debate over the status of slavery in the territories, and Scott joined with Whig leaders Henry Clay and Daniel Webster in advocating for the passage of what became known as the Compromise of 1850 . Meanwhile, Taylor died of an illness in July 1850 and was succeeded by Vice President Millard Fillmore . The Compromise of 1850 and the enforcement of

20544-453: The army's senior officer instead. Scott grew very heavy in his last years of service and could not mount a horse or walk more than a few paces without stopping to rest. He was often in ill health, and suffered from gout , dropsy , rheumatism , and vertigo . After retiring, he traveled to Europe with his daughter, Cornelia, and her husband, H. L. Scott. In Paris , he worked with Thurlow Weed to aid American consul John Bigelow in defusing

20758-441: The army. In January 1810, Scott was convicted in a court-martial, partly for making disrespectful comments about Wilkinson's integrity, and partly because of a $ 50 shortage in the $ 400 account he had been provided to conduct recruiting duty in Virginia after being commissioned. Concerning the money, the court-martial members concluded that Scott had not been intentionally dishonest but had failed to keep accurate records. His commission

20972-604: The authority of the president, in the Army National Guard of the United States. Since the adoption of the total force policy, in the aftermath of the Vietnam War, reserve component soldiers have taken a more active role in U.S. military operations. For example, Reserve and Guard units took part in the Gulf War , peacekeeping in Kosovo , Afghanistan, and the 2003 invasion of Iraq . [REDACTED] Headquarters, United States Department of

21186-402: The battery failed, the ships remained active in the ensuing siege that eventually resulted in its capture. Then, the Union was able to mount its guns at the mouth of the harbor, and although the city continued to resist, it was no longer the preferred terminus for blockade runners. While all this was going on, the local defenders were not passive. Extensive efforts to break the blockade included

21400-408: The battle, it was seen as a significant moral victory. The battle was "the first real success attained by American troops against British regulars." Later, in July 1814, a scouting expedition led by Scott was ambushed, beginning the Battle of Lundy's Lane . Scott's brigade was decimated after British troops led by General Gordon Drummond arrived as reinforcements, and he was placed in the reserve in

21614-437: The battle; running his fleet past the forts that defended the city from the south on the night of April 24, 1862, he forced the city to surrender. After repairing his ships from the damage they had suffered while passing the forts, he sent them up the river, where they successively sought and obtained the surrender of Baton Rouge and Natchez . The string of easy conquests came to an end at Vicksburg, Mississippi , however, as

21828-500: The battlefield and returned to Mexico City, but Scott's force captured about 3,000 Mexican soldiers. After the battle, Scott continued to press toward Mexico City, cutting him and his army off from his supply base at Veracruz. Scott's force arrived in the Valley of Mexico in August 1847, by which time Santa Anna had formed an army of approximately 25,000 men. Because Mexico City lacked walls and

22042-501: The blockade was immediately transformed from a purely open-water operation to one of at least limited occupation of enemy territory. Although the board recommended that Fernandina, Florida , be taken as the southern anchor of the blockade, two other positions were captured before Fernandina. A pair of minor forts on the Outer Banks of North Carolina near Cape Hatteras were taken by Union forces on August 28–29, 1861, and on November 7

22256-482: The blockade was not properly a strategy although it is often referred to as such by historians. It did not estimate the forces that would be needed to guard the at least 3,000 miles (5,000 km) of coastline in the seceded states. It did not consider an allocation of resources. It did not set out a timeline or even name points of particular concern. Much of that was later done by the Blockade Strategy Board ,

22470-472: The blockade. The supply problems they did face were most often caused by the poor condition of Confederate railroads . However much of the deterioration of the Southern railroads was caused by overloading due to the blockade disrupting normal coastal sea traffic and control of inland waterways by the Union Navy. Those who believe that the blockade was decisive argue that the Southern forces were strangled at

22684-472: The brunt of public vituperation for the defeat at Bull Run, but Scott, who had helped plan the battle, also received criticism. Lincoln replaced McDowell with McClellan, and the president began meeting with McClellan without Scott in attendance. Frustrated with his diminished standing, Scott submitted his resignation in October 1861. Though Scott favored General Henry Halleck as his successor, Lincoln made McClellan

22898-591: The building, as part of the September 11 attacks . In response to the 11 September attacks and as part of the Global War on Terror , U.S. and NATO forces invaded Afghanistan in October 2001, displacing the Taliban government. The U.S. Army also led the combined U.S. and allied invasion of Iraq in 2003; it served as the primary source for ground forces with its ability to sustain short and long-term deployment operations. In

23112-571: The campaign to capture the Mississippi River and thereby lop off the Trans-Mississippi is acknowledged. Virtually all present-day historians agree that the Union's Western campaign was at least as significant as that in the East. To the extent that fighting in the West before mid-1863 can be regarded as preparing for or culminating in the capture of Vicksburg , the Anaconda has been validated. The worth of

23326-564: The capital of the Confederacy, directed up the Kanawha River . Alternatively, if Kentucky were to leave the Union, a march directly across that state should take Nashville , and then, he would "act on circumstances." Scott's endorsement of McClellan's letter, which he submitted to the President, shows that he considered it but not favorably. Firstly, the Kanawha was not suited for water transport so

23540-473: The capture of Roanoke Island and established the Union Army permanently in eastern North Carolina. Port Royal in Union hands was soon used as a base to make the blockade of Savannah almost complete, but Charleston was not so easily sealed off. Use of its harbor by blockade runners was curtailed, but to close it completely required some of the bitterest and most persistent ground action of the war. When Fernandina

23754-735: The centers of blockade-running activity in Bermuda and Nassau, but ships trying to reach them from the Atlantic Ocean would have to run past the Florida Keys, which remained in Federal control throughout the war and served as the base for the Gulf (later, East Gulf) Blockading Squadron . The same decision by the Confederate War Department led to the abandonment of most of the Atlantic coast except for

23968-477: The chief of engineers, while Ripley and Jackson both left the army. After Brown died in 1828, President John Quincy Adams passed over Scott and Gaines due to their feuding, instead appointing Macomb. Scott was outraged and asked to be relieved of his commission, but ultimately backed down. In 1832, President Andrew Jackson ordered Scott to Illinois to take command of a conflict known as the Black Hawk War . By

24182-420: The chief of staff to Henry Dearborn , who was the senior general of the army and personally led operations against Canada in the area around Lake Ontario. Dearborn assigned Scott to lead an attack against Fort George , which commanded a strategic position on the Niagara River. With help from United States Navy elements commanded by Isaac Chauncey and Oliver Hazard Perry , he led U.S. troops to land behind

24396-554: The city's social life. He earned the nickname "Old Fuss and Feathers" for his insistence on proper military bearing, courtesy, appearance, and discipline. In 1835, Scott wrote Infantry Tactics, Or, Rules for the Exercise and Maneuvre of the United States Infantry , a three-volume work that served as the standard drill manual for the United States Army until 1855. Scott developed a rivalry with Jackson after Jackson took offense to

24610-466: The combatant commanders for use as directed by the secretary of defense. By 2013, the army shifted to six geographical commands that align with the six geographical unified combatant commands (CCMD): The army also transformed its base unit from divisions to brigades . Division lineage will be retained, but the divisional headquarters will be able to command any brigade, not just brigades that carry their divisional lineage. The central part of this plan

24824-447: The combined-component strength of the U.S. Army was 1,005,725 soldiers. As a branch of the armed forces, the mission of the U.S. Army is "to fight and win our Nation's wars, by providing prompt, sustained land dominance, across the full range of military operations and the spectrum of conflict, in support of combatant commanders ". The branch participates in conflicts worldwide and is the major ground-based offensive and defensive force of

25038-504: The commander there, knew that further resistance was pointless. On July 9, 1863, he surrendered the post and its garrison to the Federal Army of the Gulf and its commander, Maj. Gen. Nathaniel P. Banks . Henceforth, in the phrase of Abraham Lincoln , "The Father of Waters again goes unvexed to the sea." The Anaconda Plan as proposed by Scott relied on the blockade, as he stated it, "to envelop

25252-482: The cooperation of civil leaders and the Catholic Church, Scott and the army restored order in the city by the end of the month. Peace negotiations between Trist and the Mexican government resumed, and Scott did all he could to support the talks, ceasing all further offensive operations. As military commander of Mexico City, Scott was held in high esteem by Mexican civil and American authorities alike, primarily owing to

25466-513: The defeat at Contreras caused a panic among the rest of Santa Anna's army, and Scott immediately pressed the attack, beginning the Battle of Churubusco . Despite the strong defense by the Saint Patrick's Battalion and some other units, Scott's force quickly defeated the demoralized Mexican army. After the battle, Santa Anna negotiated a truce with Scott, and the Mexican foreign minister notified Trist that they were ready to begin negotiations to end

25680-449: The defeat of Charles Edward Stuart 's forces in the Battle of Culloden . Scott's father died when Scott was six years old; his mother did not remarry. She raised Scott, his older brother James, and their sisters Mary, Rebecca, Elizabeth, and Martha until her death in 1803. Although Scott's family held considerable wealth, most of the family fortune went to James, who inherited the plantation. At six feet, five inches tall and 230 pounds, with

25894-494: The eastern states of the Confederacy, Scott hoped to force the surrender of Confederate forces with a minimal loss of life on both sides. Scott's plan was leaked to the public and was derided by most Northern newspapers, which tended to favor an immediate assault on the Confederacy. As Scott was too old for battlefield command, Lincoln selected General Irvin McDowell , an officer whom Scott saw as unimaginative and inexperienced, to lead

26108-622: The end of FY2017. From 2016 to 2017, the Army retired hundreds of OH-58 Kiowa Warrior observation helicopters, while retaining its Apache gunships. The 2015 expenditure for Army research, development and acquisition changed from $ 32 billion projected in 2012 for FY15 to $ 21 billion for FY15 expected in 2014. By 2017, a task force was formed to address Army modernization, which triggered shifts of units: CCDC , and ARCIC , from within Army Materiel Command (AMC), and Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC), respectively, to

26322-439: The end to the practice of rotating divisional commands among the states that supported them. Under the proposal, the remaining division commanders were to reside in the state of the division base. However, no reduction in total Army National Guard strength was to take place, which convinced the governors to accept the plan. The states reorganized their forces accordingly between 1 December 1967 and 1 May 1968. The Total Force Policy

26536-576: The end. They point out that the collapse of the Army of Northern Virginia , which in 1865 was virtually all that remained of the Confederacy, followed soon after the loss of Wilmington to the Union. The timing, they contend, was not merely coincidental. Furthermore, the defeat of its armies was not the only way that the South lost. The blockade was not only to capture the ships that attempted to evade it but also to discourage others. The blockade runners may have been numerous, but they were built for speed rather than

26750-528: The fact that two of the leading contenders, Clay and Taylor, were enslavers. Ultimately, however, the delegates passed on Scott for a second time, nominating Taylor on the fourth ballot. Many anti- slavery Whigs then defected to support the nominee of the Free-Soil Party , former President Martin Van Buren. Taylor went on to win the general election. After the war, Scott returned to his administrative duties as

26964-425: The fairness with which he treated Mexican citizens. In November 1847, Trist received orders to return to Washington. Scott received orders to continue the military campaign against Mexico; Polk had grown frustrated at the slow pace of negotiations. With the support of Scott and Mexican president Manuel de la Peña y Peña , Trist defied his orders and continued the negotiations. Trist and the Mexican negotiators concluded

27178-440: The field commanders so the war was a series of independent campaigns, each of which was conducted according to the whims of whatever general happened to be in charge. According to her view, the Anaconda is a later conceptual imposition on events for which order did not exist at the time that they took place. For the historians who contend that a rational plan existed, the debate, like the plan itself, has two parts. The importance of

27392-567: The following years, the mission changed from conflict between regular militaries to counterinsurgency , resulting in the deaths of more than 4,000 U.S. service members (as of March 2008) and injuries to thousands more. 23,813 insurgents were killed in Iraq between 2003 and 2011. Until 2009, the army's chief modernization plan, its most ambitious since World War II, was the Future Combat Systems program. In 2009, many systems were canceled, and

27606-569: The forces that landed in French North Africa and took Tunisia and then moved on to Sicily and later fought in Italy . In the June 1944 landings in northern France and in the subsequent liberation of Europe and defeat of Nazi Germany , millions of U.S. Army troops played a central role. In 1947, the number of soldiers in the US Army had decreased from eight million in 1945 to 684,000 soldiers and

27820-508: The fort, forcing its surrender. Scott was widely praised for his conduct in the battle, although he was personally disappointed that the bulk of the British garrison escaped capture. As part of another campaign to capture Montreal, Scott forced the British to withdraw from Hoople Creek in November 1813. Despite this success, the campaign fell apart after the American defeat at the Battle of Crysler's Farm and after Wilkinson (who had taken command of

28034-451: The front in August) and Hampton failed to cooperate on a strategy to take Montreal. With the failure of the campaign, President Madison and Secretary of War John Armstrong Jr. relieved Wilkinson and some other senior officers of their battlefield commands. They were replaced with younger officers such as Scott, Izard, and Jacob Brown . In early 1814, Scott was promoted to brigadier general and

28248-559: The geographical status quo. Both navies kept the warships they had seized during the conflict. The army's major campaign against the Indians was fought in Florida against Seminoles . It took long wars (1818–1858) to finally defeat the Seminoles and move them to Oklahoma. The usual strategy in Indian wars was to seize control of the Indians' winter food supply, but that was no use in Florida where there

28462-466: The guidance would reverse the Total Force Policy which is an "essential ingredient to the successful application of military force". On 11 September 2001, 53 Army civilians (47 employees and six contractors) and 22 soldiers were among the 125 victims killed in the Pentagon in a terrorist attack when American Airlines Flight 77 commandeered by five Al-Qaeda hijackers slammed into the western side of

28676-566: The hanging of members of the Saint Patrick's Battalion during the Mexican–American War. Scott proved to be a poor candidate who lacked popular appeal and suffered the worst defeat in Whig history. In the South, distrust and apathy toward Scott led many Southern Whigs to vote for Pierce or to sit out the election, and in the North, many anti-slavery Whigs voted for John P. Hale of the Free Soil Party . Scott won just four states and 44 percent of

28890-488: The idea of opening the Mississippi. In the person of Assistant Secretary of the Navy Gustavus Vasa Fox , it decided early on the capture of New Orleans by a naval expedition from the Gulf of Mexico , after which all other towns bordering the river would fall rather than face bombardment. The task of taking New Orleans was entrusted to Captain (later Admiral) David Glasgow Farragut , who followed his own plans for

29104-435: The insurgent States and bring them to terms with less bloodshed than by any other plan." Insofar as he foresaw direct combat, it was to be more or less confined to the central thrust down the Mississippi River. Almost surely he did not anticipate the level of violence that it provoked. For that matter, the blockade itself had to be modified by events, provoking much of the bloodshed that he hoped to avoid. Scott's proposal for

29318-436: The insurrection is seen in the endorsement. After giving the plan more thought he submitted his proposal in a letter to McClellan on May 3, 1861. A second letter, dated May 21, was his final plan outline. Scott was not able to impose his strategic vision on the government. Aged and infirm, he had to retire before the end of the year. He was replaced as General-in-Chief by McClellan. Under McClellan and his eventual successor in

29532-465: The invasion of Mexico through Veracruz was "up to that time the most ambitious amphibious expedition in human history." The operation commenced on March 9, 1847, with the Siege of Veracruz , a joint army-navy operation led by Scott and Commodore David Conner . After safely landing his 12,000-man army, Scott encircled Veracruz and began bombarding it; the Mexican garrison surrendered on March 27. Seeking to avoid

29746-459: The invasion. Among those who joined the campaign were several officers who would later distinguish themselves in the American Civil War , including Major Joseph E. Johnston , Captain Robert E. Lee , and Lieutenants Ulysses S. Grant , George B. McClellan , George G. Meade , and P. G. T. Beauregard . While Scott prepared the invasion, Taylor inflicted what the U.S. characterized as a crushing defeat on

29960-491: The invasion. Scott spent the following months convalescing under the supervision of military doctors and physician Philip Syng Physick . Scott's performance at the Battle of Chippawa had earned him national recognition. He was promoted to the brevet rank of major general and awarded a Congressional Gold Medal . In October 1814, Scott was appointed commander of American forces in Maryland and northern Virginia, taking command in

30174-746: The last of the American Indian Wars . U.S. Army troops also occupied several Southern states during the Reconstruction Era to protect freedmen . The key battles of the Spanish–American War of 1898 were fought by the Navy. Using mostly new volunteers , the U.S. forces defeated Spain in land campaigns in Cuba and played the central role in the Philippine–American War . Starting in 1910,

30388-590: The main Union army in the eastern theater of the war. Though Scott counseled that the army needed more time to train, Lincoln ordered an offensive against the Confederate capital of Richmond. Irvin McDowell led a force of 30,000 men south, where he met the Confederate Army at the First Battle of Bull Run . The Confederate army dealt the Union a major defeat, ending any hope of a quick end to the war. McDowell took

30602-412: The major ports applied to the Gulf as well, with the result that only Mobile, New Orleans, and Galveston were defended. ( Brownsville, Texas / Matamoros, Tamaulipas , Mexico, at the mouth of the Rio Grande, is a special case that will not be treated here because of its international implications. ) Galveston was captured by Federal forces on October 4, 1862, but was retaken by the Rebels on New Year's Day of

30816-404: The march on Richmond would have to be overland and thus subject to breakdowns of men, horses, and equipment. More seriously, western Virginia (West Virginia had not yet parted from Virginia) was still very much pro-Union; according to Scott's estimate, its populace stood five out of seven opposed to secession. An invasion as proposed would alienate many of them and subject both enemies and friends to

31030-571: The most accomplished generals in U.S. history. Scott was born on June 13, 1786, the fifth child of Ann (Mason) Scott and William Scott, a planter, veteran of the American Revolutionary War , and officer in the Dinwiddie County militia. At the time, the Scott family resided at Laurel Hill, a plantation near Petersburg , Virginia . Ann Mason Scott was the daughter of Daniel Mason and Elizabeth Winfield, and Scott's parents chose his maternal grandmother's surname for his first name. Scott's paternal grandfather, James Scott, had migrated from Scotland after

31244-430: The nature of the ships that would be used by both sides. The board recommendations concerning the Gulf Coast were rather rudimentary and largely ignored, but the blockade on the Atlantic coast followed their plan reasonably closely. All parties recognized from the start that the blockading ships would have to be powered by steam. The limited endurance of steamships then implied that one of the first requirements would be

31458-449: The new army. A number of European soldiers came on their own to help, such as Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben , who taught Prussian Army tactics and organizational skills. The Army fought numerous pitched battles, and sometimes used Fabian strategy and hit-and-run tactics in the South in 1780 and 1781; under Major General Nathanael Greene , it hit where the British were weakest to wear down their forces. Washington led victories against

31672-436: The new nation's sole ground army, except a regiment to guard the Western Frontier and one battery of artillery guarding West Point 's arsenal. However, because of continuing conflict with Native Americans , it was soon considered necessary to field a trained standing army. The Regular Army was at first very small and after General St. Clair's defeat at the Battle of the Wabash, where more than 800 soldiers were killed,

31886-438: The next year. It remained accessible to blockade runners for the rest of the war but, like all of the Trans-Mississippi , was rendered worthless to the Rebellion when the loss of Vicksburg completed Federal control of the Mississippi River. The Blockade Strategy Board had recommended that Ship Island, which lies in the Gulf between Mobile and New Orleans, be taken and used as a base for the (West) Gulf Blockading Squadron. This

32100-411: The peace by proclaiming its neutrality by aiding neither the North nor the South if both would agree to leave the state alone. Because Congress was not in session to authorize presidential initiatives to suppress the rebellion, the burden of raising troops for the war fell on the loyal state governments. Ohio was particularly active in doing so and early acquired the services of George B. McClellan , who

32314-511: The popular vote, while Pierce won just under 51 percent of the popular vote and a large majority of the electoral vote . After the 1852 election, Scott continued his duties as the army's senior officer. He maintained cordial relations with President Pierce but frequently clashed with Pierce's Secretary of War, Jefferson Davis , over issues like travel expenses. Despite his defeat in the 1852 presidential election, Scott remained broadly popular, and on Pierce's recommendation, in 1855, Congress passed

32528-441: The position. After the outbreak of the Mexican–American War in 1846, Scott was relegated to an administrative role, but in 1847 he led a campaign against the Mexican capital of Mexico City . After capturing the port city of Veracruz , he defeated Mexican General Antonio López de Santa Anna 's armies at the Battles of Cerro Gordo , Contreras , and Churubusco . He then captured Mexico City , after which he maintained order in

32742-583: The possibility of imminent secession, Scott advised Buchanan and Secretary of War John B. Floyd to reinforce federal forts in the South. He was initially ignored, but Scott gained new influence within the administration after Floyd was replaced by Joseph Holt in mid-December. With assistance from Holt and newly appointed Secretary of State Jeremiah S. Black , Scott convinced Buchanan to reinforce or resupply Washington, D.C., Fort Sumter (near Charleston, South Carolina), and Fort Pickens (near Pensacola, Florida ). Meanwhile, several Southern states seceded, formed

32956-436: The protection of Saudi Arabia . In January 1991 Operation Desert Storm commenced, a U.S.-led coalition which deployed over 500,000 troops, the bulk of them from U.S. Army formations, to drive out Iraqi forces . The campaign ended in total victory, as Western coalition forces routed the Iraqi Army . Some of the largest tank battles in history were fought during the Gulf war. The Battle of Medina Ridge , Battle of Norfolk and

33170-451: The ravages of war. The same argument could be applied to Kentucky. Perhaps most damagingly, the war as proposed would subjugate the Confederacy piecemeal, with by necessity the border states bearing most of the burden, "instead of enveloping them all (nearly) at once by a cordon of ports on the Mississippi to its mouth from its junction with the Ohio , and by blockading ships on the seaboard." The germ of Scott's Anaconda Plan for suppressing

33384-412: The remaining were swept into the BCT modernization program . By 2017, the Brigade Modernization project was completed and its headquarters, the Brigade Modernization Command, was renamed the Joint Modernization Command, or JMC. In response to Budget sequestration in 2013 , Army plans were to shrink to 1940 levels, although actual Active-Army end-strengths were projected to fall to some 450,000 troops by

33598-406: The removal under his own auspices. Scott accompanied one Cherokee group as an observer, traveling with them from Athens, Tennessee , to Nashville, Tennessee , where he was ordered to the Canada–United States border . In late 1837, the so-called " Patriot War " broke out along the Canadian border when some Americans sought to support the Rebellions of 1837–1838 in Canada. Tensions escalated after

33812-418: The seceding states were to be rigorously blockaded. Secondly, a strong column of perhaps 80,000 men should use the Mississippi River as a highway to thrust completely through the Confederacy. A spearhead, a relatively small amphibious force of army troops transported by boats and supported by gunboats, should advance rapidly, capturing the Confederate positions down the river in sequence. It would be followed by

34026-414: The secession movement, the status of the border states Missouri, Kentucky, Maryland, and Delaware, all of which allowed slavery, was unclear. All except Delaware had strong pro-Southern interests. Missouri was torn by internal conflict that mimicked in miniature the larger war that was convulsing the nation, Maryland was kept in the Union by jailing many of the opposition faction, and Kentucky tried to keep

34240-406: The second phase of the battle. Scott was later severely wounded while seeking a place to commit his reserve forces. He believed that Brown's decision to refrain from fully committing his strength at the outset of this battle resulted in the destruction of Scott's brigade and many unnecessary deaths. The battle ended inconclusively after Brown ordered his army to withdraw, effectively bringing an end to

34454-403: The service chiefs from each of the four military services belonging to the Department of Defense who advise the president of the United States , the secretary of defense and the National Security Council on operational military matters, under the guidance of the chairman and vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff . In 1986, the Goldwater–Nichols Act mandated that operational control of

34668-413: The service of the army. By the twentieth century, the U.S. Army had mobilized the U.S. Volunteers on four occasions during each of the major wars of the nineteenth century. During World War I, the " National Army " was organized to fight the conflict, replacing the concept of U.S. Volunteers. It was demobilized at the end of World War I and was replaced by the Regular Army, the Organized Reserve Corps, and

34882-456: The services follows a chain of command from the president to the secretary of defense directly to the unified combatant commanders , who have control of all armed forces units in their geographic or function area of responsibility, thus the secretaries of the military departments (and their respective service chiefs underneath them) only have the responsibility to organize, train and equip their service components. The army provides trained forces to

35096-415: The side of Britain , France , Russia , Italy and the other Allies . U.S. troops were sent to the Western Front and were involved in the last offensives that ended the war. With the armistice in November 1918, the army once again decreased its forces. In 1939, estimates of the Army's strength ranged between 174,000 and 200,000 soldiers, smaller than that of Portugal 's, which ranked it 17th or 19th in

35310-487: The site, and while the poor location caused several illnesses and deaths among his soldiers, Wilkinson refused to relocate them because he personally profited. In addition, staying near New Orleans enabled Wilkinson to pursue his private business interests and continue the courtship of Celestine Trudeau, whom he later married. Scott briefly resigned his commission over his dissatisfaction with Wilkinson, but before his resignation had been accepted, he withdrew it and returned to

35524-416: The size of the defending army increased in step with the advancing rank of its commander. The campaign for Vicksburg eventually settled into a siege, which terminated on July 4, 1863, with Pemberton's surrender of all the forces under his command. At that time, his army numbered approximately 29,500 men. When word of the loss of Vicksburg reached the garrison at Port Hudson, Maj. Gen. Franklin Gardner ,

35738-533: The south. This 130-mile (210 km) stretch – measured along roads, somewhat longer on the river – including the confluence of the Red River with the Mississippi, became the last contact between the eastern Confederacy and the Trans-Mississippi . No doubt of its importance, the government of Confederate President Jefferson Davis in Richmond strengthened both positions. Command at Vicksburg in particular passed from Brig. Gen. Martin L. Smith to Maj. Gen. Earl Van Dorn to Lt. Gen. John C. Pemberton ;

35952-403: The staff, and even worse, his advice was seldom sought by his civilian superiors." Macomb had largely been outside the chain of command, and senior commanders like Gaines, Scott, and Quartermaster General Thomas Jesup reported directly to the Secretary of War. Despite Scott's efforts to invigorate the office, he enjoyed little influence with President Tyler, who quickly became alienated from most of

36166-409: The staffing of the War Department . After McClellan's defeat in the Seven Days Battles , Lincoln accepted Scott's advice and appointed General Halleck as the army's senior general. In 1864, Scott sent a copy of his newly published memoirs to Ulysses S. Grant , who had succeeded Halleck as the lead Union general. The copy that Scott sent was inscribed "from the oldest to the greatest general." Following

36380-403: The standard support role in an army. The U.S. Army's conventional combat capability currently consists of 11 active divisions and 1 deployable division headquarters (7th Infantry Division) as well as several independent maneuver units. Anaconda Plan In the early days of the Civil War, Scott's proposed strategy for the war against the South had two prominent features. First, all ports in

36594-443: The state militias. In the 1920s and 1930s, the "career" soldiers were known as the " Regular Army " with the "Enlisted Reserve Corps" and "Officer Reserve Corps" augmented to fill vacancies when needed. In 1941, the " Army of the United States " was founded to fight World War II. The Regular Army, Army of the United States, the National Guard, and Officer/Enlisted Reserve Corps (ORC and ERC) existed simultaneously. After World War II,

36808-402: The states of California , Nevada , Utah , Colorado , Arizona , Wyoming and New Mexico . The American Civil War was the costliest war for the U.S. in terms of casualties. After most slave states , located in the southern U.S., formed the Confederate States , the Confederate States Army , led by former U.S. Army officers, mobilized a large fraction of Southern white manpower. Forces of

37022-412: The statutory authority to conduct all the affairs of the army under the authority, direction, and control of the secretary of defense . The chief of staff of the Army , who is the highest-ranked military officer in the army, serves as the principal military adviser and executive agent for the secretary of the Army, i.e., its service chief; and as a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff , a body composed of

37236-400: The takeover of South Korea by North Korea and later to invade the northern nation. After repeated advances and retreats by both sides and the Chinese People's Volunteer Army 's entry into the war, the Korean Armistice Agreement returned the peninsula to the status quo in July 1953. The Vietnam War is often regarded as a low point for the U.S. Army due to the use of drafted personnel ,

37450-415: The time Scott arrived in Illinois, the conflict had come to a close with the army's victory at the Battle of Bad Axe . Scott and Governor John Reynolds concluded the Black Hawk Purchase with Chief Keokuk and other Native American leaders, opening up much of present-day Iowa to settlement by whites. Later, in 1832, Jackson placed Scott in charge of army preparations for a potential conflict arising from

37664-439: The time of the convention in December 1839, party leader Henry Clay and 1836 presidential candidate William Henry Harrison had emerged as the two front-runners, but Scott loomed as a potential compromise candidate if the convention deadlocked. After several ballots, the convention nominated Harrison for president. Harrison went on to defeat Van Buren in the 1840 presidential election , but he died just one month into his term and

37878-417: The total number of active divisions had dropped from 89 to 12. The leaders of the Army saw this demobilization as a success. In the Pacific War , U.S. Army soldiers participated alongside the United States Marine Corps in capturing the Pacific Islands from Japanese control. Following the Axis surrenders in May (Germany) and August (Japan) of 1945, army troops were deployed to Japan and Germany to occupy

38092-404: The trial of Aaron Burr , who had been accused of treason for his role in events now known as the Burr conspiracy . During the trial, Scott developed a negative opinion of the Senior Officer of the United States Army , General James Wilkinson , as the result of Wilkinson's efforts to minimize his complicity in Burr's actions by providing forged evidence and false, self-serving testimony. Scott

38306-402: The truce. In the subsequent Battle for Mexico City , Scott launched an attack from the west of the city, capturing the critical fortress of Chapultepec on September 13. Santa Anna retreated from the city after the fall of Chapultepec, and Scott accepted the surrender of the remaining Mexican forces early on the 14th. Unrest broke out in the days following the capture of Mexico City, but with

38520-676: The two defeated nations. Two years after World War II, the Army Air Forces separated from the army to become the United States Air Force in September 1947. In 1948, the army was desegregated by order 9981 of President Harry S. Truman . The end of World War II set the stage for the East–West confrontation known as the Cold War . With the outbreak of the Korean War , concerns over the defense of Western Europe rose. Two corps, V and VII , were reactivated under Seventh United States Army in 1950 and U.S. strength in Europe rose from one division to four. Hundreds of thousands of U.S. troops remained stationed in West Germany, with others in Belgium ,

38734-409: The union. In 1859, Buchanan assigned Scott to lead a mission to settle a dispute with Britain over the ownership of the San Juan Islands in the Pacific Northwest . Scott reached an agreement with British official James Douglas to reduce military forces on the islands, thereby resolving the so-called " Pig War ". In the 1860 presidential election , the Republicans nominated Abraham Lincoln , while

38948-452: The unpopularity of the war with the U.S. public and frustrating restrictions placed on the military by U.S. political leaders. While U.S. forces had been stationed in South Vietnam since 1959, in intelligence and advising/training roles, they were not deployed in large numbers until 1965, after the Gulf of Tonkin Incident . U.S. forces effectively established and maintained control of the "traditional" battlefield, but they struggled to counter

39162-437: The unprofessionalism of the army, which at the time consisted of just 2,700 officers and men. He later wrote that "the old officers had, very generally, sunk into either sloth, ignorance, or habits of intemperate drinking." He soon clashed with his commander, General James Wilkinson , over Wilkinson's refusal to follow the orders of Secretary of War William Eustis to remove troops from an unhealthy bivouac site. Wilkinson owned

39376-412: The use of torpedoes (mines) and armored ships to sink or otherwise render inoperative the Federal vessels. Imaginative methods to achieve the same result in the development and deployment of submarines and torpedo boats . By contrast, the blockade of Wilmington was fairly conventional and is the focus of most debate concerning the efficacy of the blockade. After the middle of July 1863, when Charleston

39590-432: The war, Scott was elected as one of only two honorary members of the organization. Scott was again a contender for the Whig presidential nomination in the 1848 election . Clay, Daniel Webster , and General Zachary Taylor were also candidates for the nomination. As in 1840, Whigs were looking for a non-ideological war hero to be their candidate. Scott's main appeal was to anti-slavery "conscience Whigs", who were dismayed by

39804-403: The war, the Federal Navy tried to block the harbor entrance by sinking ballast-laden hulks in the channels, but this proved ineffective or worse. Later, ships used in the blockade were used for the abortive assault on Fort Sumter on April 7, 1863. They also provided artillery support for the infantry attacks on Battery Wagner on July 11 and July 18, 1863. After both of these attempts to take

40018-408: The war. Despite the presence of Scott's army just outside of Mexico City, the Mexican and American delegations remained far apart on terms; Mexico was only willing to yield portions of Alta California and refused to accept the Rio Grande as its northern border. While negotiations continued, Scott faced a difficult issue in the disposition of 72 members of Saint Patrick's Battalion who had deserted from

40232-417: The world in size. General George C. Marshall became Army chief of staff in September 1939 and set about expanding and modernizing the Army in preparation for war. The United States joined World War II in December 1941 after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor . Some 11 million Americans were to serve in various Army operations. On the European front , U.S. Army troops formed a significant portion of

40446-543: The world market, the Confederate government was already strained financially as early as 1862. As its economy steadily degenerated, it suffered from a general loss of confidence on the part of its citizens. However, the blockade was less successful in preventing arms and money from being smuggled into Southern ports by blockade runners consisting of lightweight shallow draft steamships built in and operating from British shipyards, mostly in Liverpool and Glasgow . Historians estimated that 2,500–2,800 attempts were made to run

40660-409: Was admitted to the bar in 1806, and practiced in Dinwiddie . In 1807, Scott gained his initial military experience as a corporal of cavalry in the Virginia Militia , serving amid the Chesapeake–Leopard affair . Scott led a detachment that captured eight British sailors who had attempted to land to purchase provisions. Virginia authorities did not approve of this action, fearing it might spark

40874-440: Was a one-of-a-kind, solid gold eagle measuring nearly three inches in height. It is one of the most unique military society insignias ever produced. There are no known portraits or photographs of Scott wearing the insignia, which is now in the collection of the United States Military Academy Museum. In March 1817, Scott married Maria DeHart Mayo (1789–1862). She was the daughter of Abigail ( née DeHart) Mayo and Colonel John Mayo,

41088-439: Was adopted by Chief of Staff of the Army General Creighton Abrams in the aftermath of the Vietnam War and involved treating the three components of the army – the Regular Army , the Army National Guard and the Army Reserve as a single force. General Abrams' intertwining of the three components of the army effectively made extended operations impossible without the involvement of both the Army National Guard and Army Reserve in

41302-416: Was assigned to lead a regiment under Brown. In mid-1814, Scott took part in another invasion of Canada, which began with a crossing of the Niagara River under Brown's command. Scott was instrumental in the American success at the Battle of Chippawa , which took place on July 5, 1814. Though the battle was regarded as inconclusive from the strategic point of view because the British force remained intact after

41516-433: Was created on 14 June 1775 by the Second Continental Congress as a unified army for the colonies to fight Great Britain , with George Washington appointed as its commander. The army was initially led by men who had served in the British Army or colonial militias and who brought much of British military heritage with them. As the Revolutionary War progressed, French aid, resources, and military thinking helped shape

41730-428: Was critical of Gaines' actions during the campaign, though it did not accuse him of misconduct or incompetence. It also criticized the language he used to defend himself publicly and to the court. Martin Van Buren , a personal friend of Scott's, assumed the presidency in 1837, and Van Buren continued Jackson's Indian removal policy. In April 1838, Van Buren placed Scott in command of the removal of Cherokee people from

41944-409: Was defeated by Democrat Franklin Pierce . He was known as Old Fuss and Feathers for his insistence on proper military etiquette and the Grand Old Man of the Army for his many years of service. Scott was born near Petersburg, Virginia , in 1786. After training as a lawyer and brief militia service, he joined the army in 1808 as a captain of the light artillery. In the War of 1812, Scott served on

42158-540: Was denied re-nomination in favor of James Buchanan, while the Whig Party collapsed. In the 1856 presidential election , Buchanan defeated John C. Frémont of the anti-slavery Republican Party and former President Fillmore, the candidate of the nativist American Party . Sectional tensions continued to escalate after the Supreme Court handed down its decision in Dred Scott v. Sandford . Buchanan proved incapable of healing sectional divides, and some leading Southerners became increasingly vocal in their desire to secede from

42372-416: Was easily done, as on September 16, 1861, it was abandoned by its Rebel defenders, who feared that they might be cut off from the mainland. Their fears were justified; the next day, USS  Massachusetts arrived and offloaded Federal troops to take possession. Almost immediately, however, the island was transformed from a base and coaling station to a more important function; it became the staging area for

42586-504: Was essentially indefensible, Santa Anna sought to defeat Scott in a pitched battle, choosing to mount a defense near the Churubusco River several miles south. The Battle of Contreras began on the afternoon of August 19, when the Mexican army under General Gabriel Valencia attacked and pushed back an American detachment charged with building a road. In the early morning of the following day, an American force led by General Persifor Frazer Smith surprised and decimated Valencia's army. News of

42800-456: Was forced by falling water levels to withdraw his deep-draft vessels to the vicinity of New Orleans. The Army did not attempt to take Vicksburg until November, and then the Army was under the leadership of Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant , after Halleck had been called to Washington to replace McClellan as General-in-Chief. By the time Grant became commander in the West, the Confederate Army had been able to fortify Vicksburg and Port Hudson to

43014-426: Was largely sealed off, most of the trade between the Confederacy and northern Europe was conducted through Wilmington. The port retained its primacy until near the end of the Rebellion, when Fort Fisher , at the mouth of the Cape Fear River, was captured by Union forces in January 1865. The blockade of Confederate ports on the Gulf of Mexico was less important than that on the Atlantic. Not only were they farther from

43228-417: Was never very effective. Throughout the war, more than three-quarters of all attempts to evade the blockade were successful. The one quarter that did not get through can be written off as operational losses. That was because the blockade runners were small and built for speed, rather than capacity. Second and perhaps more important, the Southern armies were not hamstrung for lack of material, at least owing to

43442-405: Was no longer useful as a port. In July 1862, U.S. Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles , wrote a letter to the commanders of both Gulf blockading squadrons that they would need to start recruiting freed blacks to keep up with labor demands. Although a century and a half has elapsed since the end of the Civil War, the importance of the Anaconda Plan remains to some extent a matter of debate. The war

43656-436: Was no winter. The second strategy was to form alliances with other Indian tribes, but that too was useless because the Seminoles had destroyed all the other Indians when they entered Florida in the late eighteenth century. The U.S. Army fought and won the Mexican–American War (1846–1848), which was a defining event for both countries. The U.S. victory resulted in acquisition of territory that eventually became all or parts of

43870-408: Was not the relatively bloodless affair that General Scott promised in his original proposal. Most historians regard this as merely a modification of the basic strategy in the course of events. At least one historian, however, denies that there ever was anything like a coherent strategy for subduing the South. Rowena Reed contends that the central government in Washington was unable to impose its will on

44084-586: Was ordered to the border of Alabama and Georgia to put down a Muscogee uprising known as the Creek War of 1836 . American forces under Scott, General Thomas Jesup , and Alabama Governor Clement Comer Clay quickly defeated the Muscogee. Some subordinates and civilians criticized Scott's actions in the campaigns against the Seminole and the Muscogee, and President Jackson convened a Court of Inquiry that investigated Scott and Gaines. The court cleared Scott of misconduct; still, it reprimanded him for his language criticizing Gaines in official communications. The court

44298-478: Was preparing for an invasion of the Canadas . President James Madison made the invasion the central part of his administration's war strategy in 1812, as he sought to capture Montreal and thereby take control of the St. Lawrence River and cut off Upper Canada from Lower Canada . The invasion would begin with an attack on the town of Queenston , which was just across the Niagara River from Lewiston, New York . In October 1812, Van Rensselaer's force attacked

44512-528: Was procured and stored. The War of 1812 , the second and last war between the United States and Great Britain, had mixed results. The U.S. Army did not conquer Canada but it did destroy Native American resistance to expansion in the Old Northwest and stopped two major British invasions in 1814 and 1815. After taking control of Lake Erie in 1813, the U.S. Army seized parts of western Upper Canada, burned York and defeated Tecumseh , which caused his Western Confederacy to collapse. Following U.S. victories in

44726-444: Was removed from command for insubordination and was succeeded by General Wade Hampton . The rousing reception Scott received from his army peers as he began his suspension led him to believe that most officers approved of his anti-Wilkinson comments, at least tacitly; their high opinion of him, coupled with Leigh's counsel to remain in the army, convinced Scott to resume his military career once his suspension had been served. He rejoined

44940-424: Was seized in early March 1862, the war was almost a year old, and some important changes had taken place. Following the Confederate defeats at Forts Henry and Donelson in Tennessee and Roanoke Island in North Carolina, the War Department in Richmond decided to concentrate its armies in vital interior areas, removing them from much of the coast. Only a few major ports would be defended. Only three of these were on

45154-548: Was succeeded by Vice President John Tyler . On June 25, 1841, Macomb died, and Scott and Gaines were still the two most obvious choices for the position of Commanding General of the United States Army . Secretary of War John Bell recommended Scott, and President Tyler approved; Scott was also promoted to the rank of major general . According to biographer John Eisenhower , the office of commanding general had, since its establishment in 1821, been an "innocuous and artificial office ... its occupant had been given little control over

45368-425: Was suspended for one year. After the trial, Scott fought a duel with William Upshaw, an army medical officer and Wilkinson friend Scott blamed for initiating the court-martial. Each fired at the other, but both emerged unharmed. After the duel, Scott returned to Virginia, where he spent the year studying military tactics and strategy, and practicing law in partnership with Benjamin Watkins Leigh . Meanwhile, Wilkinson

45582-422: Was the only serious problem for the blockade. It remained so, much like Wilmington, until late in the war. In August 1864, Farragut got permission from the Navy Department and troops from the War Department to seize the forts at the entrance to Mobile Bay. Following his famous "Damn the torpedoes" run past the forts, they fell and were occupied by Federal soldiers. Mobile itself remained in Confederate control, but it

45796-417: Was to serve as the commander of its militia, with the rank of Major General of Volunteers. In a few weeks, as the state militias were incorporated into the national service, the militias of Indiana and Illinois were added to his command. From this power base, he felt enabled on April 27, 1861, to write a letter to General Winfield Scott outlining his strategy. He proposed an immediate march on Richmond, by now

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