artisan
jealousy, kept Scott in Washington and assigned Zachary Taylor to the
command of the armies in the field. Scott had already an enviable
reputation, and had been an aspirant for the presidency, and Polk feared
that a few victories would make him an invincible candidate. Perhaps he
was afraid that Scott would develop into another Andrew Jackson.

However, it was impossible to keep the commander-in-chief of the army
inactive while a great war was in progress, and early in 1847, he was
sent to the front, and on March 9 began one of the most successful and
brilliant military campaigns in history. Landing before Vera Cruz, he
captured that city after a bombardment of twenty days, and, gathering
his army together, started on an overland march for the capital of
Mexico. Santa Anna, with a great force, awaited him in a strong position
at Cerro Gordo, but Scott seized the key of it in a lofty height
commanding the Mexican position, and soon won a decisive victory. The
American army swept on like a tidal wave, and city after city fell
before it, until, on the twentieth of August, it reached the city of the
Montezumas. An armistice delayed the advance until September 7, but on
that day offensive operations were begun. Great fortifications strongly
manned guarded the town, but they were carried one after another by
assault, and on September 14, General Scott marched at the head of his
army through the city gates. The war was ended--a war in which the
Americans had not lost a single battle, and had gained a vast empire.

General Scott came out of the war with a tremendous reputation; but he
lacked personal magnetism. A certain stateliness and dignity kept people
at a distance, and, together with an exacting discipline, won him the
sobriquet of "Old Fuss and Feathers." In 1852, he was the candidate of
the Whig party for President; but the party was falling to pieces, he
himself had no great personal following, and he was defeated by the
Democratic candidate, one of his own generals, Franklin Pierce. He
remained in command of the army until the outbreak of the Civil War. Age
and infirmities prevented his taking the field, and after the disastrous
defeat at Bull Run, he resigned the command. General Scott was renowned
for his striking physique, more majestic, perhaps, even than that of
Washington. He has, indeed, been called the most imposing general in
history.

* * * * *

With General Scott e