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(June 13, 1786-May 29, 1866), a distinguished American general, was born near Petersburg, Va. Educated at William and Mary College, he entered the army at the age of twenty-two. In the opening year of the War of 1812 he was taken prisoner at the battle of Queenstown Heights. Being released, he served in the campaign of 1813, was made a brigadier-general, and distinguished himself at the battles of Chippewa and Bridgewater in 1814. He was promoted to be major-general, and saw little more service for a generation. In the Nullification excitement he commanded at Charleston, and he served against the Seminoles and Creeks, succeeding Macomb as commander-in-chief of the U.S. army in 1841. In the second year of the Mexican War General Scott took command of the main army. He besieged and took Vera Cruz, stormed Cerro Gordo, and reached Puebla. Having rested his army, he pushed on to the plain of the capital, won the victories of Contreras, Churubusco, Molino del Rey and Chapultepec, and entered the city of Mexico, September 14, 1847. In 1852 he was the Whig candidate for President, and was overwhelmingly defeated by Pierce. Later he was engaged on a commission for rectifying the boundary line with Great Britain. The outbreak of the war found him still in command of the army, but he retired in October, 1861. Scott's imposing stature, strict discipline, and attachment to military etiquette won for him the epithet of "Old Fuss and Feathers."