Editing Winfield Scott (section)

===War of 1812===
[[File:Major Genl. Winfield Scott - Wood pinxt. ; Edwin sc. LCCN2012645312 (cropped).tif|thumb|200px|Print of Major General Scott by [[David Edwin]], 1814<ref>{{cite web |title=Major Genl. Winfield Scott / Wood pinxt. ; Edwin sc. |url=https://www.loc.gov/item/2012645312/ |website=Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.}}</ref>]]
[[File:Anglo American War 1812 Locations map-en.svg|thumb|325px|Map showing the northern theater of the [[War of 1812]]]]
{{Further|Presidency of James Madison}}
[[File:Chippewa.jpg|thumb|325px|[[Battle of Chippawa]]]]

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 in the United States|Native Americans]] who were resisting U.S. colonization in the [[Northwest Territory]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.history.com/topics/war-of-1812/war-of-1812 |title=War of 1812 |date=October 27, 2009 |website=History.com |publisher=A&E Television Networks |location=New York |access-date=July 4, 2021}}</ref> In July 1812, the U.S. Congress [[Declaration of war by the United States|declared war]] on Britain.{{sfn|Eisenhower|1999|pp=23–25}} After the declaration of war, Scott was promoted to the rank of [[Lieutenant colonel (United States)|lieutenant colonel]] and assigned as second-in-command of the 2nd Artillery Regiment, serving under [[George Izard]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/winfield-scott-war-1812 |title=Winfield Scott in the War of 1812 |website=Battlefields.org |date=July 17, 2020 |publisher=American Battlefield Trust |location=Washington, DC |access-date=July 4, 2021}}</ref> While Izard continued to lead recruitment efforts, Scott led two companies north to join General [[Stephen Van Rensselaer]]'s militia force, which was preparing for an invasion of [[the Canadas]].{{sfn|Eisenhower|1999|pp=27–28}} 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 (village), New York|Lewiston, New York]].{{sfn|Eisenhower|1999|pp=30–31}}

In October 1812, Van Rensselaer's force attacked 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.{{sfn|Eisenhower|1999|pp=37–39}} 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 the British after reinforcements from the militia failed to materialize.{{sfn|Eisenhower|1999|pp=39–41}} As a [[prisoner of war]], Scott was treated hospitably by the British, although two [[Mohawk people|Mohawk]] leaders nearly killed him while he was in British custody.{{sfn|Eisenhower|1999|pp=42–43}} As part of a prisoner exchange, Scott was released in late November; upon his return to the United States, he was promoted to [[Colonel (United States)|colonel]] and appointed to command the 2nd Artillery Regiment. He also became 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.{{sfn|Eisenhower|1999|pp=46, 51–54}}

Dearborn assigned Scott to lead [[Battle of Fort George|an attack]] against [[Fort George, Ontario|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 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.{{sfn|Eisenhower|1999|pp=55–59}} 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 the front in August) and Hampton failed to cooperate on a strategy to take Montreal.{{sfn|Eisenhower|1999|pp=66–71}} With the failure of the campaign, President Madison and Secretary of War [[John Armstrong Jr.]] relieved Wilkinson{{efn|Wilkinson was exonerated in a subsequent court-martial but was honorably discharged from the U.S. Army. He later published an autobiography that was strongly critical of Scott. In 1854, a French historian conclusively proved that Wilkinson had been an agent of the Spanish government while serving as governor of the Louisiana Territory.{{sfn|Eisenhower|1999|p=111}}}} and some other senior officers of their battlefield commands. They were replaced with younger officers such as Scott, Izard, and [[Jacob Brown (general)|Jacob Brown]]. In early 1814, Scott was promoted to [[Brigadier general (United States)|brigadier general]]{{efn|Scott became the youngest general officer in the army at the time of his promotion.{{sfn|Eisenhower|1999|p=76}}}} and was assigned to lead a regiment under Brown.{{sfn|Eisenhower|1999|pp=72–76}}

In mid-1814, Scott took part in another invasion of Canada, which began with a crossing of the Niagara River under Brown's command.{{sfn|Eisenhower|1999|pp=78–80}} Scott was instrumental in the American success at the [[Battle of Chippawa]], which took place on July 5, 1814.{{sfn|Feltoe|2013|p=127}} Though the battle was regarded as inconclusive from the strategic point of view because the British force remained intact after the battle,{{sfn|Peskin|2003|p=46}} it was seen as a significant moral victory. The battle was "the first real success attained by American troops against British regulars."{{sfn|Eisenhower|1999|p=85}}

[[File:General Winfield Scott.jpg|thumb|Bust of Scott by [[William Rush (sculptor)|William Rush]], c. 1814]]

Later, in July 1814, a scouting expedition led by Scott was ambushed, beginning the [[Battle of Lundy's Lane]].{{sfn|Eisenhower|1999|pp=88–90}} Scott's brigade was decimated after British troops led by General [[Gordon Drummond]] arrived as reinforcements, and he was placed in the reserve in the second phase of the battle. Scott was later severely wounded while seeking a place to commit his reserve forces.{{sfn|Eisenhower|1999|pp=90–93}} 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.<ref>{{cite book |last=Berton |first=Pierre |date=1988 |title=Flames Across the Border, 1813–1814 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sDqeAhVO9zcC&q=%22Scott%27s+badly+mauled+force+is+the+only+reserve+he+has%22 |location=London |publisher=Penguin Books |page=429 |isbn=978-0-1401-0888-0 |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref> The battle ended inconclusively after Brown ordered his army to withdraw, effectively bringing an end to the invasion.{{sfn|Eisenhower|1999|pp=93–94}} Scott spent the following months convalescing under the supervision of military doctors and physician [[Philip Syng Physick]].{{sfn|Eisenhower|1999|pp=96–98}}

Scott's performance at the Battle of Chippawa had earned him national recognition. He was promoted to the [[Brevet (military)|brevet]] rank of [[major general (United States)|major general]] and awarded a [[Congressional Gold Medal]].{{sfn|Eisenhower|1999|pp=96–98}}{{efn|Scott was awarded a second Congressional Gold Medal for his service during the [[Mexican–American War]].<ref name="Ztyxh" />}} In October 1814, Scott was appointed commander of American forces in Maryland and northern Virginia, taking command in the aftermath of the [[Burning of Washington]].{{sfn|Eisenhower|1999|pp=98–100}} 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.{{sfn|Eisenhower|1999|pp=103–105}}

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.<ref>{{cite book |last=Thomas |first=William Sturgis |date=1929 |title=Members of the Society of the Cincinnati: Original, Hereditary and Honorary |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=wu.89062859970&view=2up&seq=144&q1=winfield |location=New York |publisher=Tobias A. Wright, Inc. |page=132 |via=[[HathiTrust]]}}</ref> Scott's Society of the Cincinnati insignia, made by silversmiths Thomas Fletcher and Sidney Gardiner of [[Philadelphia]], 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.<ref name="Myers">{{cite book |last=Myers |first=Minor Jr. |date=1998 |title=The Insignia of the Society of the Cincinnati |url=https://openlibrary.org/books/OL471111M/The_insignia_of_the_Society_of_the_Cincinnati |location=Washington, DC |publisher=Society of the Cincinnati |page=64 |ol=471111M |asin=B0006FCN3Q |via=[[Open Library]]}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Myers"/>