Winfield Scott (1786-1866)

Winfield Scott, one of America's early military heroes, was born nearby. He attended the College of William and Mary and in 1807 received a U.S. Army commission. During the War of 1812, wounded twice, he was promoted to brigadier general. Scott became Army general in chief in 1841. He commanded the amphibious force that captured Mexico City in 1848, ending the Mexican-American War. Scott remained loyal during the Civil War, and his Anaconda Plan—blockading the Southern coast and severing the Confederacy in the West—presaged eventual Union victory. Scott retired in Nov. 1861 and died at West Point, N.Y.