American Historical Ephemera & Photography

One page, 7 3/4 x 9 7/8 in., creased throughout, with significant staining, some chipping to edges. Docketed verso. 

In this letter addressed to "Lt Col J. J. Abercrombie & others, Committee &c &c.," Scott acknowledges an invitation "to act for the time as President, of a proposed association of officers of the Mexican War." This association would become the short-lived "Montezuma Society." Scott then admits that he feels touched by the offer, but is unable to accept due to "the existence of a long settled, if not general, feeling of vigilant jealousy" prevalent in the country "against permanent societies of this character, which, I incline to believe, would, whether well or ill-founded, exclude from the association a large number of those who ought to compose it." He goes even further, writing, "I would not myself wish to aid in initiating a society which so many, included in its scheme, would be withheld, I fear, from joining by a deference for public opinion." 

He concludes, however, that he will be always be present in heart, if not in person, at any voluntary and occasional reunion of officers, soldiers, or citizens, to celebrate the days they served. 

[With:] 4 x 5 1/4 in. engraving on 5 5/8 x 8 5/8 in. sheet, featuring Scott as a lieutenant general by A.B. Hall (some toning from corner mounts). [New York]: D. Appleton & Co. Facsimile signature beneath image. 

Winfield Scott (1786-1866) is regarded as one of the most important military figures in early American History. He served prominent roles in the War of 1812, Black Hawk War, Mexican War, and the early parts of the Civil War. Scott proposed the "Anaconda Plan" that would allow Union troops to reclaim the Confederacy by using naval and army forces to surround the South. In 1852, he won the presidential nomination for the Whig Party, though he ultimately lost to Democrat Franklin Pierce. In 1855, the same year as this letter was written, Congress passed a resolution breveting Scott a lieutenant general, making him the first man to hold that rank since George Washington.