Sixth plate daguerreotype of Winfield Scott housed in an early leatherette case stamped "M.B. Brady." Believed to be one of the earliest known photographs of Scott, "The Grand Old Man of the Army," taken ca 1844.

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, he was the first man to be given the title of "Lieutenant General" since George Washington.

Provenance: Meserve; Reinhardt Collection; consigned by a private collector.