Only two Americans have been generals in three different wars.
Not for nothing was Winfield Scott known as the Grand Old Man of the Army. He spent more than half a century in the U.S. military, and was so committed to proper decorum that he also earned the nickname “Old Fuss and Feathers.” Along with Douglas MacArthur after him, he holds the distinction of being a U.S. general in three different wars. Scott’s tenure included the War of 1812, the Mexican-American War, and the Civil War, while MacArthur served in World War I, World War II, and the Korean War.
Scott was in his 70s by the time the Civil War broke out, but still served as the commanding general for the Union Army during the first seven months of the conflict; he also clashed with Abraham Lincoln on several issues, including the overall strategy for the war. Old Fuss and Feathers later sent a copy of his memoirs to Ulysses S. Grant with the inscription, “From the oldest to the greatest general.” Eighty years later, on December 18, 1944, MacArthur achieved the five-star rank of General of the Army — a title only four others, including Dwight D. Eisenhower, have held.
