(1848) Bronze Medal J-MI-26, Maj. Gen. Winfield Scott

Coin Details

Auction Record

$780 MS63 06-21-2024 Stack's Bowers

Description

The circa 1848 bronze military medal cataloged as Julian MI-26 honors Major General Winfield Scott for his brilliant campaign from Veracruz to Mexico City during the Mexican-American War of 1846-1848. Scott's amphibious landing at Veracruz, followed by his march inland along the route of Hernan Cortes, culminated in the capture of Mexico City on September 14, 1847 — a campaign that the Duke of Wellington reportedly called "the most brilliant in modern warfare." The obverse features Scott's portrait in military dress. The reverse carries commemorative imagery of the Mexico City campaign. Congress authorized the gold medal to recognize Scott's comprehensive victory, which secured the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo and the vast territorial acquisitions that followed. Scott's campaign demonstrated operational art of the highest order: he cut his own supply lines from Veracruz, lived off the land, defeated larger Mexican forces at Cerro Gordo, Contreras, Churubusco, Molino del Rey, and Chapultepec, and captured an enemy capital defended by a population of 200,000 with fewer than 14,000 troops. This bronze duplicate was produced at the Philadelphia Mint for collector distribution.

Rarity Notes

Bronze duplicates produced in moderate quantities. Scott's fame as the preeminent American general of the mid-nineteenth century sustains strong collector interest.

Cross References

Julian MI-26; PCGS #544968