Established March 5, 1853, this county was named in honor of Gen. Winfield Scott, who was commander in chief of the U.S. Army from 1841 to 1861. He was born near Petersburg, Va., June 13, 1786, and died at West Point, N.Y., May 29, 1866; entered the army as a captain in 1808; served with distinction in the War of 1812 and was made a brigadier general and brevet major general in 1814; was chief commander in the Mexican War, 1847; and was an unsuccessful Whig candidate for president in 1852. General Scott visited Fort St. Anthony in the spring of 1824 for inspection of its construction, then completed, and on his recommendation its name was changed to Fort Snelling by a general order of the war department, January 7, 1825.