... Lieutenant-General Scott was too infirm to take command of the Army in the field. He was afflicted with dropsy and vertigo; and for four months he had not been able to mount a horse. He chose Brigadier-General Irvin McDowell for that responsible position. That officer was a native of Ohio; a graduate of the Military Academy at West Point; an excellent soldier, who had seen service under General Wool, in Mexico, and wa...