Grand Old Man of the Army

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The phrase Grand Old Man of the Army in the United Kingdom refers to General Sir Anthony Blaxland Stransham, GCB, of the Royal Marines, who served the United Kingdom in a series of colonial wars in the 19th century. Twice knighted by Queen Victoria, he was the oldest living Grand Cross of the Bath when he died, and the senior officer in the Army. See: Order of the Bath.

In the United States, the Grand Old Man of the Army refers to General Winfield Scott who was a serving general from the War of 1812 to the American Civil War. He was the longest serving active duty general in American history, military governor of Mexico, and Whig candidate for President in 1852. His war plan for the civil war was the Anaconda Plan.