The sculpture is one of the city's 18 Civil War monuments that were collectively listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.

The bronze statue rests on a granite base that at the time was the largest stone ever quarried in the United States.

Much criticized for its depiction of Scott and the proportions of the horse, it is considered one of the worst equestrian sculptures in the city by authors and historians.

Winfield Scott (1786–1866), nicknamed "Old Fuss and Feathers" and the "Grand Old Man of the Army", served on active duty as general longer than any other American officer.

[6] The artist selected was Henry Kirke Brown (1814–1886), a sculptor from New York whose 1856 equestrian statue of George Washington in Union Square, Manhattan, had been well received by critics.

His other works in Washington, D.C. include Major General Nathanael Greene in Stanton Park and busts of Vice Presidents George Clinton and John C. Breckinridge, poet William Cullen Bryant, Major General Philip Kearny, and Senators Henry Clay and Richard Stockton.

The descendants argued that no other general had been portrayed riding a mare and that a horse with flared nostrils and arched neck would be more suitable.

Brown was annoyed by the requests and only made minimal modifications to the design, resulting in Scott, a tall and heavy man measuring 6.5 ft (2.0 m) and weighing 300 lb (140 kg), riding a small mare with the external genitalia of a stallion.

[10] Historian James M. Goode, author of Outdoor Sculpture of Washington, D.C., cites General Orville E. Babcock of the Corps of Engineers as the architect, while a 1985 report by the National Park Service credits George Edward Harney.

[10][12] Although there was no formal dedication, the park surrounding the site was landscaped with trees and ornamental flowers before the monument was installed.

One reporter said the horse looked like it was "suffering slightly from ringbone lameness and not daring to travel faster than a walk."

Soon after the monument was installed, notable individuals including Secretary of the Treasury William Windom and The Washington Post founder Stilson Hutchins built mansions around the circle.

[6] The statue depicts Scott wearing a field uniform of a lieutenant general, including a hat and long jacket with fringed epaulets and decorative sash.