He was actually a very impressive soldier, although he effected much harm to many of my ancestors. An honor bound, pure soldier and officer, nevertheless. He would have fit into the early Roman Republic had he lost the whiskers.
I remember reading once he was the longest serving General...50 or so years. Amazing. I know Lincoln used him or used him for advice durng the civil war which is incredible. That would be like Kennedy or Johnson using a General born in the 1800s during the Vietnam war (which was yet another war started by Democrats and blamed on Republicans.)