Charles Scott (governor)

Charles Scott (April 1739October 22, 1813) was an American military officer and politician who served as the governor of Kentucky from 1808 to 1812. Orphaned in his teens, Scott enlisted in the Virginia Regiment in October 1755 and served as a scout and escort during the French and Indian War. He quickly rose through the ranks to become a captain. After the war, he married and engaged in agricultural pursuits on land left to him by his father, but he returned to active military service in 1775 as the American Revolution began to grow in intensity. In August 1776, he was promoted to colonel and given command of the 5th Virginia Regiment. The 5th Virginia joined George Washington in New Jersey later that year, serving with him for the duration of the Philadelphia campaign. Scott commanded Washington's light infantry, and by late 1778 was also serving as his chief of intelligence. Furloughed at the end of the Philadelphia campaign, Scott returned to active service in March 1779 and was ordered to South Carolina to assist General Benjamin Lincoln in the southern theater. He arrived in Charleston, South Carolina, just as Henry Clinton had begun his siege of the city. Scott was taken as a prisoner of war when Charleston surrendered. Paroled in March 1781 and exchanged for Lord Rawdon in July 1782, Scott managed to complete a few recruiting assignments before the war ended.

After the war, Scott visited the western frontier in 1785 and began to make preparations for a permanent relocation. He resettled near present-day Versailles, Kentucky, in 1787. Confronted by the dangers of Indian raids, Scott raised a company of volunteers in 1790 and joined Josiah Harmar for an expedition against the Indians. After Harmar's Defeat, President Washington ordered Arthur St. Clair to prepare for an invasion of Indian lands in the Northwest Territory. In the meantime, Scott, by now holding the rank of brigadier general in the Virginia militia, was ordered to conduct a series of preliminary raids. In July 1791, he led the most notable and successful of these raids against the village of Ouiatenon. St. Clair's main invasion, conducted later that year, was a failure. Shortly after the separation of Kentucky from Virginia in 1792, the Kentucky General Assembly commissioned Scott as a major general and gave him command of the 2nd Division of the Kentucky militia. Scott's division cooperated with "Mad" Anthony Wayne's Legion of the United States for the rest of the Northwest Indian War, including their decisive victory at the Battle of Fallen Timbers.

Having previously served in the Virginia House of Delegates and as a presidential elector, the aging Scott now ran for governor. His 1808 campaign was skillfully managed by his step-son-in-law, Jesse Bledsoe, and he won a convincing victory over John Allen and Green Clay. A fall on the icy steps of the governor's mansion early in his term confined Scott to crutches for the rest of his life, and left him heavily reliant on Bledsoe, whom he appointed Secretary of State. Although he frequently clashed with the state legislature over domestic matters, the primary concern of his administration was the increasing tension between the United States and Great Britain that eventually led to the War of 1812. Scott's decision to appoint William Henry Harrison as brevet major general in the Kentucky militia, although probably in violation of the state constitution as Harrison was not a resident of the state, was nonetheless praised by the state's citizens. After his term expired, Scott returned to his Canewood estate. His health declined rapidly, and he died on October 22, 1813. Scott County, Kentucky, and Scott County, Indiana, are named in his honor, as is the city of Scottsville, Kentucky.

Early life and family

Charles Scott was born in 1739, probably in April, in the part of Goochland County, Virginia, that is now Powhatan County.Harrison, p. 803"Charles Scott". ''Dictionary of American Biography'' His father, Samuel Scott, was a farmer and member of the Virginia House of Burgesses.Ward (2004), p. 16 His mother, whose name is not known, died most likely around 1745.Ward (1988), p. 2 Scott had an older brother, John, and three younger siblings, Edward, Joseph, and Martha. He received only a basic education from his parents and in the rural Virginia schools near his home.

Shortly after his father died in 1755, Scott was apprenticed to a carpenter.Ward (1988), p. 3 In late July 1755, a local court was preparing to place him with a guardian, but in October, before the court acted, Scott enlisted in the Virginia Regiment. He was assigned to David Bell's company. During the early part of the French and Indian War, he won praise from his superiors as a frontier scout and woodsman. Most of his fellow soldiers were undisciplined and poorly trained, allowing Scott to stand out and quickly rise to the rank of corporal.Ward (1988), p. 4 By June 1756, he had been promoted to sergeant.

Many biographies state that Scott served under George Washington in the Braddock Expedition, a failed attempt to capture Fort Duquesne from the French. This, however, is unlikely. There is no record of his claiming participation and his enlistment in the Virginia Regiment occurred after the date of the battle. For most of 1756 and the early part of 1757, he divided his time between Fort Cumberland and Fort Washington, conducting scouting and escort missions.Ward (1988), p. 5 In April 1757, David Bell was relieved of his command as part of a general downsizing of Washington's regiment, and Scott was assigned to Captain Robert McKenzie at Fort Pearsall. In August and September, Washington sent Scott and a small scouting party on two reconnaissance missions to Fort Duquesne in preparation for an assault on that fort, but the party learned little on either mission.Ward (1988), p. 6 In November, Scott was part of the Forbes Expedition that captured the fort. He spent the latter part of the year at Fort Loudoun, where Washington promoted him to ensign.

Scott spent most of 1759 conducting escort missions and constructing roads and forts.Ward (1988), p. 7 During this time, Virginia's forces were taken from George Washington and put under the control of Colonel William Byrd. In July 1760, Scott was named the fifth captain of a group of Virginia troops that Byrd led on an expedition against the Cherokee in 1760. Scott's exact role in the campaign is not known. The expedition was a success, and Virginia Governor Francis Fauquier ordered the force disbanded in February 1762; Scott had left the army at some unknown date prior to that.Ward (1988), p. 8

Sometime prior to 1762, Scott's older brother, John, died, leaving Scott to inherit his father's land near the James River and Muddy Creek. Having left the army, he had settled on his inherited farm by late 1761. On February 25, 1762, he married Frances Sweeney from Cumberland County, Virginia. With the help of approximately 10 slaves, Scott engaged in growing tobacco and milling flour on his farm. In July 1766, he was named one of two captains in the local militia.Ward (1988), p. 9 Over the next several years, Scott and his wife had four boys and four or five girls.

Revolutionary War

As the American Revolution intensified in 1775, Scott raised a company of volunteers in Cumberland County. It was the first company formed south of the James River to participate in the Revolution. The company stood ready to aid Patrick Henry in an anticipated clash with Lord Dunmore at Williamsburg, Virginia, in May 1775, but Dunmore abandoned the city in June, and they joined units from the surrounding counties in Williamsburg later that month.Ward (1988), p. 10 In July, the Virginia Convention created two regiments of Virginia troops, one under Patrick Henry and the other under William Woodford.Ward (1988), p. 12 As those leaders departed for Williamsburg, the Conventions acknowledged Scott as temporary commander-in-chief of the volunteers already assembled there. On August 17, 1775, he was elected lieutenant colonel of Woodford's regiment, the 2nd Virginia. His younger brother, Joseph, served as a lieutenant in the regiment. In December, Woodford dispatched Scott and 150 men to Great Bridge, Virginia, to defend a crossing point on the Elizabeth River.Ward (1988), p. 14 Days later, this force played a significant role in the December 9, 1775, Battle of Great Bridge by killing British Captain Charles Fordyce, thereby halting the British advance on the crossing.Ward (1988), p. 15 Following the battle, colonial forces were able to occupy the city of Norfolk, Virginia, and Lord Dunmore eventually departed from Virginia.Ward (1988), p. 17

On February 13, 1776, the 2nd Virginia became a part of the Continental Army; Scott retained his rank of lieutenant colonel during the transition.Ward (1988), p. 19 After spending the winter with part of the 2nd Virginia in Suffolk, Scott was chosen by the Second Continental Congress as colonel of the 5th Virginia Regiment on August 12, 1776; he replaced Colonel William Peachy, who had resigned.Ward (1988), p. 20 The 5th Virginia was stationed in the cities of Hampton and Portsmouth through the end of September. They were then ordered to join George Washington in New Jersey, eventually repairing to the city of Trenton in November.

Serving as part of Adam Stephen's brigade, Scott's 5th Virginia Regiment fought in the colonial victory at the December 26 Battle of Trenton.Ward (2004), p. 17 During the subsequent Battle of the Assunpink Creek on January 2, 1777, the 5th Virginia helped slow the advance of a combined force of British light infantry and Hessian mercenaries toward Trenton. Major George Johnston, a member of the 5th Virginia, opined that Scott had "acquired immortal honor" from his performance at Assunpink Creek.Ward (1988), p. 26 Following these battles, Washington's main force prepared to spend the winter at Morristown, New Jersey

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