Alexander Scott (Medal of Honor)

Alexander Scott (Jr)
Born (1844-08-19)August 19, 1844
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Died May 27, 1923(1923-05-27) (aged 78)
Washington, D.C., U.S.
Place of burial Arlington National Cemetery
Allegiance United States of America
Union
Service/branch United States Army
Union Army
Years of service 1862 - 1865
Rank Corporal
Unit Co. D, 10th Vermont Infantry Regiment
Battles/wars American Civil War
Battle of Monocacy
Battle of Cedar Creek
Awards Medal of Honor
Other work Chief, Draughsman's Division, U.S. Patent Office
Scott's headstone at Arlington National Cemetery

Alexander Scott (August 19, 1844 – May 27, 1923) was a soldier in the Union Army during the American Civil War and a recipient of the Medal of Honor for his actions in the Battle of Monocacy, Maryland.

Biography

Alexander Scott was the only son (he had two sisters Margaret and Flora) of Alexander and Mary Ann (Day) Scott. He was born in Montreal in 1844, but his parents moved to Burlington, Vermont when he was six years old. His father enlisted in Co. I, Fifth Regiment Vermont Volunteers and died from wounds at Annapolis, MD on Oct 19, 1862.[1]

Scott entered service with 10th Vermont Infantry Regiment as a private at Winooski, Vermont on August 2, 1862.[2] He was promoted to corporal and was assigned to the color guard.

On October 19, 1864 Scott was severely wounded in the right thigh by a musket ball at Cedar Creek, Virginia. After recovering he rejoined his regiment on the march to Danville, Virginia in April 1865. He returned with his regiment to Burlington, VT and was discharged July 3, 1865. His commanding officer Major Lydon, in recommending him for the Medal of Honor, stated, "during all the above period with the Color Guard, Corporal Scott refused promotion for the honor of remaining in that important and hazardous service".[1]

He first married Hattie Conklin in Flint, Michigan. She died in Washington, D.C. in 1876. He married his second wife Alice V. Skippon on September 4, 1878 in Washington, D.C.[3]

He had two sons, William H. Scott (b. 1869) and Charles A. Scott by his first wife and two children May and Alexander by his second wife. However, in 1916 Alexander Scott wrote "all children dead" on a pension application and [4] in 1923 his widow stated "no children surviving" on her application for a widow's pension.[5]

He died on May 27, 1923 in Washington, D.C. at the age of 78 and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery.[6]

Medal of Honor citation

Rank and Organization:

corporal of Co. D, 10th Vermont Volunteers.

Citation:

"at Monacracy July 9, 1864 this soldier, a corporal in Co. D, 10th Vermont Volunteers and carrying the State Flag while his regiment was withdrawing under very heavy fire of the enemy saw the color sergeant bearing the national colors fall out of line exhausted and drop to the rear which meant inevitable capture. Corporal Scott then nearly overpowered by the heat and fatigue picked up the national flag and carried both colors during the remainder of the action."[7][8]

See also

Notes

  1. 1 2 Haynes, Edward Mortimer (1894). A History of the Tenth Regiment, Vermont Volunteers (2d ed., rev., enl. and embellished by over sixty engravings and ... maps and charts of batterfields ed.). The Tuttle company, printers. pp. 436–437. OCLC 3435378.
  2. ↑ Pension application of Alexander Scott, Bureau of Pensions, Department of the Interior
  3. ↑ Marriage certificate, Washington, D.C.
  4. ↑ Oct 3,1916 pension application of Alexander Scott, Bureau of Pensions, Department of the Interior
  5. ↑ Declaration for Widow's Pension (June 9, 1923) by Alice Virginia Scott - copy available at National Archives and Records Administration
  6. ↑ Interment record of Arlington National Cemetery for SCOTT, Alexander, Plot 17, Grave No. 18563
  7. ↑ "Scott, Alexander Civil War Medal of Honor recipient". American Civil War website. 2008-12-18. Archived from the original on 27 December 2008. Retrieved 2008-12-18.
  8. ↑ Medal of Honor Certificate Issued May 13, 1916, Adjutant General's Office, Department of War, copy available at: National Archives and Records Administration

References

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