Alexander Scott was a soldier in the Union Army

Union (American Civil War)

During the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the federal government of the United States, which was supported by the twenty free states and five border slave states. It was opposed by 11 southern slave states that had declared a secession to join together to form the...

 during the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

 and a recipient of the Medal of Honor

Medal of Honor

The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed by the President, in the name of Congress, upon members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her...

 for his actions in the Battle of Monocacy

Battle of Monocacy

The Battle of Monocacy was fought on July 9, 1864, just outside Frederick, Maryland, as part of the Valley Campaigns of 1864, in the American Civil War. Confederate forces under Lt. Gen. Jubal A. Early defeated Union forces under Maj. Gen. Lew Wallace...

, 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

5th Vermont Infantry

The 5th Regiment, Vermont Volunteer Infantry was a three years' infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It served in the Eastern Theater, predominantly in the VI Corps, Army of the Potomac, from September 1861 to June 1865. It was a member of the Vermont Brigade.The...

 and died from wounds at Annapolis, MD on Oct 19, 1862.

Scott entered service with 10th Vermont Infantry Regiment as a private at Winooski, Vermont on August 2, 1862. 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

Battle of Cedar Creek

The Battle of Cedar Creek, or Battle of Belle Grove, October 19, 1864, was one of the final, and most decisive, battles in the Valley Campaigns of 1864 during the American Civil War. The final Confederate invasion of the North, led by Lt. Gen. Jubal A. Early, was effectively ended...

, 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".

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.

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 in 1923 his widow stated "no children surviving" on her application for a widow's pension

Widow's pension

A widow's pension is a payment from the government of a country to a person whose spouse has died.Generally, such payments are made to a widow whose late spouse has satisfied the country's requirements, including contribution, cohabitation, and length of marriage.-United States:In the United...

.

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

Arlington National Cemetery

Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, is a military cemetery in the United States of America, established during the American Civil War on the grounds of Arlington House, formerly the estate of the family of Confederate general Robert E. Lee's wife Mary Anna Lee, a great...

.

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."

See also

• List of Medal of Honor recipients
• List of American Civil War Medal of Honor recipients: M–P