Charles Scott (governor) - Early Life and Family

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. His father, Samuel Scott, was a farmer and member of the Virginia House of Burgesses. His mother, whose name is not known, died most likely around 1745. 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. 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. By June 1756, he had been promoted to sergeant.

Scott served under George Washington in the Braddock Expedition, a failed attempt to capture Fort Duquesne from the French. 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. 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. 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. 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.

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. Over the next several years, Scott and his wife had four boys and four or five girls.