Charles Scott (governor) - Later Political Career

Later Political Career

In 1795, Scott traveled to Philadelphia to help clarify service records that would determine the final pay of the men who served under him before returning to his farm in Kentucky. He continued to serve, nominally, as major general of the 2nd militia division of the state militia until 1799. Celebrations of Scott's military heroism were held all over Kentucky, sparking his interest in a political career. With the advent of the First Party System, he declared himself a Democratic-Republican, as did most Kentuckians. In 1800, he was chosen as a presidential elector for his district by a vote of 75 to 44 over Caleb Wallace. Scott and his fellow electors all cast their votes for the ticket of Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr.

In 1803, Secretary of War Henry Dearborn appointed Scott and Governor James Garrard to evaluate sites in Kentucky on which to construct a replacement for Fort Washington. Garrard, a central Kentucky native, insisted that the fort should be built at Frankfort. Scott disagreed, contending that the fort should not be in the state's interior and that the hilly terrain around Frankfort was unsuitable for constructing a fort. He waited several days for an appointment with Garrard to try and reach an agreement, but when he was unable to secure one, he asked Dearborn for permission to act alone. Dearborn granted the request and accepted Scott's recommendation of a site in Newport, Kentucky. In 1804, Scott was again chosen a presidential elector with minimal opposition.

Tragedy marred Scott's political rise, however. In 1797, his son Daniel, who had settled in Virginia, died. In late 1799 or early 1800, his last son, Charles, Jr., also died. His daughter Martha married future U.S. Senator George M. Bibb in 1799 and moved to Daviess County. Daughter Mary had married and left the farm prior to Scott's return from military service, and youngest daughter Nancy left the farm near the turn of the 19th century, although she never married. After the death of his wife on October 6, 1804, he moved in with his daughter and son-in-law, John and Mary Postlethwait, in Lexington. He sold his farm in Woodford County in October 1805.

As tensions between the U.S. and Great Britain escalated in the wake of the June 22, 1806, Chesapeake–Leopard Affair, Scott applied to Governor Christopher Greenup to raise a mounted militia unit in anticipation of an outbreak of hostilities. Although Greenup granted the requested authorization, Scott re-married on July 25, 1807, and never assembled the militia unit. His second wife, Judith Cary (Bell) Gist, was the 57-year-old widow of Colonel Nathaniel Gist, who had been a prisoner of war with Scott during the Revolutionary War. After their marriage, they moved to Canewood, Gist's family's plantation in Bourbon and Clark counties.