Martin Scott (military officer)

Brevet Lieutenant Colonel Martin Scott (January 18, 1788, Bennington, Vermont – September 8, 1847, Mexico City, Mexico) was a career officer in the United States Army who was a signatory to the Treaty of St. Peters in 1837.

Early life

Martin Scott was born in Bennington, Vermont on January 18, 1788. He was the son of Phineas Scott - one of the early settlers of Bennington. He was also a member of the Bennington organization the Sons of Liberty along with other local notables such as Hiram Harwood.[1][2]

He had a common school education and legendary skill as a marksman. He was known to drive nails with bullets and prided himself on being able to kill animals with shots to the head rather than to the body. He was barred from participating in turkey shoots (as his skill with a rifle gave him an unfair advantage) and was known to brag that once a raccoon surrendered to him in preference to being shot.[3]

Military career

During the War of 1812, he was commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant in the 26th Infantry in April 1814. The next month he was promoted to 1st lieutenant. Soon after the war's conclusion, he was discharged in June 1815.[4]

In June 1818, he re-entered the Army as a 2nd lieutenant in the Regiment of Riflemen. He was promoted to 1st lieutenant in November 1819 and was transferred to the 5th Infantry in June 1821.

He was promoted to captain in August 1828 and represented the U.S. Army at the signing of the Treaty of St. Peters between the United States and the Ojibwa tribes. The treaty ceded land in Minnesota and Wisconsin.

When Scott was in command of Fort Mackinac in Michigan, he was described by an acquaintance said that he “was an interesting man, with strong, alert, athletic figure, bright, eager, keen grey eyes, and ruddy face, bronzed by long exposure. He was a great disciplinarian, and the fort was clean and orderly in the extreme.” [5]

Scott was unpopular with his fellow officers as he was perceived as being stingy (although Martin's frugality resulted from his spending most of his money to support his mother and sister back in Vermont). He was also viewed as being anti-social as he did not drink nor gamble. He once fought a duel in which both parties were wounded but survived.[5]

In 1840, he married Miss McCracken of Rochester, New York.[3]

Mexican-American War

Scott saw active service during the Mexican-American war. In May 1846, he fought under Major General Zachary Taylor at the battles of Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma and received a brevet (honorary promotion) to major. He was promoted to the full rank of major on June 29, 1846.[4]

He also received a brevet to the rank of lieutenant colonel for heroism at the Battle of Monterey on September 23, 1846. He was killed in action at the Battle of Molina del Rey on September 8, 1847.[4]

He is buried in the Old Bennington Cemetery at the First Congregational Church of Bennington in Old Bennington, Vermont, where his grave is marked with a marble obelisk.[6]

Legacy

In December 1848, the Army established an outpost near Fredericksburg, Texas which was later named Fort Martin Scott. The fort was active until 1853 and is now a tourist attraction.[7]

Scott's name is engraved on a plaque in the Texas state Capitol along with other officers of the U.S. Army who fell during the Mexican War.

From his days stationed at Fort Crawford, it is said that he named the Bloody Run Creek, which flows into the Mississippi River from the west, directly across from Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. According to James Henry Lockwood, then-justice of the peace at Prairie du Chien, then-Lieutenant Scott named the creek for his frequent successful hunting trips.[8]

References
  1. "Sons of Liberty Minutes". Bennington museum. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
  2. Shalhope, Robert (2003). A Tale of New England. Baltimore: Johns hopkins University Press. pp. 92–96. ISBN 0-8018-7127-1.
  3. Lynn Tooley. "Biography of Colonel Martin Scott". ancestry.com.
  4. Historical Register and Dictionary of the United States Army, 1789-1903. Francis B. Heitman. 1903. Vol. 1. pg. 869.
  5. "Martin Scott the Man". Fort Martin Scott.
  6. "LTC Martin Scott (1788-1847) - Find A Grave..." www.findagrave.com.
  7. "The Official Web Site of Fort Martin Scott". Fort Martin Scott.
  8. Lockwood, James Henry (1903). Draper, Lyman Copeland (ed.). "Early Times and Events in Wisconsin". Collections of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin. Vol. II. Madison, Wisconsin: Wisconsin Historical Society. pp. 118–119. Retrieved December 30, 2020.
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