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George Washington Scott was born in Alexandria, Pennsylvania, on February 22, 1829, and moved to Quincy, Florida, in 1851. In 1852, Scott moved to Tallahassee and established a mercantile exchange and a labor farm.
In 1860, Scott enlisted in the Tallahassee Guards, a Leon County militia organization. Upon the formation of the Confederacy, he was appointed captain of Company D, Second Florida Cavalry. Scott organized and was elected lieutenant-colonel of the Fifth Florida Cavalry Battalion in 1863; this unit served throughout middle and east Florida. Scott's unit participated in the Battle of Olustee and in the Battle of Natural Bridge. Scott's unit surrendered at Natural Bridge and was paroled at Tallahassee in May 1865.
Returning to his civilian career following the war, Scott briefly entered politics. In 1868, during the Reconstruction Era, he unsuccessfully ran for Florida Governor on the Democratic ticket. He became involved in real estate, cotton manufacturing, and the phosphate industry. In addition, he was a founder of Agnes Scott College in Atlanta, Georgia, which is named after his mother. Scott died on October 3, 1903, in Atlanta.
Summary:
The collection documents the personal and professional life of George Washington Scott, with a focus on the Civil War period. It contains personal and official military correspondence, Civil War reports and hand-drawn maps, a partial muster roll of the Fifth Florida Cavalry, an account of the Battle of Natural Bridge by General William Miller, and other related items. There are also newspaper clippings, genealogical information, and a typescript copy of his diary from 1850 to 1851. The Civil War maps, hand-drawn by Scott, are also available as photographic prints.
Also included in this collection are three receipts for the sale of enslaved Black persons in Tallahassee:
1. Majer, Moses, Milton, Gale, Lina, and Ellen and her two children, dated October 17, 1862, from Hannah T. Craig to Scott.
2. Jenta, a 27- or 28-year-old Black woman, and her daughter Nancy, approximately age 5, dated December 30, 1862, from Thomas Baniare to Scott.
3. Ann, dated April 6, 1863, from P.R. Baum to Scott.
Finding Aids:
Folder listing available. 0
Additional Physical Form:
Reproduction Note:
Photocopies.
Location of Originals/Duplicates:
In possession of donor.
Associated Materials:
Language Notes:
Ownership/Custodial History:
Publication Note:
General Note:
Electronic Records Access:
Subject Access Fields:
Scott family.
Confederate States of America. Army. --Florida Cavalry Regiment, 2nd. Confederate States of America. Army. --Tallahassee Guards. Agnes Scott College. Confederate States of America. Army. --Florida Cavalry Battalion, 5th.
Civil War (Fla.) Natural Bridge (Fla.), Battle of, 1865. Olustee (Fla.), Battle of, 1864. Slavery Florida
Military maps. aat Diaries. aat
Florida History Civil War, 1861-1865
for detailed listing.