Charles Scott (April 1739 – October 22, 1813) was an American soldier who was elected the fourth

governor of Kentucky in 1808. Orphaned at an early age, Scott served during the French and Indian
War and returned to active military service in 1775 in the American Revolution. In August 1776, he
was promoted to colonel and given command of the 5th Virginia Regiment, serving under George
Washington for the duration of the Philadelphia campaign. In March 1779 Scott was sent
to Charleston, South Carolina, to assist General Benjamin Lincoln in the southern theater, but was
taken as a prisoner of war when Charleston surrendered. After the war he resettled near present-
day Versailles, Kentucky. Following the separation of Kentucky from Virginia in 1792, Scott
commanded the 2nd Division of the Kentucky militia, which fought in the Northwest Indian War. In
his run for governor in 1808, he won a convincing victory over John Allen and Green Clay.