John Morehead Scott

John Morehead Scott was a sergeant in the United States Army who was awarded the Medal of Honor for gallantry during the American Civil War. Scott was awarded the medal posthumously on 27 April 1865 for actions performed during the Great Locomotive Chase on 12 April 1862.

Personal life

Scott was born in Stark County, Ohio, on 1 January 1839 to parents Thomas B. Scott and Elizabeth Moorehead Scott, one of six children. He married Rachel M. Davis Waggoner in 1861. Following the Great Locomotive Chase, Scott was hanged along with 7 others in Atlanta, Georgia and was buried in Marietta National Cemetery. He was later reburied in Chattanooga National Cemetery.

Military service

Scott enlisted in the Army as a sergeant on 6 September 1861 at Findlay, Ohio. He was mustered into Company F of the 21st Ohio Infantry on 19 September 1861. He was one of seven men executed by the Confederates for espionage. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor on August 4, 1866.
Scott's Medal of Honor citation reads: