Julian A. Scott

The Teenage Drummer Who Risked His Life to Save the Wounded

A teenage drummer braved deadly enemy fire to rescue wounded soldiers. Julian A. Scott was a United States Army soldier, Medal of Honor recipient, and accomplished American artist whose life connected the military history of the Civil War with the artistic preservation of its events. Serving as a drummer in Company E of the 3rd Vermont Volunteer Infantry, he earned the Medal of Honor for repeatedly crossing a creek under Confederate musket fire to assist wounded Union soldiers at Lee's Mill, Virginia, on April 16, 1862.

Scott was born on February 15, 1846, in Johnson, Vermont, the fourth of eight children. He developed an interest in drawing and painting during his youth and attended Lamoille Academy. His early artistic activities included painting signs for his father's business.

On June 1, 1861, shortly after the outbreak of the American Civil War, Scott enlisted in the 3rd Vermont Infantry at the age of fifteen. His military records identify him as a drummer in Company E, although historical accounts also describe his service as a fifer. Military musicians performed essential duties within infantry regiments, and Scott's subsequent actions demonstrated that his responsibilities extended beyond music during battle.

In the spring of 1862, the 3rd Vermont Infantry participated in the Peninsula Campaign under Major General George B. McClellan. Union troops advanced toward Richmond, Virginia, but encountered fortified Confederate defenses along the Warwick River during operations associated with the Siege of Yorktown.

On April 16, 1862, Union forces attacked Confederate positions near Lee's Mill. The operation involved difficult crossings of waterways overlooked by Confederate fortifications. As Union soldiers attempted to advance, they encountered intense musket fire. The assault failed to break the Confederate defenses, leaving wounded soldiers exposed near the creek and along the contested approaches.

Scott, then sixteen years old, repeatedly entered the dangerous area to assist wounded soldiers. Although enemy musket fire continued across the creek, he crossed the water several times to help bring injured men away from the fighting.

His actions were later formally described in the Medal of Honor citation, which recognized him for crossing the creek repeatedly under heavy musketry to assist in removing the wounded. The citation documents his individual conduct without assigning him an unsupported number of rescues.

Scott's actions attracted the attention of senior officers. Lieutenant Colonel Wheelock G. Veazey of the 3rd Vermont Infantry documented his conduct and recommended him for recognition.

Scott continued his military service after Lee's Mill. During the Battle of White Oak Swamp in June 1862, he suffered a wound that contributed to the end of his active military career. He subsequently underwent treatment and recovery, during which he continued drawing and developing his artistic abilities.

His sketches attracted the attention of Henry E. Clark, a benefactor who supported his artistic education. Scott received an honorable discharge from the United States Army on April 28, 1863.

Following his discharge, he pursued formal artistic training. By November 1863, he was studying at the National Academy of Design in New York City. In May 1864, he obtained permission to return to the war zone as an artist, allowing him to sketch military subjects after his period of active service had ended.

In February 1865, Scott received the Medal of Honor for his actions at Lee's Mill nearly three years earlier. The decoration recognized the courage he had demonstrated as a teenage military musician while assisting wounded soldiers under enemy fire.

After the Civil War, Scott continued his artistic education and traveled in Europe. He studied under the German-American historical painter Emanuel Leutze, whose work influenced nineteenth-century American historical painting.

Scott established himself as a painter of military and historical subjects. His work frequently depicted ordinary soldiers, wounded men, and the human consequences of armed conflict rather than concentrating exclusively on commanding officers.

In 1870, the Vermont Legislature commissioned Scott to produce a large painting commemorating the service of Vermont soldiers during the Civil War. The resulting work, The First Vermont Brigade at the Battle of Cedar Creek, became one of his most significant achievements. The painting, dated 1874 in the Vermont State Art Collection, depicts Vermont soldiers during the Battle of Cedar Creek in October 1864 and is preserved at the Vermont State House.

Another notable work, Surrender of a Confederate Soldier, completed in 1873, portrays a Confederate soldier with members of his household at the moment of surrender. The painting later entered the collection of the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

Scott's professional activities extended beyond Civil War subjects. In 1890, he was appointed a special agent for the Eleventh United States Census and traveled through Indian Territory, New Mexico, and Arizona. His responsibilities included recording information about Native American communities and producing visual documentation for the census.

During these assignments, Scott used a Kodak camera to photograph people, settlements, and landscapes. A surviving collection of 170 photographic prints made during his 1890–1891 census work is preserved by Princeton University Library, providing direct evidence of his activities as both an artist and photographer.

In his later years, Scott lived in Plainfield, New Jersey, while continuing his artistic career. He died there on July 4, 1901, at the age of fifty-five and was buried in Hillside Cemetery in Scotch Plains, New Jersey.

Julian A. Scott's documented achievements span two distinct fields. His Medal of Honor preserves the record of his actions as a sixteen-year-old drummer who repeatedly endangered himself to assist wounded soldiers at Lee's Mill. His paintings and photographs form a separate historical legacy, documenting military subjects and aspects of American life during the latter half of the nineteenth century.