Scope and Content Note
The papers of Charles Lewis Scott (1883-1954) consist of correspondence, memoranda, reports, orders, speeches and articles, photographs, and other papers spanning Scott’s military service from 1940 to 1945. The focus of the collection is on his role as a military tactician and the development and employment of mechanized armored units in World War II.
A graduate of the United States Military Academy in 1905, Scott’s early career as an army officer was in the cavalry. He became a noted horseman and was the manager of the 1931 United States Olympic equestrian team. Turning to mechanized cavalry, Scott was a pioneer in the development and use of armor in war. In 1940 he organized the 2nd Armored Division (“Hell on Wheels”) of the United States Army, which he commanded at its formation in Fort Benning, Georgia, with George S. Patton in charge of training. The 2nd Armored Division served with the First, Seventh, and Ninth Armies. Scott was an observer in the North African campaigns in World War II, and in 1942 he took command of the Armored Replacement Training Center (ARTC) at Fort Knox, Kentucky.