Born in Ohio, William Forse Scott was 18 years old and living in Fairfield, Iowa, when the Civil War began and he mustered in as a private in Company A, 4th Iowa Cavalry. During the war Scott rose to the rank of sergeant major and then adjutant of the regiment. During Price's 1864 invasion of Missouri, Scott fought in Independence, at the Big Blue River (Byram's Ford), Mine Creek, Little Osage River, and at Charlot's Farm. Scott mustered out of volunteer service on August 10, 1865, having served for the duration of the war in the 4th Iowa Cavalry.
Scott, William F. The Story of a Cavalry Regiment. The Career of the Fourth Iowa Veteran Volunteers from Kansas to Georgia, 1861-1865. New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1893.
Scott, William F. Roster of the Fourth Iowa Cavalry Veteran Volunteers, 1861-1865 : An Appendix to “The Story of a Cavalry Regiment.” New York: J.J. Little, 1902.
Iowa Adjutant General. Roster and Record of Iowa Soldiers in the War of the Rebellion, Vol. IV. Des Moines, IA: Emory H. English, State Printer, 1910.