William Scott Worth

(1840 - 1904)
Home State: New York
Command Billet: Staff officer
Branch of Service: Infantry
Unit: Army of the Potomac

Before the Antietam Campaign:
He had been running a silver mine in New Mexico since 1859. At the outset of the War he came east to Washington, and was appointed 2nd Lieutenant, 8th US Infantry on 26 Apr 1861, and 1st Lieutenant on 7 June 1861. He was Adjutant from 5 Sept 1861 to 13 Apr 1862. He was on the staff of Brigadier General Henry Hunt (AoP Chief of Artillery) beginning in the Summer of 1862.

The remainder of the War:
Worth had orders to an appointment as ADC to MGen Hooker June 1863 - just as that officer was being relieved of command of he AoP. He was with General Hunt at least through action at Gettysburg, thereafter with General George Meade and the Army of the Potomac through to 1865. He received brevets during the War to Captain (1 Aug 1864) for the ìassault on the enemyís lines before Petersburg and in the operations in the campaign against Richmond, Vaî and Major (9 Apr 1865) for ìgallant and meritorious service during the campaign terminating with the surrender of the insurgent army under gen RE Leeî.

After the War:
After the War he remained in the Army, being promoted to Captain in the 8th Infantry 14 Jan 1866. In 1869 the 8th Infantry was consolidated with the 1st Battalion, 17th US into the 23rd Infantry. He served in the West, from Arizona to Oregon, over the 25 years until his next promotion, to Major in the Second Infantry, on 9 Mar 1891. He was Lieutenant Colonel of the 13th US Infantry (26 Nov 1894) and led the 2nd Brigade, V Corps briefly til wounded on San Juan Hill (1 Jul 1898) [news story, pdf]. He was then appointed Colonel of the 16th Infantry (11 Aug 1898). Concurrently, he held a commission as Brigadier General of Volunteers (12 July 1898 - 30 Oct 1898), then on 29 Oct 1898 he was promoted to Brigadier General, USA. He retired at that rank on 9 Nov 1898.

References, Sources, and other notes:
Worth's famous father William Jenkins Worth had fought in 1812, against the Seminoles, and in Mexico; Ft. Worth, Texas and Lake Worth, Florida were named for him. The younger Worth's birth name was reportedly Winfield Scott Worth, but his father's falling out with the old General in 1848 apparently led him to change it.

Service information above from Heitman1. Additional bio information from his obituary in the New York Times, Monday October 17, 1904, Page 9 [online, pdf]

Place of Birth: Albany, NY
Death Date: 10/16/1904 Death Place: Staten Island, NY

Notes

1 Heitman, Francis Bernard, Historical Register and Dictionary of the United States Army 1789-1903, 2 volumes, Washington DC: US Government Printing Office, 1903, pg. 1061 [AotW citation 864]

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