Allen was the eighth of thirteen children born to Jesse and Hanna (Tallman) Scott. All children were born in New York, but most moved to Iowa in the 1850s and settled on a farm about two miles north of Manchester in an area known as Delaware Center.

      On April 12, 1861, Confederate guns fired on Fort Sumter. War followed. Major battles were fought and a war that few anticipated quickly escalated. In 1862 the government called for 300,000 volunteers and, on July 9th, Governor Samuel Kirkwood received a telegram indicating Iowa had been given a quota of five regiments. Soon thereafter, three of Scott brothers enlisted in what would be Company H of the state’s 21st Infantry - Allen and Cornelius on July 21st and Aristides on the 26th. A fourth brother, Demosthenes, was too young at the time, but joined them as a new recruit in 1864. Another brother, John Scott, had stayed in New York, served in the 121st New York Infantry and moved to Iowa after the war.

      Allen was born on May 6, 1839, and was twenty-three years old (although his age was listed as eighteen) when he was enrolled at Manchester by local merchant James Watson. At 5' 8", Allen was of average height and was described as having dark hair, a dark complexion and black eyes. On August 13th they were ordered into quarters at Dubuque’s Camp Franklin and, on August 23rd, were mustered in as company with a total complement of ninety-three men. Infantry regiments were composed of ten companies plus staff officers. When all ten companies were of sufficient strength they were mustered in as a regiment on September 9, 1862.

      On September 16th men marched through town, crowded on board the Henry Clay and two barges tied alongside, and started south. Due to low water at Montrose, they were forced to debark, take a train to Keokuk and then board the Hawkeye State for the balance of their journey to St. Louis. Bimonthly company muster rolls reflected the presence or absence of the soldier as of the last day of the period. Allen Scott was one of the relatively few men in the regiment who were reported “present” on every muster roll from enrollment to discharge with no “remarks” indicating any furloughs, detached duty, illness, wounds, hospitalizations or stoppages on pay (e.g. for transportation or for a lost canteen, mosquito bar or other equipment).

      During the 1863 Vicksburg Campaign, Allen was present for all of the regiment’s battles and assaults. He participated in the May 1st Battle of Port Gibson and was present during the May 16th Battle of Champion’s Hill when the regiment was held in reserve by General John McClernand. He then participated in the May 17th assault at the Big Black River, the May 22nd assault at Vicksburg, the siege of Vicksburg that ended on July 4th, and a subsequent expedition to and siege of Jackson. During that time, from May 1st through July 21st, the regiment’s rolls reflected 32 men killed in action, another 34 with wounds that proved fatal and more than 100 who suffered non-fatal wounds. Another 36 men died from illness (e.g. chronic diarrhea, typhoid fever, sunstroke, tuberculosis).

      After returning from Jackson to Vicksburg, the regiment was allowed to rest and recuperate for three weeks before boarding the Baltic, going downstream, and camping at Carrollton, Louisiana. They served in southwestern Louisiana until November 23, 1863, when they left New Orleans, traveled across the Gulf of Mexico and went ashore in Texas where they had little to do.  There were no military engagements, although two died from illness and five were captured while scouting near Green Lake. Early fascination with saltwater and sea shells gave way to boredom as, in the words of Colonel Sam Merrill, they were nothing more than "guardians of the sacred drifting sands of Texas.”

      The regiment returned to Louisiana the following June and saw subsequent service in Louisiana, Arkansas and Tennessee. On September 11, 1864, they were in St. Charles, Arkansas, when Company H was ordered to perform fatigue duty, a chore that often involved heavy labor and was universally disliked. Allen was ordered by his commanding officer, Captain James Noble, “to fall into the ranks, utterly refused so to do and openly declared that he would not fall in.” In a court martial proceeding he pled guilty to disobeying orders and was sentenced “to be confined at hard labor for the period of thirty days” but the court, “in view of the fact that this man had only been a few moments relieved from a tour of guard duty lasting 24 hours and believed himself to be the victim of injustice” appealed to the reviewing officer for mercy. The officer remitted the sentence and “ordered that Private Allen Scott be released from arrest and restored to duty.”

      Their final campaign of the war was in the spring of 1865. An 1864 a bombardment by Admiral Farragut had silenced the guns on two forts guarding the entrance to Mobile Bay, but the city itself was still in Confederate hands. The Scott brothers were with their regiment as part of a large army that moved slowly north along the east side of the bay, drove Confederates out of Spanish Fort and Fort Blakely, and entered the city on the 12th of April, four years to the day from when Confederate guns had fired on Fort Sumter. The soldiers camped at Spring Hill until May 26th when they started a return to New Orleans.

      After brief service in southwestern Louisiana, they were ordered to Baton Rouge where muster rolls were updated. On July 15th they were mustered out of the service and on the 16th they boarded the Lady Gay and started upstream. At Cairo, they debarked and then traveled by rail to Clinton where, on the 24th, they were discharged from the military and free to return to their homes.

      Aristides, Cornelius and John lived in Delaware County after the war while Demosthenes moved to Ohio. Charlotte Scott, their older sister, also stayed in Delaware County where she married George Acers and had a daughter named Attie. Attie married James Noble, the same man who had accused Allen of disobedience during the war. By virtue of the marriage, Captain James Noble became the nephew-in-law of Private Allen Scott.

      Allen left the area about 1870 and, according to a descendant, was not heard from again. He was living in Kansas when he married Anna (Peterson) Vanhorn whose first husband had died in 1873. Allen had no children but Anna, according to a woman who had been a little girl while living next to the Scotts in Burrton, Kansas, reportedly had a daughter who lived “back east.” “We always called them ‘Uncle Scott’ and Auntie Scott,” the woman said in a letter written in 1980. Allen engaged in farming, worked for a railroad, had a “railroader’s watch” and “always seemed to have ready cash.” He also “had one of the few cars in the neighborhood,” a car with three doors, none on the driver’s side. “I wish to say he was a wonderful man and friend. He was liked by every one.”

      Allen’s good health followed him during his postwar years. When the war ended, invalid pensions for veterans had to be based on an illness, wound or injury incurred in the line of duty. Allen didn’t qualify but, in 1890, the law changed. Veterans who had served at least ninety days, received an honorable discharge and had permanent disabilities (not due to “vicious habits”) that prevented or limited their ability to do manual labor were eligible. By then, Allan had rheumatism and heart trouble and a $6.00 monthly pension, payable quarterly, was granted.

      On September 29, 1913, Allen was near Dodge City when, “in getting out of wagon, he placed his foot on the hub and it slipped off and his leg striking the hub was broken and was broken a second time upon striking the ground.” In November, listing his profession as “railroad engineer” and referencing his recent injury, he applied for a pension increase that was approved five months later at a rate of $8.00. When age-based pensions were approved he applied and, by 1925, the same year his wife died, was approved for $72.00 monthly.

      On May 5, 1938, The Burrton Graphic advertised corn syrup at $.27 for five pounds, Vanilla Wafers at $.15 per pound, bacon at $.25 per pound and six pounds of bananas for $.25 and announced that “‘Uncle’ Charlie Will Be 99 Friday.” Allen, also known as “Nick, the Dead-Shot,” had been “a good hunter, fisherman and trapper, killing 700 buffalo in the year of ‘73.” As an engineer, he “had the unique experience of running the first engine through Burrton.” He had retired in 1897, worked as a handyman, “operated a threshing machine until he was 85" and drove his car, a Model T Ford, until 1936. He had gone to school only three weeks in his life, but was taught to read and write by his mother and had no formula for longevity “unless it is the fact that he has slept out of doors almost half of his life and has led a general rough and tumble existence.”

      On the 6th he celebrated his birthday and on the 7th he died. Allen was buried in Burrton Cemetery with full military honors.