Charles Scott began his career as a carpenter before enlisting in the Virginia Regiment during the French and Indian War. He demonstrated leadership by rising to the rank of sergeant and later captain. Post-war, he inherited land and married, settling on his inherited farm. During the Revolutionary War, Scott raised a company of volunteers and played significant roles in several key battles, eventually becoming a colonel in the Continental Army. After the war, he surveyed lands for soldiers and settled in Kentucky, where he engaged in land sales and founded an educational society. Scott's political career included serving in the Virginia House of Delegates and the General Assembly, and he participated in the Northwest Indian War as a brigadier general in the Virginia militia.

Charles Scott's military experience and strategic thinking deeply influence his political ideology, which is marked by a blend of localism and federal collaboration. His advocacy for joint federal and local militia operations against Indian threats reveals a calculated approach to regional security. Scott's support for Fort Washington in Newport over Frankfort highlights a preference for strategic placement over political convenience. His economic policies reflect a pragmatic, localized approach to addressing regional challenges, focusing on personal and communal development. Despite his Democratic-Republican affiliation, Scott's use of forced labor on his farm presents an ideological tension worth exploring.