Duty, Courage & Daring

Alfred M. Scales was born on November 26, 1827, in eastern Rockingham County. After attending Caldwell Institute in Greensboro and the University of North Carolina, he read law under Judge William H. Battle, then settled in Madison and opened his practice in this building in 1855. He also was active in politics, serving as U.S. Congressman in 1857-1859. He moved to the county seat, Wentworth, after leaving office.

At the outbreak of the Civil War, Scales raised Company H, 13th North Carolina Infantry, and was elected captain. In October 1861, he was promoted to colonel and commanded the regiment effectively at Yorktown and Williamsburg during the Peninsula Campaign and the Seven Days' Battles near Richmond, Virginia, in May-June 1862. At the Battle of Fredericksburg in December, his leadership on the Confederate right flank earned him a temporary brigade command. While leading a charge at Chancellorsville in May 1863, he was wounded in the thigh; six weeks later, he was promoted to brigadier general. His commander held up Scales and his unit as "models in duty, courage, and daring." He led his brigade in a charge at Seminary Ridge at Gettysburg on July 1 and was wounded again in his leg. His command suffered severe casualties from Union artillery fire. Scales recovered from his wounds in time to lead his brigade during the Wilderness and Petersburg campaigns in Virginia in May - June 1864. From early 1865 until the end of the war, he was on medical furlough.

Afterward, Scales resumed his law practice in Wentworth, then in 1873 moved to Greensboro and became a banker as well. He occupied his old seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, 1875 - 1884, served as governor of North Carolina, 1884 - 1889, and died in Greensboro on February 9, 1892. His law office was moved here in 1980 and restored soon thereafter.

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Show me all markers in:  Madison, NC  |  Rockingham County  |  27025  |  North Carolina  |  United States of America

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