At the outbreak of the American Civil War, Scofield volunteered for service in the Union Army and was enrolled as a private in Company K of the 11th Pennsylvania Reserve Regiment.

[2] He was promoted to corporal and then sergeant, and, on April 15, 1863, after the Battle of South Mountain, he was commissioned as first lieutenant.

[2] He entered politics when he was elected to the Wisconsin State Senate in 1886 as a Republican, beating Democrat Amos Holgate.

[4] Running for re-election in 1898, Scofield again faced a challenge for the Republican nomination from Robert La Follette.

During his tenure, he introduced the first governor's budget in Wisconsin, established a central accounting system, and oversaw revision of the state's banking laws.

[1] The most significant act of his gubernatorial term was likely the establishment of a state tax commission, the forerunner of the present Wisconsin Department of Revenue.