The Exile and The Prisoner: CSA Frost and Frazer
Posted: Fri Oct 03, 2008 5:49 pm
Brig. Gen. Daniel M. Frost (b. 1823, d. 1900) Hardships on the home front helped Daniel Marsh Frost make the difficult decision to leave the Confederate army in the fall of 1863. Frost’s wife, who kept the family’s home near St. Louis, was banished in the fall of 1863. Frost then left the army and went to Canada for the remainder of the war. He did this without the formality of notifying the Confederate War Department. He was dropped from the Army rolls Dec. 9, 1863. Frost was born in Schenectady County, New York, Aug. 9, 1823. Graduating fourth in the U.S. Military Academy Class of 1844, Frost first fought in Mexico and earned a brevet for his conduct at the Battle of Cerro Gordo. He resigned from the U.S. Army in 1853, entering manufacturing business in St. Louis. He was elected to the Missouri state legislature and served as a brigadier general in the Missouri Militia, commanding the St. Louis District. He also was on the U.S. Military Academy board of visitors. Frost helped to found Camp Jackson, a Missouri Militia training ground at Lindell Grove. Frost was captured when troops under Nathaniel Lyon May 10, 1861. Paroled and later exchanged, Frost was appointed a Confederate brigadier general to rank from March 3, 1862. He was offered command of a brigade of Missouri State Troops for the Battle of Elkhorn Tavern (Pea Ridge), but declined as it was too small. He watched the ball from a nearby location. After that, he served a few weeks as Gen. Braxton Bragg’s inspector general and then was with Maj. Gen. Thomas Hindman in Arkansas and was at the Battle of Prairie Grove (Dec. 7, 1862). He later left the army. After the war, he returned to his home in the St. Louis area. He farmed until his death, Oct. 29, 1900, and was buried in Calvary Cemetery in St. Louis.
Brig. Gen. John W. Frazer (b. 1827, d. 1906) Appointed a brigadier general, but rejected by the Confederate senate, John Wesley Frazer spent much of the Civil War in a Federal prison camp at Fort Warren. Frazer was born in Hardin County, Tennessee, Jan. 6, 1827. A U.S. Military Academy graduate in the Class of 1849 (34th). His prewar duties were at posts in the east and far west. At the start of the war, he was an infantry captain in Washington Territory. Frazer resigned his U.S. Army commission in March of 1861 to accept a commission as lieutenant colonel of the 8th Alabama Infantry. Soon, he left that post to become colonel of the 28th Alabama Infantry, which received early training in Alabama and Mississippi. Frazer led his regiment as part of the brigade of Col. Arthur Manigault in the Army of Mississippi commanded by Gen. Braxton Bragg. The regiment played a role in the surrender of a Union fort near Munfordsville Sept. 17, 1862. Frazer reported, “it gratifies the commanding officer to be able to say that the men and officers were calm, cool, and cheerful during the entire day and obeyed every command with great alacrity and promptness.” Fighting in the division of Maj. Gen. Jones Withers at the Battle of Murfreesboro (Stones River) Dec. 31, 1862-Jan. 3, 1863, the 28th was part of the first two charges of the battle, losing 17 killed and 88 wounded. Frazer received a promotion to brigadier general to rank from May 19, 1863, and he was sent with three regiments of Georgia and North Carolina troops to the Cumberland Gap area. For some reason, Frazer surrendered his command unconditionally to forces of Maj. Gen. Burnside, who had occupied Knoxville. While being sent to a prisoner of war facility, he was heavily criticized for his action. Subsequently, the Confederate senate rejected his nomination to brigadier general. At the close of the war, Frazer was still at Fort Warren. On April 16, he was one of 15 Confederate general officers who signed a letter sent to Gen. U.S. Grant expressing regret for the assassination of President Lincoln. After being released, Frazer ran a plantation in Arkansas, but later moved to New York City. Frazer was a businessman there when he died as the result of an accident March 31, 1906. Frazer was buried in Clifton Springs, New York.
Brig. Gen. John W. Frazer (b. 1827, d. 1906) Appointed a brigadier general, but rejected by the Confederate senate, John Wesley Frazer spent much of the Civil War in a Federal prison camp at Fort Warren. Frazer was born in Hardin County, Tennessee, Jan. 6, 1827. A U.S. Military Academy graduate in the Class of 1849 (34th). His prewar duties were at posts in the east and far west. At the start of the war, he was an infantry captain in Washington Territory. Frazer resigned his U.S. Army commission in March of 1861 to accept a commission as lieutenant colonel of the 8th Alabama Infantry. Soon, he left that post to become colonel of the 28th Alabama Infantry, which received early training in Alabama and Mississippi. Frazer led his regiment as part of the brigade of Col. Arthur Manigault in the Army of Mississippi commanded by Gen. Braxton Bragg. The regiment played a role in the surrender of a Union fort near Munfordsville Sept. 17, 1862. Frazer reported, “it gratifies the commanding officer to be able to say that the men and officers were calm, cool, and cheerful during the entire day and obeyed every command with great alacrity and promptness.” Fighting in the division of Maj. Gen. Jones Withers at the Battle of Murfreesboro (Stones River) Dec. 31, 1862-Jan. 3, 1863, the 28th was part of the first two charges of the battle, losing 17 killed and 88 wounded. Frazer received a promotion to brigadier general to rank from May 19, 1863, and he was sent with three regiments of Georgia and North Carolina troops to the Cumberland Gap area. For some reason, Frazer surrendered his command unconditionally to forces of Maj. Gen. Burnside, who had occupied Knoxville. While being sent to a prisoner of war facility, he was heavily criticized for his action. Subsequently, the Confederate senate rejected his nomination to brigadier general. At the close of the war, Frazer was still at Fort Warren. On April 16, he was one of 15 Confederate general officers who signed a letter sent to Gen. U.S. Grant expressing regret for the assassination of President Lincoln. After being released, Frazer ran a plantation in Arkansas, but later moved to New York City. Frazer was a businessman there when he died as the result of an accident March 31, 1906. Frazer was buried in Clifton Springs, New York.