{⋆★⋆} BG Frazer, John Wesley

John Wesley Frazer​

Born: January 6, 1827

Birthplace: Hardin County, Tennessee

Father: John Ahair Frazer 1796 – 1857

(Buried: Elmwood Cemetery, Memphis, Tennessee)​

Mother: Frances Ann Jones 1794 – 1885

(Buried: Elmwood Cemetery, Memphis, Tennessee)​

Wife: Catherine Metcalf Tiffany Frazer 1831 – 1892

(Buried: Clifton Springs Cemetery, Clifton Springs, New York)​

Children:

Mary Metcalf Frazer Vincent 1871 – 1962​

(Buried: Pittsford Cemetery, Pittsford, New York)​

Education:

1849: Graduated from West Point Military Academy (34th​ in class)​

Occupation before War:

1849 – 1850: Brevet 2nd​ Lt. United States Army, 2nd​ Infantry Regiment​

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1850 – 1855: 2nd​ Lt. United States Army, 2nd​ Infantry Regiment​

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1855 – 1857: 1st​ Lt. United States Army, 9th​ Infantry Regiment​

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1857 – 1861: Captain United States Army, 9th​ Infantry Regiment​

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1861: Resigned from United States Army on March 15th​​

Civil War Career:

1861: Captain in Confederate Army Infantry​

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1861 – 1862: Lt. Colonel of 8th​ Alabama Infantry​

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1862: Colonel of 28th​ Alabama Infantry Regiment​

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1862: Resigned from Confederate army after Kentucky Campaign​

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1863 – 1864: Brigadier General of Confederate Army Infantry​

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1863: Participated in the Battle of Chickamauga​

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1864: Rank as Brigadier General rejected by Confederate Congress​

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1863 – 1865: Held as Prisoner of War in Fort Warren, Boston Harbor​

Occupation after War:

1866 – 1874: Merchant and Planter in Memphis, Tennessee​

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Plantation Manager in Arkansas​

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Successful Businessman in New York City, New York​

Died: March 16, 1906

Place of Death: New York City, New York

Age at time of Death: 79 years old

Burial Place: Clifton Springs Village Cemetery, Clifton Springs, New York

 

[Pollaco]

Frazer surrendered his untried and untrusted troops to Burnside on Sept.9 , 1863 at Cumberland Gap. He sacrificed his command and it cost him his reputation. There was a public outcry throughout the South against this "cowardly" act. The Confederate Senate rejected his nomination as brigadier general on Feb. 16, 1864. This unfairness was recognized by Jefferson Davis but not until 1883.

 

[gentlemanrob]

Happy Birthday Brig. General John W. Frazer! Salutes remembering General Frazer on his birthday.

 

[danny]

He did not participate in the battle of Chickamauga, being a prisoner at the time.

 

[East Tennessee Roots]

Frazer surrendered his untried and untrusted troops to Burnside on Sept.9 , 1863 at Cumberland Gap. He sacrificed his command and it cost him his reputation. There was a public outcry throughout the South against this "cowardly" act. The Confederate Senate rejected his nomination as brigadier general on Feb. 16, 1864. This unfairness was recognized by Jefferson Davis but not until 1883.

Seems I recall reading he was physically attacked by a member of the 62nd NC. A number of men from the 62nd NC and the 64th VA. spent the duration at Camp Douglass. A great number of them died there.

 

[danny]

5/19/63 Frazier was commissioned B Gen & sent into east Tenn, where his command consisted of the 55th Ga, 62nd & 64th NC, & Rains' Btry. He had charge of Cumberland Gap in Sept, when the Union army under Burnside approached that post. Gen Frazer, finding that Knoxville had been occupied by the Union forces & that Gen Buckner had been obliged to retreat toward Chattanooga, knowing that the force of the enemy was greatly superior, surrendered to Gen Burnside on Sept 9, 1863. He was at first somewhat censured, but when all the facts were made known was exonerated. After the war he became a merchant & planter in Memphis.

According to The Official Records, Brig Gen John W. Frazer stated the most treacherous & slanderous remarks about the 62nd​ NC Regt: "The discipline & organization were utterly worthless… the greater part of officers were totally unfitted for command…Col Love & Major McDowell, I do not think were qualified for command…My opinion is this Regt would have broken or thrown down their arms on the first fire from the enemy…There were numerous desertions…In fact not a week passed without several desertions…We had insufficient arms to fight...I believed we were greatly outnumbered...I was unsure of the enemy's strength...I thought surrender would save lives...Gen Buckner was nowhere to be found, I wondered what became of him..."

 

[East Tennessee Roots]

62nd NC Regt:

Three brothers of William "Pink" Inman of "Cold Mountain" fame were in the 62nd. Two died at Camp Douglass. One of my wife's great-great-grandfathers, John Franklin Carter was one of a handful of the 64th Virginia that managed to escape capture.