Colonel John C Fizer 17th MS Infantry at Fort Sanders

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While looking for something else, I ran across this article and found it interesting, so I did some quick look-ups to provide the background and additional info. Article below.

Colonel John Calvin Fizer

(spelled Fiser prior to 1866)

Background

Born May 4, 1838 in Dyersburg, Dyer County, TN. Near the time of the Mexican War, the family removed to Panola, MS. After his father's death in 1852, John Calvin lived with his uncle who was a prominent citizen of Panola. By 1856, John Calvin moved to Memphis, where he engaged in cotton trade and mercantile business.
General John Calvin Fizer portrait.jpg

Enlistment
Shortly after the firing on Fort Sumter, Fizer returned to Panola, MS where he helped organize the 17th Mississippi Infantry Regiment. He was elected 1st Lieutenant of Company H, the "Panola Vindicators." At Corinth, before the regiment departed for Virginia, he was appointed Adjutant of the Regiment. In Virginia, the 17th Mississippi Infantry was initially assigned to D R Jones' brigade for 1st Manassas and Fizer served as Brigade Adjutant.

Service
Shortly after 1st Manassas, the army was reorganized and Fizer was elected Lt Colonel of the 17th MS. The regiment would serve in the Army of Northern Virginia, brigaded under Generals Howell Cobb, Griffith, Barksdale, and Humphreys. At Malvern Hill, Colonel Holder was wounded and command of the regiment fell to Fizer. He would serve as Lt Col at Harpers Ferry & Sharpsburg (listed as commanding regiment), Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville and Gettysburg, where he was wounded. Just after Gettysburg, he was promoted to Colonel and the 17th MS traveled with Longstreet to Chattanooga and western TN. Fizer would be badly wounded in the Assault on Fort Sanders, Nov 29, 1863, resulting in the loss of his arm.

I ran across this article on the National Park Service history site, entitled "Gettysburg Seminar Papers: Unsung Heroes of Gettysburg" by Edward F. Guy. (The web address is numbered as essay 8 so I assume there are more of these out there?)
http://npshistory.com/series/symposia/gettysburg_seminars/5/essay8.htm#12

"Lt. Col. John C. Fizer (17th Miss.), of Barksdale's brigade, was known as "a great favorite with the soldiers. [sic.]" He was still concerned about being overrun at Fredericksburg on May 3, 1863, and losing the guns of the celebrated Washington Artillery. As the Mississippi troops prepared for action July 2 at Gettysburg, a member of the Washington Artillery, Capt. Charles W. Squires, rode up to Lt. Col. Fizer. Fizer made the comment to Squires that they would soon recover the lost guns. Fizer was later carried to the rear, wounded. Passing Squires he said that they had gotten the guns, as promised. Fizer did not realize that most of the cannons overrun that day would be lost in Union counterattacks. Fizer later lost an arm at Knoxville, Tenn. November 29, 1863. He was shot while climbing the enemy parapet with a hatchet attached to his sword belt. He had planned to personally chop down the U. S. flag inside Ft. Sanders. [11]"
11. Charles W. Squires, "My Artillery Fire Was Very Destructive: The Charles W. Squires Memoir" (Conclusion),Civil War Times Illustrated,XIV, No. 3 (June 1975), 19;Confederate Veteran,I, 335; CSR, 109M269R253NA. http://npshistory.com/series/symposia/gettysburg_seminars/5/essay8.htm#12
After the War
Fizer returned to Memphis and married Minerva Hays Dunn on November 7 1866. (Shortly afterwards, he changed the spelling of his last name from Fiser to Fizer.) The couple would have three daughters. Fizer became quite a successful businessman, serving as President of the Office Security Building and Loan Association. In 1871, he was elected President of the Confederate Historical and Relief Association. He died in Memphis in 1876 at the young age of 38 years from dysentery. He was buried in Elmwood Cemetery, Memphis, TN.
marker.jpg
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=8578789
 
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Fizer's Medical Treatment at Gettysburg
I was really curious about Fizer/Fiser's quick recovery after being wounded at Gettysburg and then being wounded again at Fort Sanders, just 4 1/2 months later. Thinking that it must have been a superficial wound at Gettysburg, I did some more searching.

According to Bruce S. Allardice's More Generals In Gray, (p. 86)

"At the Battle of Gettysburg, Fiser was wounded three times, being shot once in the cheek and twice in the leg. Accompanying Longsteet's Corps to Georgia, Fiser fought at the Battle of Chickamauga and, in the November 29, 1863, assault on Fort Sanders outside of Knoxville, Fiser was shot in the arm while standing atop the Union works. The wound required amputation of the arm."
https://books.google.com/books?id=d7kKuAZFDu0C&q=Fiser#v=snippet&q=Fiser&f=false

After reading this I was even more intrigued by Fizer/Fiser's speedy recovery. Who gets shot in the cheek and the leg twice in July and is sufficiently recovered to make the trip to Chickamauga in September, let alone participate in the battle????? And who was the skilled surgeon that treated him at Gettysburg?

Who was the Surgeon and where was the Field Hospital?
It was likely this man, Surgeon Francis William Patterson, of the 17th Mississippi. Patterson was the surgeon in charge of the wounded of Barksdale's Brigade at Gettysburg.
Francis W Patterson Surgeon 17th MS.PNG


Patterson was born Feb 4, 1835 in Connecticut. He studied medicine at the Medical College of Ohio, Cincinnati, class of 1859. By 1860, he had relocated to Jackson, MS, where he was an assistant physician at the State Lunatic Asylum. At Gettysburg, Patterson was aided by Assistant Surgeon, Robert L. Knox, of TN, and the Chaplain of the 17th MS, William Burton Owen. When the Confederate army retreated from Gettysburg, these men stayed behind, were captured, and sent off to Fort McHenry until exchanged Nov/Dec 1863. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=115948814

Crawford's Farm - Field Hospital for Semme's and Barksdale's
I assume Fiser/Fizer was operated on at Gettysburg. Being shot three times, it's likely that he would have needed surgical attention. If so, the surgery would have likely been done by Patterson in Crawford’s house. You see, the main house, the tenant house, and the barn of the John Crawford farm, near Marsh Creek, served as the field hospital for the wounded of Semme's and Barksdale's brigades. In accounts of the aftermath, it is often referred to simply as "Crawford's." http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nygreen2/pvt__edgar_baker_confederate_soldier.htm

Crawford's Barn Gettysburg.PNG

Crawford's barn - still standing

The tenant house was the only building occupied by an African American family that was used as a Confederate Field Hospital during the Battle of Gettysburg. Basil Biggs, an African American tenant farmer lived there.
Basil Biggs of Crawfords Gettysburg.PNG


The tenant house was used for the wounded artillerymen. The main farmhouse probably served as the 'operating room' and 'recovery room.' After surgery, the wounded were likely quartered in the barn. At least 45 Confederate soldiers died at Crawford's and were buried on the property. http://www.gdg.org/gettysburg magazine/gburgafrican.html

About Basil Biggs
After the war ended, this is the same Basil Biggs who worked for contractor F. W. Biesecker, disinterring Union soldiers and re-interring them in the National Cemetery. Biggs was to be paid $1.59 per body. He had a wagon and a two-horse team and moved 6 bodies at a time.
Basil Biggs bodies.PNG


There's a great video here that details Basil Biggs' life and contributions here. http://www.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/fyr14.socst.us.basil/basil-biggs-true-american-hero/
 
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More on his life after the military ....

While recovering from his wounds he was assigned a brigade in South Carolina. He was present at Bentonville, the closing battle of the war for the Army of Tennessee. There, he was singled out for his gallantry by General Joe Johnson. His last assignment was post commander of Savannah when he received his parole at the end of the war. He then set off for home.

Arriving at Augusta, Ga,. he found that a small army of half-starved, paroled soldiers had descended upon the town that held a stockpile of Army stores. In the ensuing frenzy, the crowd had began to plunder homes and businesses and were terrorizing the town.

"Comprehending the situation at a glance, he mounted a goods-box and addressed the frenzied mob around him, first with gentle words of remonstrance, appealing to their history as brave men, and to honor the flag they had lately followed, to abandon such unmanly conduct."

After much name-calling and threats of violence from the crowd, Fizer began to see his words were ineffective. "Immediately the whole aspect of the man changed, and drawing his sword like a flash of light, he demanded to know if there are 10 men who are unwilling to disgrace their uniform to follow him."

A small band of men stepped foward and at great risk, the general lead a charge against the crowd and scattered them. He was then reinforced by other members of the crowd until he was in command of nearly 100 men, with which he chased the crowd of more than 1,000 soldiers out of Augusta. In the charge, two rioters were killed and many others were wounded in the action. Though offered a reward of money or anything else that might help him on his return home, he refused to accept anything and continued on his journey. With this act he received the undying admiration from the town, which still held him in affection when he died 12 years later.

Fiser returned to Memphis at the end of the war and became a prominent businessman. At his death, his office at 824 Front Street was known as Estes, Fizer & Company. He had changed his name from Fiser to Fizer in 1866, shortly after his marriage. He was active in Democratic politics and prominent in civic affairs. At one time he acted as marshal of ceremonies of a race held at the Grand Memphis Tournament at the Memphis Trotting Park Course. General Fiser died of intestinal problems at the young age of 37, June 14, 1876. Later that month, another young Civil War general, George Custer would die leading the 7th Cavalry at the Little Big Horn. A regiment for the mission had assembled at Memphis three years earlier before being deployed out west.

Upon Fizer's death, a meeting was held in the parlor of the Peabody Hotel by the Confederate Historical and Relief Association. The committee resolved that a short, if imperfect, memorial be written in the association records and that the memorial be presented to his wife and published in the city papers. The memorial began, "Know ye not that a prince has fallen?". Out of respect, the Democratic and Conservative clubs adjourned their meeting when they heard the news of the general's death. The Cotton Exchange and the Chamber of Commerce also assembled to pass appropriate measures.

The day of the General's funeral, the famous Memphis militia unit known as the Chickasaw Guards assembled in full dress uniform and along with numerous Confederate veterans, joined the funeral possession. It was said to have been the largest funeral held in Memphis up to that date.

Later, the John C. Fizer Camp of the United Confederate Veterans was established at Panola. This event was hosted by Mrs. Cummins, the daughter of the late General Fizer. This was celebrated on board the Steamer "Julia" and was attended by the camp members and veterans of the Fizer's old regiment. The moonlight was shining on the river and a band played as the vessel got under way. After many patriotic speeches, the color-bearer of the camp then presented the veterans of the 17th Regiment the original flag that had gone to war with the "Panola Vindicators."

This flag had been made by Miss Mary Fiser and Miss Maggie Bradford, and was received by Judge Roane, a former member of the company. It was with this gesture that the evening ended and the deeds of General Fizer were commemorated.

source Earl Willoughby
 
A descendant told me that at about the end of the war there was chaos and Fizer rallied the men who remembered honor and restored order and stopped the looting of a Confederate town. He was supposed to send me the papers to edit but that never happened.
 
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