John W.

Frazer
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John Wesley Frazer
J W Frazer ACW civ.jpg
John Wesley Frazer
Born January 6, 1827
Hardin County, Tennessee
Died March 16, 1906 (aged 79)
New York City, New York
Place of burial Clifton Springs, New York
Allegiance United States of America
Confederate States of America
Service/branch United States Army
Confederate States Army
Years of service 1849 61 (USA)
1861 65 (CSA)
Rank Union army cpt rank insignia.jpg Captain (USA)
Confederate States of America General.png Brigadier General (CSA)
Battles/wars American Civil War
John Wesley Frazer (January 6, 1827 March 16, 1906) was an American soldier, plant
er, and businessman. He was a career officer in the United States Army, and then
served as a Confederate general during the American Civil War.
Frazer's most notable action during the Civil War was when he surrendered the Cu
mberland Gap and was captured in the autumn of 1863. He was held as a prisoner o
f war until after hostilities ended in the spring of 1865, and then took up work
in farming and business.
Contents [hide]
1 Early life and career
2 Civil War service
2.1 Cumberland Gap
2.2 Confinement
3 Postbellum
4 See also
5 Notes
6 References
7 External links
Early life and career[edit]
Frazer (variously written as Fraser or Frazier) was born in 1827 in Hardin Count
y, Tennessee. He was a brother of Charles W. Frazer, who also would serve as a C
onfederate general. In 1845 Frazer entered the United States Military Academy at
West Point, and graduated four years later standing 34th out of 43 cadets. He w
as appointed a brevet second lieutenant in the 2nd U.S. Infantry Regiment on Jul
y 1, 1849. Frazer was promoted to second lieutenant on June 30 the following yea
r, and to first lieutenant in the 9th U.S. Infantry on March 3, 1855. Two years
later he was promoted to the rank of captain on May 1.[1]
Frazer had spent his U.S. Army career on "routine garrison duty at various point
s" across the United States,[2] until resigning his commission, which was accept
ed on March 15, 1861.[1]
Civil War service[edit]
Frazer during the American Civil War
When the American Civil War began, Frazer chose to follow the Confederate cause.
At the time he was likely living in Mississippi, the state that had appointed F
razer to West Point and to the Confederate Army in 1861.[3] On March 16 Frazer w
as commissioned a captain in the Confederacy's regular army infantry.[1] On Apri
l 5 was ordered to Louisiana to supervise the regular army recruiting for Baton
Rouge and for New Orleans, Frazer's headquarters.[4] On May 11 he was ordered to
end his recruiting duties and proceed to Baton Rouge and directly command the c
ity's barracks.[5] On June 17 he was appointed to the provisional army in the 8t
h Alabama Infantry with the rank of lieutenant colonel. Frazer chose to resign f
rom the Confederate Army in March 1862, but re-entered the service as colonel an
d commander of the 28th Alabama Infantry on November 2.[1]
Cumberland Gap[edit]
Following the Kentucky Campaign,[2] Frazer again resigned from the Confederate A
rmy in late 1862.[1] His most notable military service occurred after he was app
ointed a brigadier general on May 19, 1863,[6] and given command of the 5th Brig
ade of the Army of Tennessee that July.[1] His force consisted of about 2,300 me
n in three regiments and a battery of artillery,[7] and was ordered to defend th
e Cumberland Gap "at all hazards" by area commander Maj. Gen. Simon B. Buckner,
who was himself ordered to rejoin the Army of Tennessee just prior to the Battle
of Chickamauga. Frazer began strengthening the fortifications already there to
try to block any Federal advance into East Tennessee.[2]
That fall, forces under Union Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnside moved toward the Cumber
land Gap.[8] Burnside sent a brigade under Col. John F. DeCourcy to deal with Fr
azer's men, while the rest of the Union soldiers quickly marched on and captured
Knoxville, Tennessee, on September 2. DeCourcy threatened the Gap from the nort
h, but Frazer did not think this force sufficient to remove him and held his pos
ition. On September 7, Burnside sent another brigade led by Brig. Gen. James M.
Shackelford, who approached Frazer's men from the south and demanded surrender o
f the Confederates, which Frazer again rejected. On September 8, both DeCourcy a
nd Shackelford sent messages requesting Frazer's surrender, and those too were r
ejected. The next day, Burnside himself along with yet another brigade (under Co
l. Samuel A. Gilbert) closed on Frazer's position. At about 10:00 a.m., Burnside
demanded a surrender, saying he now had enough soldiers to assault and take the
Confederate garrison. This was finally enough to convince Frazer to give up the
Gap, which he did at about 3 p.m. on September 9. No blood was shed in the thre
e-day Battle of the Cumberland Gap.

The Cumberland Gap in relation to the Wilderness Road from Virginia into Kentuck
y
Burnside had succeeded in deceiving Frazer, leading him to believe that the oppo
sing Federals were much stronger than they appeared. Frazer thought his Confeder
ates to be surrounded, outnumbered, and lacking enough provisions needed for a p
rolonged siege, and he unconditionally surrendered his garrison.[8] The Confeder
ate defeats at Vicksburg and Gettysburg earlier in July may also have affected F
razer's decision.
As they lined up, the Confederates were shocked to see the size of the force to
which they had surrendered. Although around 100 300 men did escape through DeCourcy'
s lines just after the surrender, Frazer, his men and their weapons, and 14 guns
were turned over to Burnside. This also gave the Union control of the Cumberlan
d Gap, which it retained until the war's end.[8]
Confinement[edit]
Frazer was sent to join other captured Confederate officers at Fort Warren in Bo
ston Harbor, where he spent the rest of the war. During this time the Confederat
e Congress took up Frazer's nomination to brigadier general. Due to public and p
olitical criticism of his actions at the Cumberland Gap,[9] Frazer's appointment
was promptly rejected on February 16, 1864.[10]
After the conflict ended he was finally released and paroled from Fort Warren on
July 24, 1865.[1]
Postbellum[edit]
After the Civil War Frazer relocated to Arkansas, where he began operating a pla
ntation. Several years later he moved to New York City, where he engaged success
fully in business. Frazer died there from an accident in the spring of 1906, and
was buried in Clifton Springs.[2]
See also[edit]
American Civil War portal
Biography portal
List of American Civil War generals (Acting Confederate)
Notes[edit]
^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g Eicher, p. 597.
^ Jump up to: a b c d Warner, p. 93.
Jump up ^ Wright, p. 105.
Jump up ^ Weinert, p. 46.
Jump up ^ Weinert, p. 48.
Jump up ^ Wright, p. 105. To rank from May 19, 1863, same date of nomination.
Jump up ^ Warner, p. 93. Soldiers from the states of Georgia, Virginia, and Nort
h Carolina.
^ Jump up to: a b c "The Civil War in the Cumberland Gap". National Park Service
. Retrieved 2008-12-02.
Jump up ^ Allardice, p. 3. "...whose hasty surrender of Cumberland Gap enraged t
he South"
Jump up ^ Warner, p. 93; Wright, p. 105.
References[edit]
Allardice, Bruce S., More Generals in Gray, Louisiana State University Press, 19
95, ISBN 0-8071-3148-2.
Eicher, John H., and David J. Eicher, Civil War High Commands. Stanford: Stanfor
d University Press, 2001. ISBN 978-0-8047-3641-1.
Sifakis, Stewart. Who Was Who in the Civil War. New York: Facts On File, 1988. I
SBN 978-0-8160-1055-4.
Warner, Ezra J. Generals in Gray: Lives of the Confederate Commanders. Baton Rou
ge: Louisiana State University Press, 1959. ISBN 978-0-8071-0823-9.
Weinert, Richard P., Jr., The Confederate Regular Army, White Mane Publishing, 1
991, ISBN 0-942597-27-3.
United States War Department, The Military Secretary's Office, Memorandum relati
ve to the general officers appointed by the President in the armies of the Confe
derate States--1861-1865 (1908) (Compiled from official records) Wright, Marcus
J. Caption shows 1905 but printing date is February 11, 1908. Retrieved August 5
, 2010.
National Park Service (NPS), nps.gov The Civil War in the Cumberland Gap
External links[edit]
dickinson.edu Dickinson College entry for Frazer.
tngenweb.org Battle of Limestone Station marker description.
Categories: American businesspeopleConfederate States Army brigadier generalsPeo
ple of Tennessee in the American Civil WarAmerican Civil War prisoners of warPeo
ple from Hardin County, TennesseeUnited States Military Academy alumni1827 birth
s1906 deathsAmerican planters
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