This is the third installment profiling one of the characters in book four of the Yankee Doodle Spies series, The North Spy. due for release next year. As my last profile was a Scotsman who fought for America, it was only fitting that I follow with a Scotsman who fought for England. Not just any Scotsman, but a son of the famed Fraser clan of Highland warriors.
Proud Lineage
Simon Fraser was born into a proud Scots highland lineage at Balnain, Scotland on 26 May 1729. His family and clan were warriors of the first order and as such, many went down at the fateful Battle of Culloden in 1745. Those who did not fall saw their lands and patrimony stripped and were driven into exile.
Dutch Service
The Scots, like their cousins across the Irish Sea, tend to fight for the English when not actually fighting against them. This the young Fraser did, but beginning with a stint in one of the Scots Brigades in the hire of the Netherlands - the 4th Brigade to be precise. In the waning years of the War of Austrian Succession young Simon fought at the 1747 siege of Bergen-op-Zoom. The attacking French swarmed over the defense works and streamed into the town where savage fighting took place. In the attack and counterattack, Fraser was wounded.
Royal American
With the end of the war, the Dutch Brigade was reduced to one battalion and Fraser had to seek his laurels elsewhere. The outbreak of the Seven Years war provided a golden opportunity for an eager and now blooded young highlander. In 1756, Fraser joined the British Army’s 62nd Royal American Regiment of Foot. Renumbered as the 60th the following year, it later gained fame as The King’s Royal Rifle Corps.
Back to the Clan
Fraser did not remain with the 60th very long. In January 1757, he took a commission in a newly formed regiment of highlanders, the 63rd Highlander Regiment of Foot. The regiment was commanded by Simon’s cousin, Lord Lovat, also named Simon Fraser. The unit was called Fraser’s Regiment and its ranks were flush with Frasers. This was the likely draw to the unit – fighting with and for kin.
Fighting French & Indians
Fraser sailed to America to fight the French, serving at the siege of Louisbourg, the taking of which gave Britain control of the mouth of the Saint Lawrence River. He served under British General James Wolfe during the 1759 attack on Quebec, the decisive battle of the war in America. The 78th climbed the Heights of Abraham with Wolfe and Lieutenant Fraser was wounded in the hard-fought action while Wolfe was mortally wounded in his great victory.
Fraser’s time with the 60th and his service in America with the 78th opened his eyes to the different style of fighting in a woodland wilderness – the need for disciplined troops who could fight outside of massed formations and rely on the terrain and marksmanship to bring down an enemy as the Indian allies of the French could. Following Quebec, Fraser’s unit had garrison duty in the city and spent some time in New York. But the French and Indian part of the war was just about over.
Seven Year Itch
By 1760 Fraser was back in Europe – the seven years of the Seven Years War was not up. This involved another transfer – this time to the 24th Regiment of Foot, which was sent to Germany to serve in Lord Granby’s Corps. In two years, the 24th fought in over a half-dozen sieges and pitched battles against the French. He was cited for heroism at the battle of Wezen in November 1761. Fraser led a hand-picked company of fifty men in an attack that drove off some 400 French troops. He was promoted to major during this time. He also learned a lesson in what hand-picked and specially trained men could do against greater odds.
Post-Treaty of Paris
After the Treaty of Paris was signed in 1763, Fraser continued with the army – serving in Germany, Ireland, and Gibraltar. From 1763 to 1769, Simon Fraser and the 24th were stationed at Gibraltar. He performed quite well and was appointed Lieutenant Colonel of the 24th in 1768. Fraser put the regiment through specialized training, making it one of the first British regiments to specialize in light infantry tactics.
It was also on Gibraltar that he met Margarita Hendrika Beck Grant, widow of Major Alexander Grant, a fellow Scot. After a period of exchanging letters, they were married. Shortly thereafter, they moved to Ireland when the 24th was transferred there. The couple had no children.
Brigadier General Simon Fraser
War Clouds in America
Fraser had watched the North American colonies move into rebellion and war. The rebels drove a British Army from Boston in 1775 and invaded Canada. More troops were needed to put down the rebellion. More importantly, Britain needed experienced officers. So it was as commander of a brigade of five battalions Fraser sailed from Ireland and returned to North America in April 1776. He was sent to provide support to the beleaguered Governor-General Guy Carleton who was besieged in Quebec by the American rebels. Carleton had held off the invading army against all odds during a brutal winter campaign. Fraser’s arrival enabled him to go on the offensive.
In the Vanguard
Fraser wasted no time – he smashed American General William Thompson’s division at Trois Rivieres in June. Named brevet Brigadier General by Carleton, Fraser took command of the Advance Guard of the British counteroffensive into New York’s Champlain Valley. Although Carleton’s campaign proved successful, the stubborn American defense, led by Brigadier General Benedict Arnold took him off his timetable by fighting him at Valcour Island. The battle was won but winter was coming.
An Unsavory Pause
Rather than risk the final plunge to Albany with winter approaching, Carleton withdrew to the northern extreme of Lake Champlain, planning to strike out again the following year. Fraser, like many other officers, was not happy with the cautious approach but things would have to wait for a new season – and a new commander. Fraser used the winter quarters to train his troops in light infantry tactics and prepare them for operations in the rough American wilderness.
New Boss, New Plan
In the spring of 1777, Major General John Burgoyne returned from London with 8,000 British and German reinforcements and a new plan for invasion. The plan called for three separate thrusts from the west, north, and south to converge on Albany. And the plan called for Burgoyne, not Carleton to lead the main thrust from Canada.
Advance Guard Again
Brigadier General Fraser was put in command of Burgoyne’s advance guard, some 1,200 troops now trained as light infantry. The army launched itself from the mouth of the Richelieu River into Lake Champlain in an armada of Bateaux and canoes. Moving quickly, Fraser’s forces screened the advance on the impregnable Fort Ticonderoga and seized it in a coup de main as the American defenders retreated in the dark of night. Fraser himself led the troops and hoisted up a British flag.
A Hot Pursuit
Fraser then launched his advance guard in hot pursuit as the Americans chose to retreat through the dense forests to the south and east rather than take the waterways that led south. The British vanguard stayed on their trail and finally pinned down the American rear guard under Colonel Seth Warner, also an experienced woodland fighter, near Hubbardton. In a back and forth slog the larger American force actually began to have the better of him, but a column of Germans under General von Riedesel helped turn the battle.
Supply Chain Blues
The rest of Burgoyne’s army was now moving south again with Fraser’s brigade at the lead. Albany would fall with just a final drive. But Burgoyne now faced a supply chain problem as he was far removed from his base and shortages began to crop up. In addition, Fraser’s scouts (including some Canadians and Iroquois) were reporting on a large concentration of Americans just north of Albany under the command of a former British officer, General Horatio Gates.
Burgoyne began to lose his nerve. The other two thrusts had failed and he was on his own. Rather than risk an all-out attack, he launched a reconnaissance in force with Fraser’s commanding the right-wing – through heavily wooded and rugged terrain.
Clash of Titans
There, Fraser’s elite force ran head-on against their American counterpart, the corps of Virginia and Pennsylvania riflemen under Colonel Daniel Morgan. Morgan’s riflemen sported long rifles with grooved barrels enabling accurate fire well over one hundred yards. Fraser's brigade included the tip marksmen in the British Army. The lead flew as the best of both armies peppered each other and finally, Morgan’s force was driven back, leaving an opportunity to exploit the situation and fight their way around the American flank.
A Pause and a Probe
But Burgoyne did not approve and instead withdrew his army back to its camp to figure out the supply situation. That situation only deteriorated and with autumn getting longer in the tooth, Burgoyne was forced into a desperate situation. This time, it was a probing attack. The idea was to feel out the enemy and exploit any weaknesses. He launched his probe on 7 October in what would become the Battle of Bemis Heights.
Frenzied Fighting
Fraser was once again in the thick of things with his brigade. But the Americans did not seem to bend and in fact, began to launch savage counterattacks all along the front, led by General Benedict Arnold. British forces stood and then withdrew under the pressure of American volleys and bayonet charges. Fraser time and again rallied units and formed the line. Mounted, despite the sheets of lead humming everywhere, he waved his saber.
In the Crosshairs
From somewhere far off, an American rifleman cocked his hammer and gazed down the long barrel of his rifle, leveling it on a red-coated figure on a horse. Legend has it the sniper was Private Tim Murphy who allegedly said, “That is a gallant officer, but he must die.” He squeezed the trigger, the hammer cracked down, ignited the firing pan, and launched a ball that just missed Fraser. A second shot struck his saddle but Fraser ignored the fire. Ignoring pleas from his aides, he continued until a third shot struck home with a ball into his belly – a mortal wound.
A Blow to an Army
The fall of Fraser sent a wave of shock through the whole British Army – especially Burgoyne, who soon ordered his battered forces back to their encampment to the north near a place called Saratoga.
Desperate hands wrangled the dying general to the rear where he was nursed by the wife of von Riedesel, Baroness Fredericka, who had accompanied her husband on the wilderness campaign.
The brave highlander died the following day and was buried at the Great Redoubt in a somber ceremony held under the guns and muskets of the encircling rebel army. A stray round from the American artillery nearly disrupted the event. On learning of it, Horatio Gates ordered a gun salute instead. Burgoyne would soon surrender his army, ending the campaign and helping push the indecisive King of France into the arms of the Americans.
Death's Legacy
Fraser’s life of action and service ended in a way any warrior would have chosen. But Britain lost more than a warrior. It lost one of its best generals and one who thoroughly understood the type of fighting, and the type of fighting man, it would take to win the war. Had he not fallen on that October day, he might have emerged as the leader who could have subdued the colonies for the Crown that subdued his own highland clans. Yet, ironically, the gallant Scot who fought for England, Holland, and German Allies never fought for Scotland - and is most remembered in America.
