Augustus Simon Frazer KCB FRS (5 September 177611 June 1835), commanded the artillery at the

British invasions of the Río de la Plata The British invasions of the River Plate were two unsuccessful British attempts to seize control of areas in the Spanish colony of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata that were located around the Río de la Plata in South America – in p ...

(1807) and the

Royal Horse Artillery The Royal Horse Artillery (RHA) was formed in 1793 as a distinct arm of the Royal Regiment of Artillery (commonly termed Royal Artillery) to provide horse artillery support to the cavalry units of the British Army. (Although the cavalry link ...

on Wellington's staff in the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain ...

, and later during the

Waterloo Campaign The Waterloo campaign (15 June – 8 July 1815) was fought between the French Army of the North (France), Army of the North and two Seventh Coalition armies, an Anglo-allied army and a Prussian army. Initially the French army was commanded by ...

Family

He was born 5 September 1776 at

Dunkirk Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label=French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France.Andrew Frazer of the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...

, was Assistant Commissary in the demolition of the fortress. His mother was Charlotte, daughter of Stillingfleet Durnford and granddaughter of John Peter Desmaretz, both of the

Ordnance Office The Board of Ordnance was a British government body. Established in the Tudor period, it had its headquarters in the Tower of London. Its primary responsibilities were 'to act as custodian of the lands, depots and forts required for the defence ...

. Frazer received his early education at the High School of Edinburgh, where he was a contemporary of Lord Brougham. He had only a sister, Maria Ernestine, who married and lived in Vienna. In 1809, Simon Frazer married Emma Lynn, daughter of James Lynn, Esq, of Woodbridge in Suffolk. They had two sons. The elder, Augustus Henry, was born in August 1810 and obtained a commission in the Royal Artillery He retired from service at the rank of second captain and died unmarried while travelling in Syria in July 1848. The younger son, Andrew James, born in October 1812, obtained a Lieutenant's Commission in the

Rifle Corps A rifle corps (russian: стрелковый корпус, translit=strelkovyy korpus) was a Soviet corps-level military formation during the mid-twentieth century. Rifle corps were made up of a varying number of rifle divisions, although the all ...

, from which he retired, and he died, unmarried at

Ramsgate Ramsgate is a seaside resort, seaside town in the district of Thanet District, Thanet in east Kent, England. It was one of the great English seaside towns of the 19th century. In 2001 it had a population of about 40,000. In 2011, according to t ...

in July

Military service

Educated at the

High School A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

, Edinburgh, where he was a contemporary of

Lord Brougham Henry Peter Brougham, 1st Baron Brougham and Vaux, (; 19 September 1778 – 7 May 1868) was a British statesman who became Lord High Chancellor and played a prominent role in passing the 1832 Reform Act and 1833 Slavery Abolition Act. ...

, Frazer joined the Royal Military Academy, at Woolwich, on 16 August 1790 as a gentleman cadet. On 18 September 1793, he was gazetted a second lieutenant in the Royal Artillery, and at the end of the year joined the Army in Flanders, under command of the Duke of York. In early 1794, he was promoted to First Lieutenant, and attached with 2 field guns to the 3rd Foot Guards (Grenadiers), where he served until the army returned to England in May 1795. During that time, he was present at several engagements, including the battles of Tournay and

Boxtel Boxtel () is a municipality and a town in the southern Netherlands. The name derives from Buchestelle and is presumably a combination of 'stelle' (Dutch for stable, safe place) and (deer) buck.2019. Etymologiebank.Nl. Accessed April 27 2019 This i ...

. Upon return to England, he was appointed to the Royal Horse Artillery, and on 16 July 1799 received the rank of Captain Lieutenant. From August to late November, he took part in the

Duke of York Duke of York is a title of nobility in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually been given to the second son of English (later British) monarchs. The equivalent title in the Scottish peerage was Du ...

's expedition in

Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former province on the western coast of the Netherlands. From the 10th to the 16th c ...

. In 1803, Frazer received his rank of captain, and in 1807, embarked for South America to participate in General John Whitelock's expedition to

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

. Despite the disastrous results of this campaign, Frazer acquired experience and skill in his management of the transport and placement of the artillery. In 1811, he was assigned to the

Duke of Wellington Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, (1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was an Anglo-Irish soldier and Tory statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures of 19th-century Britain, serving twice as prime minister of ...

's army in the Peninsula, where he served at the battles of

Salamanca Salamanca () is a city in western Spain and is the capital of the Province of Salamanca in the autonomous community of Castile and León. The city lies on several rolling hills by the Tormes River. Its Old City was declared a UNESCO World Heritag ...

and

Osma Burgo de Osma-Ciudad de Osma is the third-largest municipality in the province of Soria, in the autonomous community of Castile and León, Spain. It has a population of about 5,250. It is made up of two parts: *the smaller Ciudad de Osma (city ...

and the

Siege of Burgos At the siege of Burgos, from 19 September to 21 October 1812, the Anglo-Portuguese Army led by General Arthur Wellesley, Marquess of Wellington tried to capture the castle of Burgos from its French garrison under the command of General of ...

. Later he was present at the

Battle of Vitoria At the Battle of Vitoria (21 June 1813) a British, Portuguese and Spanish army under the Marquess of Wellington broke the French army under King Joseph Bonaparte and Marshal Jean-Baptiste Jourdan near Vitoria in Spain, eventually leading to ...

, for which he received a special notice from Sir Alexander Dickson, the overall commander of Artillery. Subsequently, he served at the blockade of Papeluna, and the

Siege of San Sebastian A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict characterized ...

. At Papeluna, Thomas Graham brought him to the notice of Wellington. At San Sebastian, he directed the fire from the flank, remarkable for its accuracy. He subsequently participated in the investment of Bayonne, at which he was wounded. At the conclusion of fighting at

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Par ...

, he returned to England, as a Lieutenant-Colonel, and received the

Army Gold Medal The Army Gold Medal (1808–1814), also known as the Peninsular Gold Medal, with an accompanying Gold Cross, was a British campaign medal awarded in recognition of field officer, field and general officers' successful commands in campaigns, predom ...

, with one clasp for Vittoria, San Sebastian, Nivelle, Nive, and Toulouse. He was also invested as a

Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved Bathing#Medieval ...

Waterloo Campaign

In 1815, Frazer returned to command the Horse Artillery and was attached to Wellington's Headquarters. He was present at the

Battle of Quatre Bras The Battle of Quatre Bras was fought on 16 June 1815, as a preliminary engagement to the decisive Battle of Waterloo that occurred two days later. The battle took place near the strategic crossroads of Quatre Bras and was contested between ele ...

on 16 June, but his artillery did not actually arrive until after the fight. The artillery covered the retreat from Quatre Bras, delaying the French cavalry sufficiently to allow the infantry to withdraw. The Horse Artillery successfully dislodged the French from the woods surrounding Hougemont, without bringing the Allied troops under friendly fire. Despite the initial opposition of Wellington, he successfully substituted 9-pounders for 6-pounders with many of the troops, and formed one troop with

howitzers A howitzer () is a long-ranged weapon, falling between a cannon (also known as an artillery gun in the United States), which fires shells at flat trajectories, and a mortar, which fires at high angles of ascent and descent. Howitzers, like oth ...

. The 9-pounders inflicted heavier losses on the French advance, particularly with its case shot, than would have been inflicted with the lighter guns. Subsequent to the battle, he wrested from the Prussians the French guns that had been captured by the British, but which had been taken over with Prussian sentries.

Later life

Upon returning to England after occupation duty, he was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

on 21 June 1816. He was appointed Director of the

Royal Laboratory The Royal Arsenal, Woolwich is an establishment on the south bank of the River Thames in Woolwich in south-east London, England, that was used for the manufacture of armaments and ammunition, proofing, and explosives research for the Bri ...

at Woolwich, where he died on 11 June 1835.

Personal life

In 1809, Frazer married Emma, youngest daughter of James Lynn, of

Woodbridge Woodbridge may refer to: Places Australia *Woodbridge, Western Australia formerly called ''West Midland'' *Woodbridge, Tasmania Canada *Woodbridge, Ontario England *Woodbridge, Suffolk, the location of ** Woodbridge (UK Parliament constituency ...

, in Suffolk, and the couple had two sons.

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Frazer, Augustus Simon 1776 births 1835 deaths British Army personnel of the Napoleonic Wars Fellows of the Royal Society Royal Horse Artillery officers